A Billionaire's Mistake

63|The Future

"You're right," he admits. "I wasn't going to take you on this trip until everything was done, but when I heard you were followed, I... I guess I started to wonder if I was letting Travis win by not telling you how I felt. I'm not sure when we'll finally take him down, but I do know if anything happened to you before I..." He turns to face me fully, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. His hand lingers on my cheek, and my heart is beating so fast I fear it might fall out of my chest. "I'd never forgive myself for not saying it to you."

"So, what does that mean?" I can hardly reply. There's a lump gathered in my throat, but despite my efforts, I'm unable to get it down. "Did you bring me here to—"

"You read my letter," he says, his eyes never leaving mine. They're swirls of icy blue that I'll never tire of staring at. "I meant every word, Sienna, when I wrote that I was, undoubtedly, wholeheartedly in love with you."

A strangled sob escapes me unintentionally, and tears stream down my cheeks in seconds. The letter was one thing. Reading that sentence in his handwriting was special, of course, but hearing it? Hearing those words leave his lips?

I've never had someone be irrevocably in love with me, and I've never reciprocated the feelings. When I was younger, I thought I had been in love with Travis before the abuse, but that had just been delusional. I was in love with the idea of love with him, and it was the same with Reed. When we ended things, I felt like I had lost myself entirely, and that should have been my first sign that things weren't meant to be.

With Lincoln, he's shown me that I will always be complete by myself, but with him? He's an added bonus. I'm strong without him, but I'm stronger with him. Together, we can accomplish anything, and that's why I'm starting to believe that we actually will find Travis and take him down.

I've found the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, and nothing, not even Travis, can come between us.

"I love you too," I whisper for only the two of us to hear. "For the record, I'm overjoyed you decided to whisk me away for this trip."

His lips twitch, threatening a smile. "That's good, then. I feared you'd get pissed about taking a jet just for two days."

"It is highly toxic to the environment, but to hear that sentence finally leave your lips? I'll give you a pass."

"Feel honored," he teases. "You're the first woman I've ever said it to."

My eyes widen from the confession, but I quickly try to recollect myself. When I met him, I knew he slept with different women weekly. He was a player, and I assumed that meant he threw out that word like it was nothing. I should have known it was more special to him since it took him so long to say it to me.

"I don't know what to say. I didn't realize..." Another gondola passes by ours, and we exchange polite smiles before continuing down the canal. "Why haven't you said it to anyone else before?"

Lincoln shrugs, blinking into the sky that's continuing to darken, the first of the stars seeping through the dark oranges of sunset. He looks incredible in dark jeans and a grey cashmere sweater. Truthfully, he could just wear sweats, and I'd still think he was the finest man ever to exist. "No one ever made me want to say it. When I took over my father's company, I was content knowing that I'd more than likely have to settle down at some point with a woman my mother set me up with. I'd have to fake pleasantries and pretend to be into hosting events and attending galas. I never thought love was attainable, so I never said it. But you..." He chuckles, dark and sultry, and I feel it all the way to my toes. "You shook things up. Turned my world upside down in the best of ways."

"And now, what does the future look like to you?"

He settles more into the gondola, taking me with him. "I imagine we'll have a house on the city's outskirts, somewhere we can be ourselves. When we're not dealing with business, we'll travel around the world, and if we aren't doing that..." Another soft laugh. "Well, we'll probably have a cat sanctuary on the grounds. Muggles is going to need brothers and sisters, isn't he?"

An immediate smile becomes plastered on my face. "I think that sounds like a dream. You won't be disappointed down the road that I won't want kids?"

"No," he replies after about a minute. I appreciate he took the time to think about his answer. "I'll be happy as long as you're by my side. Besides, I'm sure Jett will sire one sooner rather than later. He's never been skilled at keeping it wrapped up."

I double over in laughter. Even the gondolier lets out a chuckle. I'm about to say something else when, suddenly, fireworks erupt above us, causing me to jump out of my skin. "Oh my god!" I shriek, placing a hand over my heart. Lincoln has a hand covering his smile. He remained perfectly calm during the explosion, which can only mean... "Don't tell me you paid for these fireworks!"

He wiggles his eyebrows. "Whoever said money can't buy happiness is lying."

A rainbow of colors erupts above us, painting the prettiest night sky I've ever seen. Tonight may just be the best of my life, and it's all because of the man beside me. Tears are pricking in the backs of my eyes from the overwhelming rush of emotions, so I do the only thing I can think of and pull Lincoln in for a life-altering kiss.

He smiles into the kiss, holding the back of my head as he deepens it. Fireworks are filtering the sky, like an artist creating the most intricate portrait, but rather than a painting of the bursts of color, I'd give just about anything to see our love explode across an easel instead.