Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“Still confused, but listening,” she said.
“I propose that we sit back here on this couch and take off—”
“To where?”
“Current flight plan is to Fiji. With refueling stops along the way, naturally,” I answered. “So, if we can get this plane off the ground, and you give me…say…an hour to plead my case, then we’ll have options.”
“Which are?” She folded her arms under her chest, but the gesture looked more protective than angry. But hey, she hadn’t run off the plane and outright denied me, so it had to be going semi-well.
“Three things. The first is I can’t make you love me, and we turn the plane around. You’re out an investment of two hours, one of which might be awkward. The second is I can’t make you love me, but we continue on to Fiji and you get a weekend away. I’ll even fly your friends down.”
Her lips parted and she blinked in shock.
“And the third is I manage to talk you into loving me again, and we spend the next two weeks in Fiji together.” I rocked back on my heels.
“Fiji?” she asked.
“Fiji.” I nodded. “But this might take a lot more than an hour if we keep repeating each other. Please, Daisy. Give me a chance. I promise I’ll have them turn the jet around.”
“Asher…” She pressed her lips together in a tight line, like she was fighting to keep control. “I mean, can you even get away for two weeks?”
“I cleared my schedule.” It might have taken me a week to do it, but I’d managed.
“You cleared your schedule on the off chance that I’d be willing to fly to Fiji with you?” Her voice rose with surprise.
“Yes, so I’d really consider it a favor if you gave me the hour.” I backed up, gesturing to the couch.
“An hour,” she repeated, nodding as she walked forward.
Hope flared, skyrocketing my heartbeat.
We buckled in on the couch, me on one end and her on the other, and I gave the pilot the okay for takeoff. We stared at each other for the longest five minutes of my life as we launched into the sky. I went over every argument in my head, making mental point after point the higher we climbed.
But then we leveled out, and I knew my stay of execution was over.
“Why would you think I don’t love you?” Daisy said softly.
I unbuckled and slid closer to her. “Because you don’t end a relationship with someone you love.”
“You do if you think that’s what’s best for them,” she answered, searching my eyes. “Just because I ended it between us doesn’t mean that I don’t love you, because I do. I love you with everything I have, Asher. That doesn’t stop just because I’ve realized that our lives don’t fit.”
My heart surged to life. She still loved me.
“They do,” I argued. “Our lives fit perfectly if we just make a little room for each other. I love you, Daisy. I love you more than anything else in my life. More than my business, more than the Reapers, more than…anything. My life doesn’t make sense without you in it, and I’ll do whatever you want, whatever you need to prove to you that we fit perfectly.”
“I don’t want you to change,” she whispered. “I love you just the way you are.”
I took her hand in mine. “And I don’t want to change you, either. But I do want us to find our middle ground so we can build a life on it, because I don’t want to live without you.”
“I’m not perfect—”
I kissed her quiet, then cupped her cheeks. “You are perfect for me.”
“Asher,” she whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek.
“I was wrong when I bought that imprint for you,” I said, pressing my thumb lightly over her lips when she tried to interrupt me. “No, listen, please. I was wrong. I thought I was making your dream of being in bookstores come true. Instead of listening to you, I tried to fix a problem that wasn’t mine to fix, a problem you don’t even have, because I didn’t listen well enough. I never wanted you to be perfect.” I rubbed my thumb over her lower lip. “I just want you to be you.”
“I’m not what you pictured. I know that. I’ve seen your ex. I survived dinner with your mother.” She shook her head. “You deserve someone who is going to fulfill every fantasy for you. You deserve someone who shows up on time, who doesn’t get lost in her own head. Someone who’s out there changing the world for the better.”
“Damn it, Daisy, you change my world for the better. That’s all I care about. You are every single one of my fantasies. You push my boundaries. You bring color into my life. You make me reexamine everything about the way I live. Look at me, I’m taking a vacation!” I grinned.