Jane Alex drove with one hand on the wheel and the other resting loosely on my knee. Late afternoon light slanted in golden streaks across the familiar streets. The airport waited at the other end of this drive, along with his jet, which was fueled and ready, and a honeymoon I still couldn’t quite believe I’d agreed to. Before that, though, there was one more thing we had to do. Alex turned the final corner and my mother’s house came into view, some lights already on inside and spilling out onto the snow through the windows. I waited for that knot of tension to form in my stomach or for my muscles to brace for what came next, but it didn’t happen. This was new, the lack of stress in my body when I saw their house, but Mom and I had made peace and Wyatt was finally talking to me again. Our visit today wasn’t about fixing anything. Alex had simply asked if I’d like to pop in to say goodbye before we left, and I’d said yes. I’d promised Wyatt I’d be more open with him from now on, and taking off for a week abroad without telling him or saying goodbye felt like breaking that promise. I leaned my head back against the seat and let my mind drift to the conversations that had brought us here. With Mom, it had happened quietly one evening a couple weeks ago. She’d come over to our house and asked if we could talk. I’d made us some tea, and we’d sat around the kitchen table for so long, Alex had eventually invited her to sle ep in one of the guest rooms. “I never wanted to take anything from you,” she’d said, her voice small in a way I hadn’t heard since we’d first found out my father might go to prison. “I just thought I was protecting you. All of you.” She’d stared down at her hands, fidgeting with her fingers in her lap. “I grew up believing my job was to marry well. That love came after, if it came at all. I thought ambition was something women endured, not pursued, and look where that got me.” She’d laughed then, a little broken and more than a little self-aware, but that had been the turning point. When she’d finally understood that Thayer wasn’t just a company to me. It was proof. Proof that I was capable. That I was worthy. That I could take something poisoned by my father and make it clean again. She’d also admitted that she’d been afraid of what might happen to me if I’d tried and failed. Then we’d cried together and she’d apologized again but not in the half-formed, defensive way she had before.
She’d apologized fully. For voting the way she had. For leaning on me for so long without realizing the cost. For being so absent not only after Dad had gone to prison, but before. We hadn’t fixed everything that night, but we’d reset the foundation and we were both working toward being better. Wyatt had been harder, but we’d also talked, and finally, I’d wrapped my arms around him the way I used to when nightmares had chased him into my room, and I’d promised that he wasn’t losing me. He’d gone quiet, then murmured, “Alex makes you happy.” “Yes,” I’d said without any hesitation. “He’s a good guy.” “That’s good enough for me,” he’d said. “I’m sorry I was a jerk.” I smiled at the memory as Alex slowed the car in front of the house and glanced at me. His head cocked as his gaze sw ept across my face. “What’s that smile all about?” “Nothing,” I said. “I was just thinking about Wyatt finally coming around.” “Yeah, that was a good day.” He grinned and switched off the engine, squeezing my leg once before letting go. “He’s a smart kid, Killer. It just took him a minute to catch up to everything that was happening around him. Pretty much his entire life has been a state of upheaval. You can’t blame him for lashing out at the person closest to him when the only stability he’s ever known felt threatened.” “Uh-huh.” I turned my head against the seat to arch my eyebrows at him. “Where was all this wisdom of yours before we made up?” He chuckled. “It was in there, but the kid needed to realize it all for himself. All that matters now is that you’re okay and he’s happy I’m part of the family.” “Family,” I r epeated softly after him, nodding as I watched him open the door. “Is it still weird to you that we are that now, family?” He shrugged. “Nah, you’re not just my family, Jane. You’re my everything.” While my heart melted into a puddle of goo, he winked and climbed out of the car, rounding it and opening my door before extending his hand to me. I took it happily, threading our fingers together, and we walked into the house together. Nora hugged me for longer than usual when Alex and I walked into the kitchen, and Wyatt hugged Alex in an awkward, one-armed way that made me hide a smile. After making a quick cup of tea and filling them in on our travel plans, Mom shot me a teasing look. “Don’t forget us little people when you’re off being glamorous.” “I married into the Westwoods,” I said dryly. “Glamour is now legally required.”
Alex laughed. “She’s already negotiating her next deal in her head. There’s nothing glamorous about that, but I’m going to do my best to drown her in margaritas until she finally relaxes.” Nora shook her head with a fond twinkle in her eyes as she looked at me again. “You chose well, Jane. Both of you did.” Wyatt rolled his eyes. “Please don’t get all sentimental on us. They’ll be gone for a week, not a year.” I hugged him anyway. “I’ll call.” “You’d better,” he said, then murmured quietly against my hair, “Have fun.” After we parted, I finished my tea and took Alex’s hand again. We said our goodbyes, promised lots of gifts, and went back to his car. By the time we pulled away from my mother’s house, the sun had started sinking lower, turning the tops of the snowbanks along the road into glitter. Alex drove with quiet focus, one hand back on my knee with his thumb absently stroking from side to side. I watched the city thin out as we headed toward the private hangar, my chest buzzing with a mix of nerves and disbelief. I’d stared down many boardrooms full of men who underestimated me and faced classrooms with hundreds of students who’d thought I was a cheap imitation of a real teacher, and yet, this felt enormous in a way none of that had. “You’re awfully quiet,” Alex said as he turned onto a long, flat road and glanced at me. “I’m trying not to freak out,” I admitted. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been on any plane whatsoever, let alone a private jet.” He smiled. “Good luck with that, but, uh, freaking out is allowed. It’s encouraged, even. Stroke a guy’s ego every now and then, would ya?” I laughed, but then the hangar rose out of the flat gray lands cape, sleek, private, and guarded. Alex rolled through security with the kind of ease that still startled me, flashing credentials and exchanging nods with military- personnel-lookalikes like they worked for him personally. I didn’t think it would ever cease to amaze me how the world bent around him without resistance. The Westwood name opened doors and carried weight that even I hadn’t seen coming, and now, it was mine too. Mind? Blown. Totally. I was still reeling when Alex pulled up to a jet that was already waiting, beautiful in a way I hadn’t expected. It was all clean lines, glossy white, and had the Westwood emblem subtly placed near the door.
Strangely, it managed not to be flashy. Just assured. Like everything else in Alex’s life, including the man himself. “This is yours?” I asked when he parked beside it, even though I already knew the answer. “Ours,” he corrected easily, grinning at me before leaving the car when someone opened the door for him. “Feel free to freak out now.” I swallowed hard and followed him onto the perfect swathe of tarmac, taking his arm when he offered it. My father had owned a jet once, back when Thayer money had flowed freely and before everything had gone to hell, but his had always been about function. Business trips. Lawyers. Deals made in hushed tones while I sat quietly with a book, trying not to touch anything or get yelled at. Although I wasn’t even inside it yet, this felt different already. Friendlier, somehow, like it was a ticket to adventure and freedom instead of simply a means to get from one meeting to the next without letting something silly like distance get in the way. Alex watched my face as we climbed the st eps, his expression soft and almost reverent, like he was seeing it all through my eyes. The door closed behind us with a muted thud, sealing off the world as I’d known it until just hours ago, when I’d found out that my husband owned a freaking jet. The cabin opened up in warm wood and cream leather, plush and understated. Sunlight poured through wide windows, catching on the polished surfaces of the small sitting area, champagne already chilling at a table set for two. There was space to stand in here, to breathe. I turned slowly, taking it all in. “Oh my god. This is incredible. Alex, how did I only find out about it today?” Alex laughed. “I was hoping you’d react like that.” “I feel like I should take my shoes off,” I said. “Or at least apologize to for wearing them.” He st epped closer, his hands sliding to my waist. “The plane has survived Trent a few times over the last couple years whenever there’s been too much of a rush to wait for his. That guy carries dust and bits of ranch with him wherever he goes. You’ll be fine.” I chuckled, reaching up and letting my fingers curl into his coat. I looked up into those brilliant green eyes that still made me go weak in the knees. “Does it have a bed?” “I thought you’d never ask.” Heat flickered in his gaze as he inclined his chin toward the back. “It does, but we’ll have to be seated for takeoff and I’ve had them pr epare an early
dinner.” “I was wondering about that,” I said, glancing at the table as Alex guided me to a plush chair next to the window. “Won’t all that fall off?” “Nope.” He pumped his eyebrows at me. “The table has specially designed grooves in it, but can we just call it magic and not worry?” We settled in and the engines hummed to life beneath us. I smiled, leaning into his side. “Everything about this is magic.” I felt the subtle shift as the plane began to move, taxiing and lining up. When we lifted off, the city dropped away beneath us. Chicago shrank into a patchwork of lights, steel, and snow. I pressed closer to the window, awed and honestly a little intimidated by my husband right now. Alex moved in closer behind me, his arms wrapping around my waist and his chin resting against my temple. “Hey, are you okay? “Yeah,” I said. “I just, uh, I never imagined this.” He kissed the side of my head. “Well, get used to that feeling because now that the storm is behind us, I plan on spoiling you a lot more often. Besides, all of this is yours now too, Jane. If you want the jet, take it. The cars. The yacht. Whatever else. We’ve got a few other properties I’ll need to show you, too.” I rested my head back against his shoulder and drew in a de ep breath. “Whoa, slow down there, cowboy. Next you’re going to tell me that you own a castle or something.” “I don’t, but Sterling does,” he said nonchalantly. “In Scotland. We should go there sometime too. He mentioned something about a property nearby being for sale.” I laughed, but when I turned my head to look up at him, he seemed entirely serious and my laughter abruptly cut off. Once we leveled out, I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that his cousin owned an actual, honest-to-God castle and that he was contemplating purchasing one nearby. Alex got up and went to pour us each a glass of champagne, like casually discussing the acquisition of residences meant for royalty was nothing. He handed mine over and we moved to the table. He raised his flute toward me. “Here’s to surviving the last few months without burning both our families’ empires to the ground.” I shook my head. “Here’s to us.” He smiled and clinked with me. “To us and our kickass, devices-banned honeymoon.”
“Devices banned?” My eyes widened. “What does that even mean?” “It means for the next week, neither of us will be reachable for anything that might even remotely have to do with work.” I arched an eyebrow at him. “Really? When was the last time you went off the grid, Alex?” “Probably about a month before I was born,” he joked, or at least, I thought it was a joke. “My mom was monitored pretty closely in the last few weeks of her pregnancy with me, so I was definitely on the grid then.” I sighed. “Let’s see how well we do with the devices rule, but we can give it a try.” He grinned like he’d won the lottery, but then the flight attendant brought out our food and we ate together with the sun setting outside and the clouds turning all sorts of pastel shades all around us. Eventually, we ended up curled together on the leather couch. His jacket had long since been discarded. Both of us were barefoot and my legs were draped over his as he toyed with my fingers. The hum of the engines faded into background noise as his mouth found mine, his kisses slow and unhurried, like he finally had time to breathe. I kissed him back, smiling against his lips as my hand slid along his jaw. “Are you ready to go show me that bed yet?” He chuckled, sighing as he leaned into my touch. “I think it’s customary on one’s honeymoon, while in transit, to talk about what’s next.” “Okay,” I said slowly, surprised but not unpleasantly. “So, what’s next for us, then?” He didn’t hesitate. “A big house with too many bedrooms. Probably a library you’ll take over completely. A few kids I’ll look after while you make more money than we’ll ever need and I get to watch my wife take over the world.” His mouth curved as his thumb brushed my cheek. My heart rate skyrocketed, warmth blooming across my chest. “That’s it, huh?” “I couldn’t ask for more.” He chuckled, but then, after a beat, added, “Although I probably need to get Nate married off soon before he starts causing international incidents.” I laughed, shaking my head. “To quote you, good luck with that.” His smile turned thoughtful, like he was already scheming, seeing moves ten st eps ahead, but when he looked back at me, he softened again. “Okay, well, that concludes the future-planning section of the honeymoon then. Can I go show you that bed now?”
“I was waiting on you,” I teased, and he laughed before standing up, throwing me over his shoulder and carrying me to the bedroom at the back. The jet k ept flying us south, toward warmth, sunshine, and a week that belonged to us alone. For the next seven days, the world could wait and so could all the expectations, the deals, the meetings, and even the future itself. For now, all I wanted was my husband and a week where loving each other was the only thing on the calendar.
Epilogue Alex Late spring had finally settled into Chicago, and the city had shed its snowy backdrop for something lighter and brighter. The scent of rain wafted on the air instead of frost, and the river outside my boardroom reflected sunlight instead of steel-gray clouds. As far as I was concerned, it was progress. In every sense of the word. I was starting to think Jane and I should make like birds and migrate every winter, not that either of us had time, but perhaps Westwood and Sons could benefit from a satellite office in the tropics. I’ll look into it. I was halfway out of a meeting and on my way to the next when Deborah strode into view and cleared her throat. “Alex, your wife is on line one. She says it’s urgent.” I didn’t ask questions, not needing to know how urgent or why. I took the phone from her hand and walked straight into my office, closing the door behind me. “Jane,” I said. “What’s wrong?” “Oh, thank God,” she breathed. “You need to get here. Now.” I checked my watch automatically, more out of habit than anything else. “Where is ‘here’ exactly?” “The house. That big, historical one I told you about. On Astor.” My stomach dropped. “Are you safe?” “Yes,” she said quickly, then hesitated. “I mean, physically, yeah, I’m probably safe. Emotionally? Well, that’s undetermined.” I was already grabbing my keys. “What’s going on, Killer? Why does it sound like you’re being held at knif epoint?” “I had an appointment to tour this place today and I...” She trailed off for a beat. “I just need you to get here.” I exhaled, relief and affection tangling in my chest. “I’m on my way.” “Thank you, and Alex?” “Yeah.” “I want it on record that this kitchen is incredible. I wouldn’t be asking you to drop everything and come if it wasn’t worth it.” The line went dead, but I smiled to myself as I headed for the elevator, already texting my driver and Deborah to let her know to cancel my next meeting. A few months ago, a call like that would’ve sent me straight into damage-control mode, worst-case scenarios lining up in my head like dominoes. Now, it just made me move faster. If Jane needed me, I was there. Always. No matter what I had to cancel or postpone to make it happen. It had been a good couple of months since we’d been back in Chicago. Better than good, actually. Fucking amazing.
The buyout had gone through cleanly, easier and faster than anyone had expected, and Jane had st epped into the CEO role at Thayer like she’d been born for it. Which, I supposed, she had been, but still. Watching her take control of that first meeting had been something else. She’d been calm, precise, and relentless in a way that made people lean forward instead of pushing back. I’d never been more turned on than I had been in that moment. Quarter Two numbers were already turning around, with new contracts in place, smarter manufacturing timelines, and confidence in the company slowly being restored, both internally and on the street. People listened when she spoke, not because of her last name, but because she knew exactly what she was doing and it showed. We’d restructured the board, too. Isaac, Jane’s eldest brother who had been finishing his engineering degree at Baylor when everything had gone down with Thayer, had come on first. Sterling had formally joined us, which had surprised exactly no one, and Jameson had followed not long after, bringing his usual mix of charm and sharp instincts to the table. Trent had taken a seat as well, turning it into the strangest version of a family affair I’d ever seen, but somehow, also the most functional. Board meetings had turned into excuses for reunions, with Laney, Sadie, and Charlotte usually flying in with their husbands—and their kids—when they needed to be here in person. Jane thrived on it. All of it, but especially having Isaac back in town and by her side, on her board, where they’d both always hoped he would be. She’d also enjoyed bonding with my sister and my cousins’ wives, and these days, I swore she was closer to them than I was. I pulled up outside the mansion less than twenty minutes later. It was massive with a stone façade and iron gates, the kind of place with history baked into its bones, but somehow, it was also warm. It didn’t look like a historic landmark as much as a place where someone could actually live. Where we could actually live. It wasn’t far from the St. Regis, but this wasn’t about square footage, or resale value, or whether the windows were original. It was about us, building something that wasn’t transactional or strategic. Busy didn’t stop. It never would. My days were still packed with meetings, calls, and contracts that needed my name at the bottom. Jane worked just as hard, if not harder, her calendar a masterpiece of color-coded chaos, but somewhere between it all, we’d found balance.
I stood in front of the place for a second longer than necessary, my hands on my hips as I took it all in. Jane had been right about this house. It wasn’t just nice, it was right. Grand without being cold. Old without feeling stuck in the past. Homey and ready for us to move in but majestic in a way that made it demand respect. It was everything we’d talked about in fragments between meetings and late-night takeout. I was already planning on calling Nate and finding out how fast I could close when I st epped inside. “Jane?” I called, looking around the spacious foyer, but there was no sign of her. Her voice floated down from somewhere above instead. “Alex? I’m upstairs.” Something in her tone slowed me down before it sped me up. It wasn’t that same panic I’d heard on the phone, but it wasn’t quite right either. My heart tripped over itself and I raced toward the swe eping staircase just off the foyer, grabbing the banister and taking the stairs two at a time, my shoes echoing softly against the wood. At the top of the stairs, the hallway stretched out, doors on either side, but most of them were empty rooms waiting to be claimed. One was clearly a library. Bare shelves lined the walls with a huge fir eplace in the center of one, and I nearly smiled at the memory of telling her on our honeymoon that we’d have one of these one day. But my heart was still hammering just a little too hard to smile, unease snaking through my gut. “Jane?” “I’m here.” She appeared out of a room at the far end, one hand resting on the doorframe as she smiled at me. It wasn’t her usual smile, though, and seeing it made my ribs shrink around my heart. Her eyes were shining in a way that made me nervous, the curve of her lips too small to be comforting. “Hey,” I said. “What’s happening? Are you okay? Where’s the realtor? I thought you were taking a tour.” “Yeah, I did,” she r eplied. “I sent her home. I... just... come here.” She st epped back, letting me pass into the room she’d just come out of. The first thing I registered was that it was already furnished, not empty like the rest of the house or echoing, but gently lived in. A soft rug was spread on the hardwood floors, a crib against the far wall with its white wood polished to a soft sheen. There was a rocking chair by the window and pale curtains stirring slightly in the breeze. I stopped dead, my brain trying to catalog the details enough to make logical sense of it. Maybe it came with the house. Maybe it’s temporary. Maybe n —
My heart was already racing ahead of me, pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears as I turned slowly to look at her. “Jane, why are we in a nursery?” She watched me with her arms folded loosely over her middle. “I didn’t want to show you downstairs. I wanted you to see it like this first.” My throat worked, but no sound came out at first. “I thought you wanted to show me the kitchen.” “Oh, I will.” Her eyes became even glassier as she stared at me. “This house has everything we talked about wanting for our future. Space. Light.” “Yeah. Okay.” “So I, uh, I bought it,” she said, just about blurting it out. “I signed all the papers just before I called you this afternoon, but I’ve had access to it for a few days. This last tour I did with the realtor was basically just a final walkthrough.” I let out a shaky breath, blinking slowly. My head spun and my brain k ept stuttering over the details of this particular room. “Did they leave the baby stuff behind?” “No, the house isn’t the only surprise.” She took a st ep toward me, then another, and she k ept going until we were standing inches apart. I could see the faint tremor in her fingers when she lifted her hands to my chest. “I went to the doctor last week, but I didn’t want to tell you until I was sure and I knew it was real.” My pulse thundered, the room suddenly feeling very small. “Until you were sure about what, Killer?” Her mouth curved into a smile that broke my heart wide open. “I’m pregnant, Alex.” The world stopped. It didn’t slow or shift. It just... stopped. Every plan, every meeting, and every contract that was waiting for me to sign dissolved into nothing as the words landed and took root somewhere de ep in my chest. I stared at her, stunned, like if I moved too fast, I would wake up from this dream. “You’re...” My voice cracked and I cleared my throat, my eyes intent on her sparkling, glassy grays. “You’re serious?” She laughed softly, the tears spilling over now. “I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.” I pulled her into my arms, holding on to her like she was the only solid thing left on earth. She fit against me perfectly, like she always had, but this was different, the moment somehow so much fuller.
“We’re...” I tried again, my forehead pressed to hers, and finally just croaked it out. “We’re having a baby.” “Yes.” A sound tore out of me that was half laugh and half something dangerously close to a sob. I cupped her face and kissed her, so completely in awe of this woman and the life we were building that I felt pressure at the backs of my eyes. “I love you,” I said fiercely. “God, Jane. I love you so damn much.” “I know,” she whispered. “I love you too, Alex.” I pulled back enough to look into her eyes, one of my hands already instinctively sliding to her stomach and resting there like it belonged. Like de ep down, I already knew what it was protecting. Back when I’d first found out Sterling had agreed to get married—and produce an heir—I’d thought he was insane, but I’d known it would be my turn soon. The dominoes had k ept falling in California, one of my cousins charging down the aisle after the next, and every time I’d spoken to them, I’d assumed their happiness had simply been a result of having drunk the Kool-Aid. Never in my life would I have imagined that it could be real, that it could feel like this, or that I would one day have it too, but in this moment, all that changed. This incredible woman, Dr. Jane Thayer-Westwood, was not only my wife and the love of my life, but she was carrying my child and I suddenly knew that this was what winning actually felt like. Everything I had, everything I was, and everything I ever would be, belonged to them. This was the ending I hadn’t quite been pr epared for— our very own happily ever after, and the beginning of the rest of our lives. *** Want more of Alex and Janes story? Download this Extended Epilogue today!! Get your copy HERE!! *** Want more of Ali Parker? Check out Bancroft Brothers! Go read book 1 in the Bancroft series, My Last Love Affair! Get Married. Have a child. These are the only two rules to get my inheritance. Neither of which I want. My billionaire life doesn’t play well with either idea. But no one asked me. My father’s company is up for grabs, and whichever of my brothers makes it to the finish line first wins.
In no time, I’ve found the perfect woman to play my fake fiancée while I figure things out. Beautiful. Smart. Strong. Everything I crave in a relationship and more. But there’s a problem. She’s got a past I can’t ignore. Not with just anyone. With my younger brother. To top it all off, she gets pregnant. And the one person she doesn’t tell? Me. Get your book HERE!