Chapter 53

She stared at him in disbelief for a while, then figured she just wanted him to mention it.

“I’m not in the mood, Cole.” “You don’t need to pretend with me. I have always liked you, even though I was too much of a coward to admit it. I apologize if I took you by surprise yesterday, but I do not regret it. I lost you once, and there is no way I am going to lose you again.”

Before Hailey could escape, Cole leaned closer and kissed her forehead.

“I hate you being nice,” she mumbled. Cole chuckled. “Why?” “It’s hard to be mad at someone who is being nice to you.” “I got you a gift.” “No,” Hailey shook her head, trying to get out of his hold. “You can’t keep doing this to me.” “I’m going to spoil you.” “No, that’s not the point,” Hailey tried not to get emotional. “You lost a great deal because you stayed back to save Enzo. You were out of work for over a week to recover. And now gifts?!” “I’m not complaining, babes. You all are my family, and it is my duty to make you all happy. I know there is going to be another deal. I just want you to know I would do anything for my family.” “You got me a gold set.” “Yeah,” Cole released Hailey and playfully scratched the back of his head. “I’m sorry you didn’t like it. So I got you something else. I got the help of the shopkeeper in choosing. Hopefully, you’ll like this one.” He stretched out the gift bag for her to accept.

Hailey’s eyes went wide. “What th—” “You didn’t acknowledge the gift, so I thought you didn’t like it.” “No, that’s not it.” “Well, first, I was shocked because I wasn’t expecting any nice gesture from you. Then the gift was really expensive. I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to have it.” “Of course I do.” “You don’t have to do things for me out of pity, you know, right?”

“This isn’t out of pity. I am proud of you for how far you’ve come on your own with Enzo, and raising our kids.”

Chapter 33

“I regret the past so much, and no matter how much it pains me, I know I can’t go back to make amends, but I will spend forever making it up to you all.” “Please take a look at it,” Cole urged.

Hailey sighed. She reluctantly collected the gift bag, opened it, and took out the box. The gift bag fell to the floor, and she opened the box, coming face to face with a beautiful diamond necklace set that almost made her eyes water.

“I think it’s going to look beautiful on you. You deserve more than that, Hailey, and I’m sorry I never treated you right.” “You want me to put it on?” “No, it’s fine. It’s beautiful. Thank you.” “Are you sure you like it? I can always get something else.” “I still feel weird accepting gifts from you, but believe me when I say the jewelry is perfect. Thank you.”

Cole nodded, smiling. “Glad you love it.”

Hailey was about to say something, but they were interrupted by Ollie, who came by. He hugged Cole. “Thank you for my new toy, Daddy. I love it so much.” “You’re welcome, buddy.”

The little boy intertwined his hands with Cole’s and grabbed Hailey’s hand too. She had just finished putting the jewelry box back in the gift bag. “Let’s go play with Enzo.” “It’s almost your bedtime, Ollie.” “No, Mommy. We are home-schooled for now. Let’s have fun with Daddy while he’s here.” Ollie didn’t let go of his parents’ hands, forcing them to come to the living room with him.

Hailey let the boys stay up an extra hour past their bedtime. Afterward, she and Cole got them ready for bed and tucked them in.

Cole smiled as he and Hailey walked out of the twins’ room and down the hallway. “They are so full of energy.” “You can say that again.” “You told me you were all over the place when the scan showed you were having twins. Were you thrilled to know they were both boys?”

Hailey stopped and turned her attention to Cole. “I honestly thought I was going to have a boy and a girl. I had that strong feeling. Debbie was so excited too, so we had started shopping; we’d even picked out names—Enzo and Olivia.” She smiled at the memory. Cole smiled. “So were you disappointed?” “Just a little. We had to give away the baby girl items and start shopping properly.”

Chapter 53 (repeated section removed for brevity)