Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 727

Chapter 727

Gwen’s POV

I learned that routine isn’t the absence of emotion.

It’s emotion, tamed. Put to work quietly, without making a scene.

While Nick went back to dealing with his problems, I took Bella-and within two minutes, we were already heading to the car.

She claimed the backseat like she owned it. Dropped her backpack onto her lap, glanced out the window, then studied me through the rearview mirror.

“Mom,” she called, in the same tone she’d use to ask the time.

“Hmm?”

“When is my baby sister going to be born?”

I let cut a breath that was half laugh, half surrender.

“What’s the rush?”

“Because your belly is already huge,” she said, pointing with zero delicacy. Then she added, like it was a compliment, “Like… really huge.”

“Wow. Thank you for the kindness,” I replied, feigning offense.

Bella burst out laughing.

“It’s true.”

“It is true,” I admitted. “Not much longer now. Soon enough, you’ll get to meet her.”

Her eyes lit up.

“I told Julia,” she said, like she’d made a very important public announcement. “I told her I’m getting a baby sister and she’s basically a real-life doll.”

I had to bite back a smile.

“A real-life doll is… an interesting way to put it.”

“It is,” Bella confirmed confidently. “And Julia thought it was really cool. Then she asked her mom for one too.”

I laughed out loud, unable to stop myself.

“Wow,” I said, keeping my eyes on the road. “Her mom has no idea what she’s getting herself into.”

Bella nodded, clearly pleased with her influence.

“And I’m going to take really good care of Clara,” she went on, more serious now. “I’ll hold her like this.” She demonstrated with her arms, hugging the air, far more careful than the same kid who, just last week, tried to skip bath time.

My chest tightened with a tenderness I couldn’t hide.

“I know you will,” I said. “You two are going to be best friends.”

Bella frowned.

“Julia’s going to get jealous.”

I laughed again, softer this time.

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“There’s enough room in your heart for everyone.”

She thought about it, watching the vineyards roll past outside her window, then said with her usual straightforward logic,

“That’s true. I’m small, but my heart is big.”

I had the urge to pull over just to hug her. Instead, I reached my hand back, and she grabbed my fingers tight, like that simple connection confirmed everything I’d been trying to build since she came into my life-security.

When we got to school, I did what I always do.

I didn’t just let Bella hop out.

I parked, opened her door, grabbed her backpack, fixed her jacket, checked that her lunch was there, that her hair hadn’t turned into abstract art, that her socks were where they should be. And I walked her to the gate like it was the most important job I had all day.

Bella kissed my cheek quickly.

“Bye. Mom.”

“Bye, sweetheart.”

I waited until she walked through the gate. I watched the teacher call her name. I saw Bella raise her hand like she was answering “present” to the world. Only then did I head back to the car.

The café I chose was two blocks away. Small, with wooden tables and a constant smell of croissants. I sat by the window, pulled my laptop from my bag, and opened it like I was stepping into the other side of my life.

The screen lit up. My schedule was organized, my emails were under control, and I knew that if I wanted, I could spend the whole morning there, handling things that weren’t urgent just because I like everything neat and in place.

But I didn’t.

I called Matthew.

“Gwen,” he said, no formality at all. “You good?”

“I am,” I replied. “I just wanted to check if everything’s okay over there.”

On the other end, I heard an amused sigh.

“Gwen, it’s eight in the morning,” he said. “Nothing’s even had time to go wrong yet.”

I held back a smile.

“Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

Matthew let out a short laugh.

“Are you actually trying to enjoy your leave?” he asked. “You’re about to have your daughter.”

I rested my elbow on the table and looked out the window at the quiet street, trying to convince my brain it was allowed to rest without guilt.

“I try,” I admitted. “I really do.”

“Then try harder,” Matthew said, with that light firmness he only ever used with me. “I’ll let you know if the building catches

fire.”

“If it catches fire, you put it out.”

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“I’ll put it out.”

We both laughed, and there was something grounding in it. The kind of normal that only comes after you’ve survived chaos and taken control again.

“Send me a summary at the end of the day,” I said.

“Will do.”

I hung up, closed my laptop, and finished my coffee with the quiet satisfaction of knowing I’d done what I needed to do. The corporate world was running just fine without me for a few hours.

On the way back, the sun was higher, and the estate felt even more alive than it had that morning.

Cars pulling in. Staff crossing the courtyard. Someone carrying a crate of glasses. Someone else arguing over a check-in list with the seriousness of deciding a country’s fate.

Nick stood right in the middle of it, moving from one side to the other with his phone in one hand and a piece of paper in the other, sleeves rolled up, brow furrowed. He looked… happy and exhausted at the same time.

I walked up to him and touched his arm.

“Hey.”

He turned, and his face softened the second he saw me.

“Hey, love,” he said, like I was a pause in his day.

I took his hand.

“Come with me.”

“Now?”

“Now.”

I pulled him into a small empty room near the service hallway. It still smelled like fresh paint and wood, with a chair pushed to the side and a window cracked open. I shut the door behind us and, before he could ask what was going on, I kissed him.

A slow kiss.

When I pulled back, I rested my forehead against his for a moment.

“If I don’t steal you for a few minutes, I barely get to see my husband,” I murmured.

He let out a tired laugh.

“Sorry,” he said sincerely. “It’s been crazy.”

I ran my hand along the back of his neck, feeling the tension there.

“I noticed.”

He exhaled, and like he needed a simple explanation for everything happening, he repeated what he’d said more than once since the bookings started pouring in:

“The Kensington name really works miracles.”

I lifted my chin.

“No,” I corrected, not softening it too much. “Your love for this place works miracles.”

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Nick looked at me like I’d just taken his armor off without asking.

He was about to respond-I could see it in his eyes.

But my phone buzzed in my bag, insistent.

I pulled it out, still holding Nick’s hand.

An email.

Sender: Christian Kensington.

The subject line was in all caps, like the world needed to pay attention.

[CONFIRMATION – LAUNCH EVENT | VALEMONT LINE by KENSINGTON.]

I opened it. Scanned it quickly. Felt that rush of heat climb up my spine.

I turned the screen toward Nick.

“Now it’s real,” I said softly.

He rested his forehead against mine.

“Now it’s real,” he echoed.

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