Terms and Conditions (Dreamland Billionaires, #2)

by Lauren Asher

You never deserved her. No. I didn’t yet I wanted her anyway. I miss my wife. She belongs next to me, complaining about how I like to cuddle although she secretly loves it. I’d do anything to hear her groan about my alarm clock in the morning or for the grumpy kiss I get before I crawl out of bed to go work out.

“It’s not too late to get her back.” “How do you know?” “Because for some goddamn reason, she loves you despite all the reasons she shouldn’t.” “She never told me.” “What?” “She never told me she loved me.” My voice drops. “That doesn’t mean she still can’t.”

Litost1.

Cal’s words from earlier seem to echo in my head. She loves you despite all the reasons she shouldn’t. But what if I gave her all the reasons she should?

1 Noun, Czech: a state of agony or torment.

Saudade1.

1 Noun, Portuguese: a feeling of longing, melancholy, desire, and nostalgia.

Sehnsucht1.

“I’m looking for a big, fluffy dog that has separation anxiety.” “That’s oddly specific.”

I’m now the proud father of a clingy dog who will most likely destroy my home before Iris ever has a chance to come back to it. Perfect. Just perfect.

1 Noun, German: longing, desire, yearning, or craving.

As the car gets closer, I realize it isn’t a car at all, but a white minivan. One that looks awfully similar to those serial killer vans everyone warns women to stay away from. My heart pounds harder against my chest, fighting for a way to get out. I cross my fingers and whisper, “Please don’t be an ax murderer. Please don’t be an ax murder—” I startle at the sound of a horn followed by a loud bark. “Need a ride?” My eyes widen at the sound of Declan’s voice. “No fucking way.”

“What is this place?” “One second.” “Sure, I’ll just wait while I catch pneumonia.”

His hand gripping onto mine tugs and rotates my stack of rings until they both slip off. An unbearable tightness in my chest intensifies as I check out my ringless finger. “Wait—” Declan pulls out a ring box from his jacket and gets down on one knee. His face remains a blank canvas, completely devoid of any visible emotion as he looks up at me. My heart pounds against my chest as he latches onto my left hand. “What are you doing?” “Proposing to you in the middle of a rainstorm in a Tom Ford suit.”

Ya'aburnee1. As in you bury me. A rough translation for the way I want to leave this world before you because I can’t imagine having to go through a single day without you in it. If this last week was a preview of that kind of life, then I can assure you it isn’t a life worth living. You’re my wife and my best friend. The future mother of my children and the one place that truly feels like home. You’re the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, not because you signed a contract, but because you love me enough to stay without one.

“I want to be the kind of man who is worthy of a woman like you—if it’s even possible. I promise to work every damn day to make sure you don’t regret marrying someone as miserable as me. Because when I’m with you, I’m not miserable at all. You make me happy in a way that makes me afraid to blink just in case it all disappears.”

“I’ll give you anything you want—anything at all—so long as you give me a chance to make you as happy as you make me. A dog. A family. A home. I want it all. These are my terms and conditions, take it or leave it because I’m not open to negotiations.”

“Only you could make a proposal sound like a business acquisition and get away with it.” “Marry me,” he orders with a smile that could make me agree to just about anything. “I am married to you.” My tears mix with raindrops, and I’m not sure where one begins and the other ends. “Marry me for real this time. No contract. No inheritance. No expectations other than for you to love me despite all the reasons you probably shouldn’t.”

To marry him again means to trust him with my heart, knowing he can break it. It means giving him a fair chance to learn from his mistakes and become a better man in light of them. Marriage isn’t easy but neither is life, and I can’t imagine doing either without Declan. Luckily, I don’t have to.

“Because there is nothing I want more than to turn a house into a home with you.”

“Good. Because if my proposal didn’t work, this was my next best option to convince you to marry me.” I smack his wet chest. “You can’t buy people’s love like that.” His eyes twinkle. “I don’t want other people’s love. I want yours.” “You already have it.”

will always love you. Today. Tomorrow. Forever.” “You say that now…” His voice drifts off as his eyes dart away. My chest clenches. “And I’ll say it every day until you finally believe it.” “It could take forever.” I trace his wedding band with the tip of my finger. “It’s a good thing all we have is time.”

Parng gusto ko ng arranged marriage :)

1 Arabic: “You bury me.”

The way he acts ever since I announced I was pregnant makes me feel like he won’t rest until I’m permanently protected in bubble wrap. “I told you to stop wearing those death traps weeks ago.” Ever since Declan read one horror story about a pregnant woman and heels, he hasn’t let the subject go. I’m afraid I will come home one day to an empty closet and a fireplace burning with all my prized possessions.

“I know I’m going to have my hands full with you, baby Kane, but you’ll be worth every gray hair on my head. I can guarantee it.”