Wild Billionaire Romance - Chapter 110: Chapter 110

JOSEF
Sourdough Sundays
were a regular thing now.
It was already late June, and the sun was shining down on the stone tiled patio behind Marat’s new mansion.
The beach sat just beyond the wrought iron gate, accessible by a staircase which was equipped with another gate on the bottom and the best damn security system money could buy.
I should know.
My company designed and installed it. Not to mention the half dozen men that were always on site, circling the grounds and keeping everyone safe.
Sofia, Destiny, Meredith, and even Ellie and her son Sammy sometimes joined in on these weekly get-togethers with Adrik, Marat, me, and even Andres.
The star, of course, was the bread. Ellie was something of an expert and after the first few tries and failures, she’d given a sort of mini demonstration of how to build an effective starter and how to bake actual bread.
I wouldn’t tell Meredith, but her first few attempts were like crumbly, flat, dense rocks. As much as I loved her, I ate every fucking bite, of course.
But the bread was much better now. It started right after Elie delivered her tips and pointers, and I was forever fucking grateful to her for helping Meredith, Sofia, and Destiny.
As were Marat and Adrik.
Seriously, we were looking at stock options for the pharmaceutical companies that made antacids with all the damn hard sourdough we were eating.
At least there were other options at these gatherings, too.
I mean, man could not survive on bread alone or whatever the fuck that saying was.
Each week, the women baked and tested, complained, and pouted, and sometimes cheered over their varying degrees of success. And each week, one of us—I was talking about the husbands, the men—took turns with the cooking.
Adrik grilled. Marat sauteed. As for me, well, I sucked at cooking, but I could place a catering order like a motherfucking pro.
I got teased a little about not actually making anything, but no one was complaining today, I noticed with pride.
I grinned as I looked at the veritable Italian feast I’d ordered from Fiorino’s Deli. Their fresh mozzarella was some of the best I’d ever had.
Platters of cured meats imported from Italy, fresh and aged cheeses, containers of salads, pickled vegetables, sundried tomatoes, hot peppers, olives, and more covered the table.
Next to all that deliciousness was a basket of homemade sourdough bread. And one focaccia that was made by my wife.
It was fucking amazing. The best thing on the table in my not so humble opinion.
She’d drizzled olive oil and sea salt on top and added fresh rosemary sprigs before baking. For someone who claimed instant noodles were the only thing she could make, Meredith was turning into quite the little baker.
Pride oozed from every pore when I thought of my wife.
Amazing woman. My better half in every possible way.
Whoever came up with that saying was a real genius.
Anyway, it was a great lunch. And surprisingly, I was having a great time. Go figure.
Great food. Great people.
My favorite part, of course, was feeding my Wife bite by bite from my plate until she was full. She was digesting now with her friends, and my heart contracted inside my chest as I watched her laughing.
It was all so domestic.
So very Brady Bunch.
Especially for an ex-ops guy who ran a security firm and sometimes still got his hands dirty.
I grinned.
Now that I had Meredith in my life, with my ring on her finger, I had to admit, I didn’t mind domestic.
Not one bit.
In fact, I had plans to discuss just how domestic my wife wanted to get. Watching Michaela and Lucy run around Marat’s backyard gave me all sorts of ideas about my Little Red, swollen with our baby.
Fuck.
She would be such a wonderful mother. Meredith was the most caring person I knew. She’d look gorgeous pregnant and later nursing a baby.
But I still didn’t know how she felt about it.
Maybe it was time I asked.
Meredith was sitting in the corner of the lone, sectional, outdoor sofa with all the other women, just sipping her red wine and lemon-lime soda spritz that Destiny made her, sharing stories, and simply being.
Her happiness was contagious. I needed to be near her, so I stood up and ambled over, ignoring Marat and Adrik.
“You owe me twenty dollars,” Adrik told his brother.
“No way. I said he would break first,” Marat argued.
“Did not. You said I would break first,” Adrik growled.
Fuckers, I thought, shaking my head.
“No way. Andres, what was our bet?” Marat called to Andres who was building a racetrack with Sammy.
“Marat pay Adrik,” Andres said, shaking his head.
I placed my hands on my wife’s shoulders. The pink silk blouse she wore felt cool beneath my palms, and I was glad she was comfortable.
“Hey, Babe,” she said, her pretty green eyes smiling at me. “Wanna join us?”
“Would I be interrupting?” I asked, hating to infringe on girl time.
“Not at all,” Ellie answered when Meredith seemed frozen in her stare.
I returned her smile and sat beside her, careful to situate myself on the other side of my wife, so I was on the end of the sofa and not near any of the other women. It wasn’t that I didn’t like them, but I knew how possessive the men were of their wives.
As for Ellie, the younger woman was always a little wary whenever any of us got too close. Knowing her history, I understood, and tried to make myself as still and small as possible.
“You having fun?” I whispered in her ear, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.
Meredith hummed and leaned into me, and I kissed her temple.
“Yeah. I really am. Thank you.”
“You never have to thank me, Wife.”
“Maybe not. But I will. So just say you’re welcome,” she chided.
“You are most welcome, Little Red.”
My eyes were all on her, but I saw Adrik and Marat snuggle up to their wives in the periphery of my vision.
I never thought I would see the day those two formidable men would find happiness, but they had.
And it dawned on me I was just like them. Or maybe they were like me.
Once upon a time, I had no one and nothing.
No job. No money. No family. No friends. No woman.
But now, I had everything.
And she was right there in my arms.
The sound of a child squealing with laughter filled my ears, and I turned to see Andres tossing Sammy in the air and catching him before falling to the grassy patch of earth where they were playing.
“Sammy!” Ellie called his name, the young mother rushing to make sure her son was unharmed.
Andres’ eyes burned as he watched her check the boy over, then nodded as he ran to play on the next thing with Lucy and Michaela, with one of Marat’s staff watching over them.
I turned away from where Andres was trying to speak to Ellie, focusing instead on the children. And I snuggled my wife closer.
“Do you want children?” I asked the question.
She was quiet for so long, I didn’t think she heard me. Then she turned her head, and I saw her eyes well with tears.
“What is it?”
“I was trying to figure out a way to ask you that question,” she confessed.
“I want whatever you want, Little Red. Whatever you need. Whatever you say. I’m yours, Baby.”
Her smile was like the sun coming out all over again, and I almost forgot to breathe when faced with her beauty.
“Well? You gonna leave me hanging or what, Wife?”
“Yes. My answer is yes. I want it all. A house. A child. And you. Most of all, you. I want it all with you, Josef.”
“You give me so much. And I’m gonna give you anything you want,” I replied, and pressed my forehead to hers.
I was so overcome with emotion it was all I could do not to break down. I just held on to my beautiful wife and let her love and color seep into my soul, anchoring me.
She was too good for me.
But she was mine now.
And that position was permanent.