All Chapters of SURROGATE FOR THE COLD BILLIONAIRE: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

DOMINIC'S POV She's wearing the ring. I notice it at breakfast when she hands me coffee. She doesn't mention it. Neither do I. But when she turns back to the counter I'm smiling in a way I don't bother hiding because there's no one watching except Claire, who has sweet potato on her forehead and zero opinions about engagement rings. Marcus calls at nine. "The Henderson account wants to come back." I lean against the counter. "Excuse me?" "Apparently whoever Victoria's father installed to manage the relationship has been a disaster. They called me yesterday. They want to know if you're in a position to take them on through the new venture." "That's a significant account for where we are right now." "I know. I told them that. They said they'd rather wait for quality than settle for what they have." A pause. "Your call." I think about it for about ten seconds. "Set up a meeting. But we do it on our terms, our timeline. We're not bending the structure to accommodate one

DOMINIC'S POVGrace's house hasn't changed since I was a child.Same Persian rugs, same portraits in heavy frames, same smell of old wood and something floral that I've never been able to identify. I used to find it suffocating. Tonight it just smells like history.Emma carries Claire. I have Sophia. Lily and Daniel are behind us, which I didn't expect but Grace specifically asked for, which I also didn't expect. Mrs. Kowalski declined the invitation with the diplomacy of someone who has strong feelings about Grace Westbrook and prefers to keep them private.The housekeeper leads us to the dining room.Grace is already seated at the head of the table. She stands when we come in, which is not something Grace Westbrook does for anyone, and the gesture lands on everyone in the room differently. Emma notices it. Lily notices it. I notice it most.She comes around the table and looks at the girls.

DOMINIC'S POV Marcus takes the news about the merger better than I expect. "Good," he says. "Good?" "I was waiting to see what you'd do. The deal is solid without you attached to it. It just closes slower." He pauses. "I needed to know if you'd learned anything." "You were testing me." "I was observing. There's a difference." He sounds annoyingly like Emma when he says it. "How's she doing?" "She postponed the wedding." "I know. She called Diane." I didn't know that. Emma and Marcus's wife have been building something quiet and separate from the rest of us, which I've noticed and chosen not to examine too closely because it feels like something Emma needs that has nothing to do with me. "What did Diane say?" I ask. "That Emma's not running. She's being careful. There

Dominic's POVThe venue calls back Monday morning to confirm October eighteenth.I'm in a meeting when Emma texts me. *It's official. No backing out now.*I text back. *I wasn't going to back out.*She sends a small cake emoji. I don't entirely understand the logic but I've learned to accept it as affection.The meeting runs long and when I get home the girls are already bathed and Emma is at the kitchen table with flour on her forearm and something in the oven that makes the entire penthouse smell like brown butter and vanilla. She does this when she's nervous about something. Bakes without a recipe, just instinct."What's wrong?" I say.She looks up. "Nothing's wrong.""You're stress baking.""I'm practice baking. For the exam.""You made financiers yesterday.""Those were different."I sit across from her. Wait.

Dominic's POVThe vows are harder than I expected.Not because I don't know what I want to say. Because I know exactly what I want to say and putting it in sentences feels like dismantling something I've spent thirty-nine years constructing.I write the first draft at my desk at eleven on a Thursday night while Emma studies in the bedroom. Three paragraphs. I read them back and delete everything. Too formal. Sounds like a contract.Second draft. Too much. Reads like a confession to a therapist.Third draft. I stop after the first line and stare at the wall for four minutes.Marcus calls Friday morning and I make the mistake of mentioning it."You're overthinking it," he says."I'm not overthinking. I'm drafting.""Dominic. What would you say to her if no one was watching?"I don't answer immediately."That's your vows," he says. "Write that down." He hangs up.I sit with that