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She fanned the bills, saw a few hundreds, and stuffed it into her bra. “Thanks, cutie. You sure you don’t want a little parting gift goodbye? I bet you’re way more fun than your friend.”

“No, thanks. I’m good.”

After I locked the door behind them, I grabbed a garbage bag, tossed in every bottle of alcohol in the house, and dumped it in the garbage chute. Then I headed back to my loving brother and gave him a little kick, too.

“Rise and shine, big bro.”

He snored louder in response.

A few more attempts still didn’t wake the fucker. So I headed back to the living room, sprayed some Lysol on a chair, and made myself comfortable. I hadn’t slept too well, anyway, last night, and I needed Elliott sober. It looked like I’d be waiting it out.

Around six-thirty in the morning, the idiot finally stirred. I’d drawn the blinds last night, so the living room was still dark. My eyes were shut when Elliott walked out from the bedroom, and he brushed against the chair I sat in.

“I hope that was your fucking arm.”

“What the…”

“Relax, it’s your baby brother. Not the pimp coming to collect his two whores.” I stood.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Elliott flipped on a light.

“Someone had to show your guests out. You’re shit for a host.”

“Fuck you.” He walked to the kitchen and poured a glass of water from the tap.

I shook my head at his bikini underwear. “Nice banana hammock. Don’t your balls get uncomfortable in those things? My nuts need room to hang. Then again, maybe you got peanuts instead of man balls.”

He chugged two full glasses of water before turning around again. “What the fuck do you want?”

“I’m glad you asked. I want Gia’s child to be mine and to be rid of you and the entire Vanderhaus family once and for all.”

Elliott snickered. “We can’t always get what we want. Can we?”

I started to lose patience. If I was going to get anywhere with making this happen, it was probably best if my fist didn’t connect with his face and we steered clear of the jabs.

“Get dressed. We need to go see Edward.”

A glimmer of vulnerability peeked through. “Why? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. I just went to visit him last night. Unlike you.”

“I’ll go see him later then.”

“No. We’ll go now. Together. The three of us have urgent business to discuss, and I’ve been waiting for your wasted ass all night.” My tone told him I wasn’t fucking around.

“Fine. But I’m only going because I don’t have the energy to throw you the fuck out.”

Yeah, sure. That’s the reason.

Neither of us said a word on the way to Mount Sinai. Edward was sitting up in bed reading a newspaper when we walked into his private room. He folded it and spoke to Elliott. “You look terrible. Cut the crap, get over the shit with your wife, and get back to work. Women are a dime a dozen. You’ll find a new one to keep the house and look good on your arm. But the company needs you right now.”

I shook my head. Great fatherly advice.

Edward looked to me. “Why don’t we get down to business?”

Pulling two contracts from the envelope, I handed them to Elliott. “I’ll sign over everything Grandfather left to me, except for the house I live in and the restaurant. You can have all my shares in Vanderhaus Holdings, the three Hampton rentals, and all the stocks he left me.”

“And what do you want in return?”

“I want you to give up your parental rights to Gia’s baby and agree not to come within a hundred feet of either me or her again. Apparently, it’s unconscionable to make one contract where I pay you to give up your rights, so Gerald made two separate contracts. One where you give up your

parental rights out of the goodness of your heart. And the other a contractual agreement where I pay you a small fortune to not come within ten feet of me and Gia.”

“Why the hell would I sign that?”

“Because the two of you will have more money than you’ll ever need, and you won’t need to get my buy-in on anything ever again.”

Elliott smirked at me. “I don’t need your money. And having this little bastard to lord over you will bring me years of enjoyment torturing the two of you.”

I spoke through gritted teeth. “Say one more derogatory comment about Gia or the baby, and you’ll be spending a month in the bed next to your father. I’m not screwing around, Elliott.”

Edward sighed. “Alright, alright. This is a business transaction. We don’t need to be barbaric about it.”

I kept my eyes glaring at Elliott but spoke to Edward. “Tell your son what it’s like to have a child you don’t want, Dad.”

Edward didn’t miss a beat, and didn’t even attempt to soften the edge of his words. “Impregnating your brother’s mother was the biggest regret of my life. To have a child you never wanted constantly looking to you for something you just don’t feel is a bothersome burden you don’t need.”

I felt the usual stab in the heart, but for once it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was Gia and the baby.

Edward looked at me and then back to Elliott. “Sign the papers, Elliott. Don’t let a second generation taint our family name. We’ll never have to deal with the two of them again and our company will be fully back in the hands of its rightful owners.”

In order to truly move on, you have to stop looking back. I hadn’t even realized that was what I’d been doing until now. But it was. Elliott signed the papers and extended them in his hand to me. It felt like a weight I’d been carrying around had suddenly been lifted from my shoulders. Who knew giving away a small fortune, saying goodbye to your father and brother for the very last time, and taking on the responsibility of a baby on the way could be so cathartic.

I took one last look at Edward and Elliott, then nodded and took the signed papers. “Have a good life.”

The weeks that followed Elliott’s signing his rights away were some of the most peaceful Gia and I had ever experienced together.

Let’s face it, we hadn’t had too many moments without drama in the entire course of our relationship. We’d earned this, and dammit, I was enjoying every second of it. Waking up to her every morning and sleeping next to her every night was bliss.

We’d spend our mornings out on the balcony overlooking the ocean and spend our evenings the exact same way. Every day I’d notice her belly growing more and count my blessings that the little baby inside was truly mine in every way that mattered. I couldn’t believe how easy it had been to buy Elliott off. I wondered if he’d come to regret his decision someday, but that was his problem, not mine.

Another positive of this new life? I didn’t miss the business side of things at all. I still had The Heights and a damn nice roof over my head for my family, and that was all I needed. No more showing up to bullshit board meetings in the City and no more having to fight with Edward and Elliott. I’d basically paid for my freedom back in more ways than one.

Gia and I were pretty well prepared for the baby’s arrival. The nursery was finished and stocked, and we’d taken Lamaze classes. We were as ready as we were going to be. Now with only a couple of weeks to go until her due date, I felt like there was really only one thing I wanted to accomplish before the birth—I wanted to put a ring on my woman’s finger. And there was no way I could do that without thinking up something fucking spectacular.

This idea came to me one night. Since Gia managed to turn her book in on time to her editor, the manuscript was out of her hands. Still, I wondered if I could somehow snag an advance copy before she even saw it in print. My plan was to surprise her with it and stick the ring inside the pages. She wouldn’t see it coming because she’d initially think the surprise was the book itself.