Corporate A$$ (23 page)

Fiona

“Come on, Nathan.”

“Sweetheart, I can’t help L.A. traffic.”

“And I can’t miss the birth of this baby. Lydia needs me.” I pouted.

“You won’t miss it. I promise.” He grabbed my hand and brought it up to his lips.

We finally made it to the hospital and we took the elevator up to the Labor and Delivery Unit, where Will was waiting for us.

“How is she?” I asked as he led us to her room.

“In pain. A lot of pain.”

Stepping into the room, I ran to her side and grabbed hold of her hand.

“I’m here.” I smiled.

“Oh God. Here’s comes another—What is this?!” she screeched as she held up my hand.

“Nathan asked me to marry him, but that’s not important right now. Focus.”

“I am focusing on that gorgeous ring,” she yelled.

The contraction subsided and she let out a deep breath.

“Congratulations! I’m so happy for both of you.” She held out her other hand to Nathan.

Walking over, he took hold of it as Lydia squeezed both our hands tight.

“FUCK ME! This never stops!” she shouted.

Once her grip softened on our hands, Nathan kissed Lydia’s forehead.

“Stay strong. I’m going to go wait in the waiting room.”

It wasn’t too much longer after Nathan left that Lydia’s doctor walked in and told her it was time to push. I stood on one side of her while Will stood on the other. It was a struggle and there were a lot of obscenities thrown around, but she finally gave birth to a seven-pound six-ounce baby girl whom she named Finley.

I walked out into the waiting room, and Nathan stood up when he saw me.

“Well?”

“It’s a girl.”

“Wonderful.” He smiled as he kissed me. “How are they doing?”

“They’re both doing great.”

****

Six Months Later

As I sat behind my desk looking over the quarterly reports for Winslow Wines, I smiled.

“What’s that beautiful smile for?” Nathan asked as he glanced over at me.

“Take a look at this.” I got up and handed him the reports.

He looked them over and then back up at me.

“You have successfully tripled the profits for Winslow Wines.” He smiled.

“I sure did.”

“Well then, I have a phone call to make.”

“What if I don’t want you to make that call?”

He got up from his chair and walked over to me.

“We had an agreement. If you tripled the profits within one year of our agreement, I would give you full control of your company back.”

“Agreements are made to be broken, Nathan.” I ran my finger down his chest. “I want you as my partner for as long as Winslow and Fiona Rose Wines are in business. I like having you around.” I smirked.

“You only like having me around for the sex we have in the office.”

“True.” I shrugged. “But I also like knowing we’re in this together. I’m a business woman, Nathan, and I don’t believe in entering into merger agreements until I’m certain it’s a lifetime investment, and I already knew when we entered this agreement that it would be for a lifetime.” I got down on one knee and grabbed hold of Nathan’s hand. He chuckled. “Would you, Nathan Carter, do me the honor of staying my lifelong business partner here at Winslow and Fiona Rose Wines?”

“I would be honored, and I do.” He smiled.

“Great.” I stood up and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Now, what were you saying about sex?” I smirked.

****

Nathan

Fiona wanted a beach wedding and a beach wedding was what I gave her. She wasn’t your traditional bride who wanted traditional things. It was a casual beach ceremony with a no shoes rule. No white runner. No tuxedos. Just the sand underneath our feet. I wore rolled up khaki pants and a long sleeve white cotton button-down shirt, untucked, of course.

I stood there as nerves took over me under the beautiful arch decorated with tulle, white calla lilies, and pink roses. 

“You okay?” Will asked as he stood next to me as my best man.

“Yep. I’m good.” I clasped my hands together.

“I never thought I’d see this day for you, Nathan. You make me proud, man.” He smiled as he hooked his arm around me.

“And I never thought I’d see you playing daddy either.”

“Yeah. Me neither, but I love that little girl and I love Lydia.”

“So is there a wedding in your future?” I smirked.

“Yeah. I think so.”

Fiona wouldn’t tell me what music she picked to walk down the aisle to, which had me really curious. The wedding coordinator, Marybeth, walked up to me and spoke, “Are you ready, Nathan? Your bride is about to walk down the sand.”

“I sure am.” I smiled.

Suddenly, the song “Shake Senora” began to play and instantly my eyes diverted their attention to Lydia, who was holding Finley, and Josh dancing down the sand. I couldn’t help but shake my head with a wide grin across my face. Once they took their place, Fiona followed behind, dancing down the sand in her white strapless, sweetheart neck, A-line wedding dress. Her hair was in an up-do with curls cascading down and she carried a bouquet of white calla lilies in her hand. She was the most beautiful woman in the world and she was all mine. She took my breath away. Once she danced her way down to me, I held out my hand and she placed hers in mine.

“You’re crazy.” I smiled.

“It kept you from crying, didn’t it?” She winked. “And yes, but I’m your crazy.”

“You sure are, beautiful.”

After a short ceremony, the song played again and we danced our way up the sand and the guests followed behind, dancing along with us. After we posed for many wedding pictures, we met our guests in the white covered tent decorated with beautiful lights, flowers, and many elegantly decorated tables to accommodate over two hundred people. We ate, drank, and had great conversations with the people who celebrated our wedding with us. It was a magical night and one I would never forget.

It was time for our first dance as husband and wife. We stepped into the center of the tent and danced to “Beautiful World” by Aidan Hawken.

“I love you, Fiona Winslow Carter,” I whispered as I held her close.

“I love you, Nathan Carter.” She smiled as her lips brushed against mine.

And what a beautiful world it truly was. She had completed me in ways that I never knew existed and she turned my world upside down from the minute I saw her in the casino that one magical night. She was everything I wasn’t looking for and she broke down my walls when I never thought they could break. She freed me from the imprisonment of fear that I held on to so tightly and I would spend the rest of my life thanking and loving her for it.

“We need to get out of here.” I smiled. “I need to get you on our yacht and make love to you for the first time as your husband.”

“Lead the way.” Her grin grew wide.

We spent the first couple of days of our honeymoon on the yacht and then flew off to Belize on our private jet for two weeks, where we made the memories of a lifetime and our son, Nathan Carter II, also known as Nate. Two years later, in London, where we celebrated our two-year wedding anniversary, we made more memories of a lifetime and another baby. A girl, who we named London Rose Carter. Fiona thought the name fit since she was created there. I was not only a husband, but a father of two children. Two children who were my pride and joy and who would one day take over Carter Management Group and Winslow and Fiona Rose Wines. It certainly was a beautiful world and, every day, it became more beautiful.

Sandi Lynn is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author who spends all of her days writing. She published her first novel, Forever Black, in February 2013 and hasn’t stopped writing since. Her addictions are shopping, going to the gym, romance novels, coffee, chocolate, margaritas, and giving readers an escape to another world.

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