Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 717

Chapter 717

Gwen’s POV

The checkout counter felt smaller than it was, like the bags. Many, organized, with tissue paper and understated ribbons. Were taking up space inside me too. Space I was trying to keep clear.

The saleswoman scanned each item with almost elegant efficiency.

I stood beside Nick watching, and for one rare moment I could feel the good weight of the scene. The two of us buying baby things like a normal couple. Like the world wasn’t constantly trying to walk into our living room and decide how we should exist.

“Perfect,” the saleswoman said when she finished the last item in the system. “We’ll arrange delivery. What address should we use?”

The question hung in the air with the simplicity of something obvious.

And even so, my body froze for a second.

Nick’s did too.

We looked at each other.

j

It wasn’t dramatic. It was clean, direct. Like the question had pulled on a thread we’d been avoiding holding. On any other day, I would have answered automatically, without thinking. My address was ready on the tip of my tongue.

Not today.

I turned back to the saleswoman and smiled with controlled politeness.

“Can I give that to you after a brief discussion?” I asked.

“Of course,” she replied, warm and professional. “Take all the time you need. There’s a café on the mezzanine.”

I thanked her with a nod, took Nick’s hand like I was grabbing hold of reality, and led him away from the counter.

“Gwen…” he started, confused, but I didn’t give his thoughts room to grow there under bright lights and possible listeners.

The mezzanine was quieter, with a discreet view of the entire store. I ordered two coffees without asking what he wanted. Because I already knew. Nick could survive almost anything, but he functioned better with caffeine.

When the cups arrived, I set one in front of him, sat down, and took a deep breath.

I looked straight at him.

“So,” I said.

Nick took a sip, like that simple motion could buy time.

“So…?” he returned, cautious.

I rested my hand on the table.

“We never defined this.”

He frowned.

“Defined what, exactly?”

“Where we’re going to live,” I replied.

He went still for a second, like the question had opened up a space our improvised routine didn’t know how to fill yet.

Chapter

+25 Bonus

I kept going before he could retreat into silence.

“I mean…” I chose my words carefully. “My apartment might need some adjustments to fit five people.”

He raised an eyebrow, like he was doing the math on purpose to keep himself grounded.

“We could turn the library into a bedroom for the girls,” I said, objectively, because objectivity was my way of not shaking. “But it would be on the ground floor and they’d have to share.”

Nick didn’t even blink.

“That wouldn’t be a problem,” he said, like the only word in the world that mattered was share.

A quick tenderness hit me. Almost sharp.

“Or we could buy somewhere bigger,” I added. “I mean… this apartment isn’t really mine. Not truly. It belongs to Kensington.”

Nick set his coffee down on the table.

“That would be an option,” he said slowly. “With the contract I signed with your brother for the new Valemont line, my credit’s a lot better now. I could finance something and…”

I raised a hand, stopping him before he had to finish. Because if buying something new were truly an option, I could do that with a single signature. But I didn’t say that. I knew how proud Nick was.

“And even then,” I went on, “you and Martina would still have a two-hour drive every day to work at the estate, which is almost finished. And Bella goes to school in Montelira.”

Nick frowned like I had just changed the board without warning.

“What are you saying?” he asked.

I took a breath and felt my own heart beating at a rhythm that felt bigger than my chest.

The address was the easy part. What I was putting on the table was a home.

“It’s more practical, isn’t it?” I said, keeping it simple on purpose. No flourish. “For us to live at the estate,”

Nick blinked like he had taken a light hit.

“Gwen…” he said, stunned, his voice carrying that dangerous mix of love and disbelief. “But… what about your job?”

I almost smiled, because it was so Nick to worry about my structure when I was offering his.

“I can come into Florentia a couple of times a week for meetings and do the rest remotely,” I replied. “It wouldn’t be a problem. Besides, I can ask Christian to keep Matthew in Florentia. He’ll be my right hand.”

Nick rested his forearm on the table and looked at me with a seriousness that made me sit up straighter.

“Are you sure you want this?” he asked.

I felt the question like a reality check. Because he wasn’t asking if I thought it sounded nice. He was asking it I understood the

cost.

The cost of being far from my axis.

The cost of living in his place.

The cost of accepting that as much as I was Kensington, I was, above all, a wife and a mother. And that changed priorities.

I didn’t hesitate.

203

Chapter 57

+25 Bonus

“Absolutely,” I said.

And when he tried to find any sign of doubt on my face, I gave him the rest. Because I knew he needed to hear it with the same clarity I needed to function.

“The estate is much more your home than Florentia is mine.”

Nick closed his eyes for a second.

When he opened them, I saw the shine.

He stood slowly, came around to my side, and pulled me in by the waist.

The kiss lasted long enough for me to stop thinking.

When he pulled back, his forehead still resting lightly against mine, he asked in a low voice, almost a smile,

“Have I told you how incredible you are today?”

I let out a breath that was half laugh, half disbelief.

“You have,” I replied. “But it’s always good to hear it again.”

He smiled for real, and that was worth more than any shopping bag.

I stood, adjusted my blouse like the gesture could put me back together on the outside, because inside I felt too whole.

“Ready?” I asked, holding my coffee and looking at him like I was making an offer that had already become fate. “Ready to give them the address for our new life?”

Nick didn’t answer right away. He looked at me with quiet intensity, like he was trying to store that moment for the days when the world tried to take Bella from him again.

Then he nodded, firm.

“More than ready.”

Comments

Support

Share

Chapter

+25 Bonus