The Billionaire's Secrets (36 page)

"Only the world?" she said softly. "Because I think I can do even better
than
that." She leaned over and whispered her wonderful news into his ear. "We're having a baby, my love."

Epilogue

It was a glorious day for a first wedding anniversary, and a perfect day for a picnic. The breeze was warm, and fluffy white clouds sailed across a brilliant blue sky. What a contrast to their wedding day! Across the green grass of the headland, violets bloomed, their fragrant scent combining with the saltiness of the ocean.

Supporting herself on one elbow, Chloe lay on her side on the quilt next to little Ryan and Rory, who reached up with their little hands as if they could catch the clouds. They laughed and gurgled and tried again while Chloe watched them with amazement. What had she ever done to deserve such happiness? They were four months old now
,
and Chloe still couldn't believe that these two
gorgeous little
creatures were hers.
Twin boys, hers and
Gaelan's
.
They were identical, with
Gaelan's
dark hair and eyes.
Gaelan
joked that while they looked like him, it was lucky for them all that they had inherited their mother's good nature. And they were dreams. Happy and contented, the only thing that could upset them was being apart.

A few feet away,
Gaelan
gazed over the ocean, lost in thought. The light danced off the waves like diamonds spilled by the sun. Below, the white surf rolled off the rocks, the sound sweeter than any music. He was thinking about Bowen. He had shown up at Widow's Cliff only two nights before, and when he'd left,
Gaelan
knew it would be a while before he had processed everything that had happened.

When he answered the front door, he had been shocked to see Bowen. He had not spoken to his brother since the day in the wrecking yard when he discovered that Bowen had tampered with Chloe's Jeep. He had pretty much written him off after that. He eventually heard that Bowen was l
iving in New York with Colleen,
just like the old days before they had hatched their plot to get their hands on
Gaelan's
money. A part of him wished they were happy together. Bowen was his twin, and looking at his own babies and the bond between them, he knew he could never be fully free of his brother.

Gaelan
had let him in the foyer, closing the door behind him. "What do you want
,
Bowen?" he asked. He assumed Bowen
had
come to ask for money as he had so many times in the past.

Bowen leaned against the front door, looking down at his feet. "I know you don't want me here, but I didn't know where else to go." His voice was quietly desperate, and
Gaelan
heard the intake of
his
breath like a sob. He knew then that this wasn't a simple request for money. Something, he knew, must be terribly wrong, and he felt an instinctive desire to comfort his twin.

"What's wrong, Bowen?" he asked gently.

It took several minutes before Bowen could compose himself enough to talk. "Colleen's gone,
Gaelan
," he said as his voice cracked again. "And this time, she won't be coming back."

Gaelan
stiffened at the sound of Colleen's name. "She left you?" he asked without much surprise. Colleen had always been on the lookout for greener pastures, and
Gaelan
figured that going back to the perpetually broke Bowen had not been her first choice.

But Bowen shook his head. "She died last week,
Gaelan
." His voice was barely a whisper.

Shocked,
Gaelan
didn't know how to react. "Are you sure?" he said. After all, Colleen had supposedly died before.

"She died in my arms,
Gaelan
. It was cancer. She had just been diagnosed when she heard you were getting married. I think that's why she came back…" His voice had trailed off.

Now
Gaelan
looked down the cliff to where the water pounded against the rocks, rolling back into the ocean in its tireless battle to wear away the island. He recalled the look in his twin's eyes. The
look of anguish, grief, pain, regret
. "I'm sorry," he had said to Bowen.

"I know you don't believe this - but I loved her,
Gaelan
," Bowen managed to say, and
Gaelan
took his brother into his arms and comforted him.

They had talked late into the evening, and
Gaelan
had the sense they were on the road to being brothers again. It would take a
very long
while for him to trust Bowen again, but it was a start. He realized now how much he had missed him. He thought of Rory and Ryan and how they couldn't bear to be apart. He and Bowen had been like that once. They would never be that close again, but he was glad they could at least be brothers again.

As for Colleen's death, he was surprised at his own sadness. Not just for her death, but also for her life. He couldn't wish that level of bitterness on anyone. He sighed and watched a
s a gull dove into a wave and
emerged with a shimmering fish. One day
he would have to explain all
this to
Sophia
. He prayed he would find the way to tell her about this woman who had been her mother in name only.

But Bowen had brought good news too. He remembered the puzzled look on Bowen's face as he
spoke
. "There was something Colleen wanted me to tell you."

Gaelan
braced himself.

"She said to tell you that you're
really
Sophia
's father. Did she tell you that you weren't?"

Gaelan
remembered how he had nodded calmly, a hundred different emotions threatening to overwhelm him.

"She never told me that," Bowen said. "Didn't you have paternity tests done?"

Clearly it had not crossed Bowen's mind that Colleen had named him as the father. Paternity tests meant nothing when the potential fathers were identical twins.

Bowen had eventually left
,
and
Gaelan
went to his and Chloe's room. Chloe had been awake, feeding Rory and Ryan. It was when he told her that the news really sank in. He was
Sophia
's father! Her real father!

Gaelan
looked down the headland to where
Sophia
was playing with her puppy. Not really a puppy anymore, Snowstorm had grown to his full size. He could hear her laughter float on the breeze and said a small prayer of thanks that this wonderful child was really his. One day he would have to explain the strange, sad story of her mother, but at least he didn't have to tell her he wasn't her father. For that he could be thankful.

He watched the sun dance on the waves and felt suddenly at peace. There was so much to be grateful for, so much to be happy for.
His home, his children, and his wife.
Especially his wife.
He turned to where Chloe lay next to the twins on the blanket. She looked up at him and smiled, and he felt a lump in his throat. God, how he loved her!

He watched as Chloe got up from the blanket and walked toward him, the breeze lifting her long white gauzy skirt. He held out his arms to her
,
and she slipped into them, her body fitting into his, so familiar now, but at the same time so exciting. He thought ahead to the evening. After the children were in bed, they would share a bottle of wine to celebrate their anniversary and afterwards they would make love. He thought of the years ahead of them, and he knew they would always be like this, their love deepening with the passage of time.

Chloe looked up at him
,
and he could see the love in her eyes. "You've been far away," she said
softly
. 

"I'm back now," he said,
holding
her even tighter in his arms.

T
here was a shout, and they turned to see
Sophia
running toward them, Snowst
orm at her heels. "Mommy, Daddy!
" she called as she neared.
Gaelan
released Chloe and swept her up in his arms. It felt so good to hear her call him Daddy and know that she was truly his. And as for calling Chloe Mommy, well Chloe was everything that a child could want in a mother.

"What is it,
honey
?" he asked.

"Look out on the water!
”
He turned around
,
and together they all
focused on
the ocean.
"Dolphins!"
Sophia
exclaimed, pointing to a school of dolphins jumping gracefully through the waves, water glistening on their backs. "Get Rory and Ryan,"
Sophia
said, struggling out of
Gaelan's
arms.

Gaelan
set her down and went over to the
blanket, returning with a baby i
n each arm. He planted a kiss on each of their dark heads. "Do you see the dolphins?" he asked them for
Sophia
's
benefit. The babies reached out toward the water with their little hands and made their lovely baby sounds.