Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
“You want to know why I’m here?”
I nodded.
“I thought it would be obvious but since it’s not, let me be clear that I’m here for you Toni. I love you. I am madly in love with you and I fucked it up so bad that I came here to see if I could make it right.”
My heart stopped and did a backflip inside my chest at his words. No, they weren’t simple words, they were a declaration. “Pretty words.”
“It’s true,” he said and took a few steps towards me. “I understand why it might be hard for you to believe, but it’s true. I fell in love with you and I tried to keep us in a little bubble forever so that I could keep you.” Ge barked out a bitter laugh and shook his head. “I loved you so much that I couldn’t risk learning that you were like all the others because I knew I was too weak to walk away from you, so I kept us frozen in amber.”
“You didn’t’ give me a chance,” I argued.
“I know! It was stupid and I will forever be sorry for the hurt I caused you, but I was so damn scared of losing you that I lost you anyway.” He took a few steps forward so he was just close enough to brush his fingertips along my bare shoulders and arms. “But I’m here now because I love you, Toni. I love you and I can’t live without you but more than that, I don’t want to live without you. Life is boring as fuck when you’re not around.”
His words were music to my ears but like Brady, I still had my doubts. “Is this about the baby? Because I won’t keep you from the child.”
“No, it’s not about the baby. At least not how you think. Let’s just say that the news of the baby was a wake up call for me to get my head out of my ass before I lost you forever.”
“Talented baby,” I joked and absently rubbed my still—mostly—flat belly.
“How could it not be with you and me contributing DNA?” He smiled and I couldn’t help but smile in return because he was handsome and charming and he owned my heart. But I wasn’t an easy sell.
“And the next time doubts creep in? Am I going to find a stack of one hundred dollar bills on the nightstand?”
“No, never,” he promised and gathered my hands in his. “Doubts won’t creep in, not ever again. I love you Toni and if you want a trip to Paris or Milan, Tokyo or anywhere else on this plant or another, it’s yours. What I have is yours, including or most especially, my heart.”
I folded my arms and ignored the rapid beating of my heart. “And if I say that I don’t want any of that? That your money and status don’t impress me?”
He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close. “Then I hope like hell that you find me impressive enough on my own to deal with those things.”
His words yanked a laugh from me and my forehead fell against his shoulder. “Oh, Brady. I love you too.”
“You do?”
I nodded. “I’m impressed by what you’ve built and how you’re still so passionate about it, but that’s not what I love about you.” I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I love that despite being out of your comfort zone, you took Layla in and tried to make her feel at home. I love that you’re this beautiful, powerful man and you have no idea just how appealing that is. You’re this big insecure nerd with the world at your feet and that is so incredibly sexy.”
He laughed. “You’re a weirdo, you know that?”
“It’s been mentioned a time or two,” I shot back with a smile as my heart hammered against my chest. “But I’m a weirdo who loves you.”
“And I’m the luckiest damn man on the planet because I love you too and I want to build a life with you Toni. Me and you and Layla and our new baby too. More if that’s what you want. Tel me you want that too.”
My lips parted into a grin I was powerless to stop. “I want that too and I want it all with you, Brady Winsome.”
“Brady Lionel Jessop Winsome,” he shot back with a sheepish smile.
My brows shot up in surprise. “That’s a mouthful, but I like it.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded. “Almost as much as I like you.”
He frowned. “You said you love me.”
“I do, but I also happen to like you. It’s important for a healthy, long-lasting relationship.”
His breath caught and his gaze heated. “I like you too, Toni. A whole hell of a lot.”
“Good. Kiss me.”
Brady leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine and then I was lost completely to the soul deep kiss that stole my breath and held my attention. Brady was a powerful man with the world at his feet, but he was also just a man with his own fears and insecurities. It made him more human, more beautiful, and that vulnerability took up a bigger spot in my heart than I expected.