Alpha Billionaire Series
A Fake Fiancée for Christmas Epilogue

BAILEY

One Year Later...

So much has changed within the past year, but one thing remains constant: my love for Jace. I look over at my handsome husband and a smile spreads over my face. We're on our way up to Buffalo to spend the holidays with his family and luckily, we're making good timing because the sky looks ready to burst with snow.

Jace glances over at me, reaches for my hand and threads his fingers through mine. "What's that smile for?" he asks.

"I was just thinking about the last time we drove up here for Christmas," I say. "Little did we know that our lives were about to change."

Looking in the back, both our gazes move to the car seat where our three-month old daughter sleeps. She was born at the end of September and our lives have been non-stop since. We named her Maryn, a combination of Marty for Jace's grandma and Lynn for my grandma.

It's perfect. She's perfect, I think, and admire her head of thick, dark hair. Every day, she reminds me more and more of Jace. She even has his dark blue eyes, the shade of indigo. For her middle name, I really wanted to incorporate him somehow, so I suggested Jacynda.

Maryn has lit up our lives from the moment she came screaming into the world and I don't think either of us truly realized how much having a little bundle of joy could turn your entire world upside down and inside out. But in the best possible way.

My gaze returns to my husband who, I swear, grows more attractive every single day. After getting engaged last year, we decided to fast-track the wedding because I wanted to do it before I was as big as a house. We had a beautiful ceremony with just Jace's family, Ben and Rae. It was intimate, private and absolutely lovely. A day that I will never forget.

Then Jace surprised me with a trip to France. We spent over two weeks exploring Paris and the surrounding countryside. It was the stuff dreams are made of and our time there was beyond magical. The City of Lights is truly the most romantic place in the world. And for a matchmaker like me, someone who believes in true love and soulmates with every ounce of her being, I felt right at home.

When we returned back to New York, Jace and I sat down, and he used his marketing and PR skills to help me save Head Over Heels. He and his team worked tirelessly to help me rebrand the business into something that would attract single people like bees to nectar. They developed an app and took it all online, but it's not automatic like other dating sites. I still make the connections and help my clients replace each other, but on a much more personal level.

It's worked so well that Head Over Heels launched into the dating stratosphere and became the number one matchmaking site on the internet. We blew up within a few months and Rae and I needed to move to a bigger office and hire several more team members. The whole experience has been absolutely amazing, and I get to do what I love every day- help people replace love.

All thanks to the man I love.

Snow flurries begin to fall down as we pull up to the house. I still replace it hard to believe that I'm married to a billionaire. Jace lavishes me and Maryn with the best of everything and even though it's very nice, it's not what matters to me most. If Jace didn't have two nickels to rub together, I would still love him fiercely because his heart is what makes him so amazing.

Our souls are the same. He's become my everything and he never hesitates to tell me how much he loves me. For a man who claimed he'd never let himself fall in love again, I'd say he's come an awfully long way in one year.

And I couldn't be happier.

The front doors burst open, and Kendall runs down and hugs us. Then she scoops her niece out of the car seat and hurries back inside to fawn over her and share her with the rest of the family.

As lovely as it is to have an infant, it's also exhausting. Jace wraps an arm around my waist, and I lean my head against his shoulder. We're looking forward to his family babysitting Maryn the next two weeks which will give us alone time.

Jace guides me inside and his parents, grandma, aunts, uncles and cousins greet us with plenty of holiday cheer. Marty hands me a mug of her famous hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps and Don, Jace's dad, starts talking about going out tomorrow on the snow mobiles and choosing a tree to bring home and decorate.

As I look around the warm, cozy living room, my heart overflows with so much love and gratitude. This is all I've ever wanted, I think, as I see all the happy faces, conversation and merriment.

The Montgomery family is full of traditions and the fact that I'm now a part of it all means the world to me.

Much like last year, the time we spend here is magical. Between all of the family members, Maryn is always being entertained and watched so Jace and I are given the beautiful gift of time alone. Kendall even insists that Maryn sleep in the bed she set up in her room and I do not argue.

Jace and I spend the nights making love and fall asleep in each other's arms. Then we even get the luxury of sleeping in, which is something that I haven't been able to do for over three months.

The days leading up to Christmas Eve are filled with so much joy. We decorate the tree, bake cookies, share dinners, ice skate and take the sleighs out and go caroling. Then before I even realize it, we're all sitting around the shimmering tree and exchanging gifts. When Jace's grandma presents Maryn with her own ornament, my heart swells. It's an angel with her name written across it in fancy gold lettering. Together, Jace and I hang it right beside ours. Then my husband leans down and kisses me. His kisses will always make my knees weak and butterflies flutter in my stomach.

We sit down near the crackling fire and cuddle up next to each other, holding hands, and looking out over the cozy room. I can't believe that I finally have the big, happy family that I always wanted and the man of my dreams. Christmas used to be the saddest and loneliest time of year for me. Then this amazing man swept into my life and changed everything.

He made it beautiful again.

Jace presses a kiss to my temple. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart," he says.

"Merry Christmas, Jace." I gaze up into his indigo eyes and the butterflies take flight like they always do. "I love you more than you'll ever know."

Because Jace gave me the greatest gift in the world- a family.

And life couldn't be sweeter.