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Authors: Joanna Blake

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He said it as he kept me from coming. He said it as I whimpered and begged for release.

"Marry me..."

"Yes!"

Everything changed. He started to thrust harder. His touch was suddenly possessive in a way I hadn't felt before. He worked me on his cock, groaning in his pleasure. Just as he started to come, he reached down and flicked his finger against me rapidly.

And then I came with him.

Hard.

So hard, I almost knocked my head against the rock in front of me. But Nico's hand was there to protect me. Even as he convulsed behind me, he protected me.

I knew in that moment that he always would.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Nicholas

I was the happiest man alive. Even after I'd lost everything. Somehow, by some incredible twist of fate, I'd regained everything that mattered.

It wasn't fate though.

It was Rosie.

Julio was leading me up a path through the property to another ramshackle old farmhouse. It was on the other side of the property, past the waterfall. He said it had been his intention to build a sort of commune. Which he had done.

But he was willing to sell off part of the land, if we agreed never to develop it. It had to be used for wildlife or animal preservation.

That was not going to be a problem.

He was giving us an incredible deal too.
Us.
Not that Rosie had any idea what I was up to.

"The house needs a lot of work, but the bones are there."

I nodded, following him up to the farm house. It was stone with faded green shutters. It almost looked French.

"You are being more than generous."

Julio laughed, clapping me on the back.

"I hope you think so after you spend all your time working on the place and changing diapers!"

He glanced at me as we stared up at the old house.

"Besides, I couldn't let you run off with her. Who would look after the goats?"

I laughed, shaking my head. I'd only been here a few weeks but I knew he was right. Rosie loved those goats. Almost as much as she was going to love this. I hoped.

I knew she would love the other surprise I had for her.

"They will be here this afternoon?"

I nodded.

"Thank you for your help coordinating all this."

"Like I said, I couldn't let you steal Rosie away. We love her too."

I clasped my hand on his back.

"You are a true friend. To both of us."

He slapped my back, even harder. Oh yes, Julio and I were more than a little competitive with each other. In a friendly way of course.

Mostly.

"Like I had a choice!"

I laughed as we walked back towards the Sanctuary.

"Now I just need to get her to stop working for a little while..."

"Make her a fat lunch Nick! Then she won't be able to move too fast!"

I grinned. I'd taken over most of the cooking for the Sanctuary. It had made me instantly more popular with the other volunteers.

"That's not a bad idea, Julio. Not a bad idea at all."

Rosalie

"Keep your eyes closed!"

I felt myself being bounced up and down as Nick carried me down the road. I had no idea what he was up to. But I was getting a little bit dizzy from being carried with my eyes closed!

"Nico..."

"Are you nauseous?"

"No."

He squeezed me, kissing my brow. I wasn't getting morning sickness anymore, thankfully. Now that I was out of the first trimester, it had stopped. I seemed to be one of the lucky ones.

I felt wonderful.

Much of that had to do with Nico. He spoiled me, even as he worked beside me.

It was perfect. I could not ask for one more thing. Other than the safe birth of our healthy child. We still had almost five month to go before that.

He set me down on my feet and kissed me.

"This is it. You can open your eyes now."

I stared up at the house. It was charming, in a delapitated way. A large stone farmhouse with an attached barn. It wasn't falling down completely, but it wasn't exactly hospitable. I turned in a circle. We were high on a hill, not far from the Sanctuary but surrounded by trees. I could see the ocean from all the way up here. It was idyllic.

"I know it needs work, but I've already started."

"You?"

He nodded proudly.

"I bought it. From Julio. We had one other idea too."

"You what?"

I scowled at him. I pushed him away from me and started walking in a circle.

"Men! I swear. He spends all his money and doesn't even ask me. What about me? Oh, right, I'm just a woman! Why would they bother asking me what I thought?"

"Rosie? Sweetheart, I thought you would be happy. We can stay here with your friends now, and still have our own place. That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

Nicholas looked worried. He had never really seen me angry before. He looked petrified.

"How could you spend all your money like this!"

"Well, no, not all my money. I had quite a bit socked away you know."

I frowned at him.

"What about your dream of opening a restaurant?"

He brightened, smiling at me.

"That's the other thing Julio and I were talking about. A restaurant in town. Closer to the sea."

"What?"

"It would be a partnership. Part of the profits would go to support the Sanctuary."

I felt a suspicious stinging behind my eyes. The next thing I knew, I was bawling.

"What is it? Did I do something wrong?"

I shook my head, really crying now.

"No, you did everything
right!
"

He laughed as he held me against him. His hand stroked my hair as I sobbed against his chest. He kissed my cheek, whispering in my ears.

"I think you might have forgotten something. A couple of things actually."

I looked up at him, a question in my eyes. He smiled at me tenderly, leading me to the barn. I blinked, my eyes adjusting to the dim light.

And then got hit by a wall of warm, soft, smelly fur.

"Down! Down!"

Nick was desperately trying to shield me from the overly enthusiastic puppies, throwing themselves at me. What he didn't realize is that they were always careful not to hurt me. I noticed the dogs didn't even try to knock me to the ground this time.

They circled me, nuzzling my belly.

A soft neigh made me look up. Arabesque was there, in her own private stall. Nick handed me an apple and I smiled, walking over to her.

I stroked her as she ate the apple out of my hand.

"How did you manage this?"

He put his arms around me from behind.

"Where there's a will, there's a way."

He kissed my neck, whispering 'that's an American expression.'

I laughed, crying in earnest now.

"It's perfect. Everything is perfect."

He let his hands wander as he pressed his face into my neck.

"There's a path to the waterfall as well. And another little pool on our side of the property."

He whispered in my ear.

"I have lots of ideas about that."

Six Months Later

Nicholas

"Shhhh... let mama rest little one... shhhh..."

I bounced Petra gently against my chest as I walked back and forth across the veranda. The hyacinth was in bloom, creating a strong sweet smell. Usually, it seemed to quiet the baby.

I smiled to myself in disbelief.

Just a few weeks old, and she already had me running in circles to please her.

Now I had two ladies to spoil, and they were all mine.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

I heard a car coming up the drive and smiled.

"You will never guess who is here to meet you little one."

The baby stared up at me, her huge cornflower blue eyes wide. They were her mother's eyes, thank Goodness. Her pretty little face was 100% Rosie.

Her personality on the other hand... well, even at just a few weeks old she was obviously bull headed. That was more from my side of the family.

"Is that my Great Grand Daughter?"

I smiled as the old lady came towards me. Even after traveling for over twelve hours, she was immaculately dressed. Her tweed suit looked freshly pressed. Her jaunt sat at a jaunty angle. Her skin was freshly powdered.

Yes, Rosie's Grandmother looked a lot like the Queen of England. Which made sense, since the two of them were close friends. I had quite a laugh when Rosie told me that.

"Your Grace."

She scowled at me and came forward, leaning heavily on her cane. I'd reached out to her after the baby was born. Rosie might be estranged from her family, but I wanted to give them a chance to make things right. To fix the things they'd done wrong. The way they'd treated her.

But only if they promised to make it up to her. So far, only her Grandmother had impressed me sufficiently enough to be granted visitation rights.

I pulled the blanket back so she could see the baby.

"I would like to hold her."

"Of course, please sit."

She sat at the long wooden outdoor table I'd made. We hosted frequent dinners there for all our friends. We had so many now. This was home. Even if it was a work in progress.

I lowered Petra into her arms and hovered near by to make sure she wouldn't drop the baby. The Duchess's face softened as she stared down at the bundle in her arms. Petra stared right back at her.

And then she cooed.

The Duchess made a soft sound, like a sigh. Just like that, Petra had stolen another heart. She handed the baby back to me.

"You have done well young man. I approve."

I raised an eyebrow as she looked around.

"Thank you."

"What on Earth is that smell?"

"It's the compost heap Grand-mere."

Rosie was standing in the open doorway, watching us. I walked over to her, wanting to make sure she knew she had my support. And to explain.

"I invited her. She's here to pay her respects Rosie."

My mother and sister had just left a few days before. Mom planned to move here permanently to be closer to the baby. I was going to start building her a little house right here on the property as soon as we got used to having a newborn on our hands. Even Kelley had sent a baby gift and a check. She had bought out the food truck from me. It had done better than expected.

Much, much better.

Everything was going so well for us. It didn't seem fair to shut Rosie's family out completely.
If
they behaved themselves. I wanted to give the old woman a chance, as long as Rosie was okay with it.

After all, you didn't always get a second chance to make things right. I had gotten that chance. And I would be forever grateful.

"Hello Grand-mere."

Rosie didn't run away. She didn't look upset. She simply waited for the old woman to say something. For a minute I thought I was watching an epic staring contest.

"Beautiful child Rosalie!"

"Thank you."

"The estate is being sold off. But we will retain the manor house. And the dower house as well."

"I'm glad."

I stood there, watching them. Rosie wasn't rejecting the old woman, but she wasn't bending over backwards either. I was so proud of her it hurt. And it was kind of fun to watch the old lady squirm a bit.

Finally, the Duchess waved over her driver.

"Bring it!"

He carried a medium sized chest over to the table.

"Here. This is for you and the child."

Rosie stared at the heavy wooden box.

"What is it Grand-mere?"

"Family heirlooms. And a bank statement. It wasn't all gone, after all."

"I don't need it."

"I can see that. You've done quite well. I always said to your mother that you knew your own mind."

Rosie looked skeptical but the old woman persevered.

"We were wrong to try and force you to be something you were not. I see that now. I hope you can forgive me."

Rosie's eyes filled with tears. She nodded, a small smile on her face.

"Good. Because you may not like everything in that chest. I've had Petra named in the line of succession. She will grow up to have this title after all. Whether she wants it or not."

Rosie smiled at the old woman, taking her hand.

"She'll always be proud of where she came from. I promise you Grandmother."

"You're a good girl Rosie."

I cleared my throat. The Duchess looked at me and sighed, amending her statement.

"A good woman."

I smiled.

"The best."

The Duchess nodded.

"Now, what are you serving me for dinner? I'm famished."

I handed Rosie the baby and went inside to cook. It was ten minutes later when I looked up to see her smiling at me, the baby on her hip.

"What is it, love?"

"Nothing."

She came over and leaned her head against my chest.

"You are amazing."

I stopped cooking long enough to pull her into my arms. Little Petra let out a squeak as she was gently engulfed between us.

"No, my love. You are."

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