Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
His serious façade cracks and he chuckles. God, that sound is so nice. “You really want me to wear this stuff?”
I wrinkle my nose. “I actually have no idea if my friends will be there. They’re entirely unpredictable when it comes to stuff like that, but I would like you to come have a drink with me.” I skim my gaze over his bare chest and nearly groan. “At Smithy’s, because we should talk, and I don’t trust us to do much talking here.”
He smiles. “Yeah? Why’s that?”
I fold my arms. “You had me naked and coming within ten minutes last time we were alone in a room together.”
His smile stretches broader. “And orgasms are off the table for tonight?”
“I didn’t say that. I just said I want to go get a drink. In public. Where we will be forced to keep our hands and mouths to ourselves.”
He grabs my wrist and tugs, bringing my body flush with his. He lowers his mouth to my ear. “I don’t recall that being in public was much of a deterrent for us in the past.”
Now I’m smiling too. Smiling and warm all over, and so hopeful it hurts. I know I came with an adorable plan, but all I can think about is the man in front of me. The feel of his touch, the heat of his skin.
He cups my face, sliding those long fingers into my hair. His thumb finds my bottom lip and rubs it gently. “You know, I’ve imagined this moment a million times and always promised myself I’d proceed with one question guiding me.”
I take his thumb between my teeth and bite it lightly. “What’s that?”
“What would Arturo do?” He scoops me into his arms and then plops me on the bed, climbing over me.
I squeal. “Who?”
He nuzzles my neck, muffling a laugh. “Your romance novel hero. I don’t want to let you down.”
“Ah.” I tilt my head a bit so he has better access to the sensitive spot beneath my ear. I change my mind. There’s no way I’m letting this man out that door tonight. “The thing about Arturo is that he thinks he’s not good enough for our heroine, even when the opposite is so obviously true.”
His hands at my hips slide around my waist as he holds me tight. He touches his forehead to mine. “I’ve fucking missed you.” His breath is ragged. “I didn’t want to leave, but I didn’t think it mattered. You’d walked away, and I didn’t understand how you could possibly come back. I was afraid I didn’t deserve you. I’m still afraid.”
“Do you want me?” I ask.
He finally opens his eyes, and they’re so close to mine that I see a whole future for us outlined there. Hopes and dreams he locked away because he didn’t think he was worthy. “With every piece of my soul.”
“Then I’m yours.”
“I will do whatever necessary to prove I can be your hero.”
“I was onto you that first night,” I say, relishing the rough stubble under my fingertips. “The pancakes gave you away.”
OLIVER
I’ve spent eight years just accepting the fact that I was in love with a woman who didn’t want me. Just accepting that I’d have to walk around with half my heart for the rest of my life.
Now that she’s sleeping in my arms, naked and more beautiful than I remember, I can’t help but wonder why I ever thought that was an acceptable way to live.
She rolls to her back and stretches, arms overhead, back arching, nipples taut in the cool air of the hotel room. “We were supposed to talk,” she murmurs, rolling toward me.
“If I recall, I talked a lot,” I say, grinning. “And you liked it.”
She bites back a smile and buries her face in my chest. “That I did.”
I comb my fingers through her silky hair. “Come with me to Monaco? I have to fly out tonight, but if you come with me, I promise we can talk about whatever you want while we’re there.”
She groans. “Monaco? You are so fancy.” She lifts onto an elbow and frowns. “And I can’t. I have work. Clients who are counting on me, a group fitness program I’m responsible for. I might not sound important, but—”
I put a finger to her lips. “Savvy. It is important. It’s important to every one of those people you work with, and it’s important to you. You don’t have to justify it.”
She wrinkles her nose. “Sorry. I get defensive.”
“I like that you made a career of it. That you never stopped loving your own strength and that you share it with others. You need to know that you don’t ever have to justify your passions to me. Just share them, and I’ll support you.”
“I wish I could go, though. I’ve seen pictures, and it looks incredible.”