Billionaire Badboy (17 page)

I closed my eyes. I couldn’t watch.

“Teddy!” I heard her voice. “Teddy!” Again, her voice… then
a warming tingle in my hand.

Ashley? Where was she? Ashley?

“Please, Teddy, don’t leave me. I still believe in you. I
love you.”

I felt a jolt. And then extreme pain.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Teddy

“Heart rate seventy-two.”

“Blood pressure one-ten over eighty.”

I blinked my eyes open. Was I dead?

A doctor with a mustache.

A doctor with blue eyes.

A nurse with a tattoo.

A nurse with red lipstick.

My mom.

Ashley. It was Ashley. It was always Ashley.

I was alive. I didn’t die. They had brought me back right
before I saw my final flash. Or rather, she had brought me back.

“He’s stable.”

“Mr. Stoneguard, we’re going to remove the breathing
apparatus. Hold still.”

Shit. That wasn’t at all pleasant. I coughed, but the pain
from my throat was nowhere near the pain I felt all over my broken body. None
of it mattered though. Ashley was by my side.

There was a reason for my flashes. There was a reason they
were all about her. She was the reason to not give in to the pain. She was my
reason to keep on living.

I moved my hands slowly, carefully, around hers and
swallowed hard, preparing myself to speak.

“It wasn’t your fault. You need to know that. My father
killing himself… it wasn’t you. And it wasn’t me. It was all him. And because
of you, I finally stood up to him. Because you believed in me, I found the
strength to stand up for myself. And I am so proud of you for following your
dreams. I would’ve waited for you forever. I can’t and even refuse to imagine
my life without you. Ashley Leigh, I still and will always love you.”

“You didn’t need to tell me that all now. I’m not going
anywhere.”

“But I did, Ash. Because life is too short. When I was
dying, those were the things I wished I had gotten to say to you. So I wanted
to make sure I said them. Because you can’t always count on tomorrow.” I
squeezed her hand. “So as soon as I get out of here, I’m buying a ukulele.”

She smiled, and leaned closer to me, planting her lips
softly on mine. It hurt, but I loved it. The pain just reminded me that it was
all real.

“I knew this long before, but seeing you here, like this, it
definitely made me realize… it was never about the money or the security. It
was always just you.”

I smiled up at her. “That’s good. Because of you, I lost a
hell of a lot of money.”

She bit her lip. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m not a billionaire anymore.”

“I can live with that.”

“I’m just a sad multi-millionaire.”

“Shut up!” She went to slap me, but thought better of that
when seeing the fear in my eyes.

“I love you, Ashley.”

“And I love you, Teddy.”

She held my hand as I stared up at my dream girl.

“Can I ask a question?” She whispered.

“The monkeys were real. The circus lent them to me. They all
made it back safely.”

“Not about the parade. A different question.”

“Anything.”

“Why me? Why did you decide to share your goodness with me?”

I looked at the ceiling and gently chuckled to myself. “You
know, I think it had something to do with your baby otter laugh.”

She promised me she’d slap me when I was feeling better.

But I was already feeling better. I was alive.

Because of Ashley Leigh, I was alive.

This is most likely the last you’ll hear of me. I’ve learned
my lesson. I desire nothing but to wake up next to my beautiful Ashley, replace
the blankets on our sleeping children, and drink my coffee before heading off
to work. Because Ashley was daring enough to fall in love with me, that’s the
guy I have decided to be: a good guy.

And, as I’ve said before, no one writes stories about the
good guy.

EPILOGUE

HUNTINGTON HERALD

We are so very pleased to announce the marriage of Ashley
Elizabeth Leigh to Theodore Vincent Stoneguard IV. The two met seven years ago
because of an article Ashley was tasked with writing for this very paper. While
Ashley was employed at the Herald, she wrote thirty-seven articles on her now
husband. Her thirty-sixth article, as most of you would remember, was a plea
for prayers, as Mr. Stoneguard was in critical condition due to a car accident.
In that article, Ashley told us what we all had known for so long: she was in
love with Teddy.

Her thirty-seventh was to tell us that our prayers had
been answered.

Over the years, the two have spent a great deal of time
in the limelight, which is why we were shocked to hear of their exceptionally
discreet wedding! With just a handful of guests, our two lovebirds quietly tied
the knot on the beach below the Stoneguard mansion. Mr. Stoneguard even built
the altar himself, from a fallen oak tree found on his property.

They wish to thank their family and friends for their
love and support, and the town of Huntington for its continued interest in
their little fairy tale. The two were married in the evening, this past
Tuesday, at six.

THE END

Also From Sophia Kenzie:

Blood of
Cupids (The Blood of Cupids MC 1)
by Sophia Kenzie

Betrayal
of Cupids (The Blood of Cupids MC 2)
by Sophia Kenzie

Death
of Cupids (The Blood of Cupids MC 3)
by Sophia Kenzie

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