Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 106150 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106150 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
I glanced over at the Hardy Development table, which I’d avoided looking at all night, and saw Justin Hardy looking red-faced and unhappy. Seated next to him was an attractive woman with intelligent eyes who looked eager to see what would happen next. I wondered idly if this was the woman he was supposedly marrying for her intellectual property and whether she knew what she was in for.
Justin shook his head like the Judas he was. “Austin, buddy, you must be mistaken. I have the highest respect for Sterling Chase. The company’s been nothing but helpful to me in growing my business.”
Though Silas hadn’t so much as glanced at the Hardy table, I felt that seemingly innocuous comment hit him directly in the solar plexus, and he let out a shaky breath. After a beat, he turned to Landry’s date and yanked the phone out of his hands. “Sorry, bro,” he whispered, pocketing the video evidence of the drama.
“Jesus Christ, you’re all so fucking stupid,” Austin wailed, running his hands through his hair. “This guy is nothing, and he’s manipulating you all—”
“Enough.” I stood up from the table and moved to where Rowe stood in the middle of the banquet hall. As soon as I reached him, Rowe turned and pressed his face into my lapel. I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and kissed his unruly hair, inhaling just enough of his clean soap smell to make my fists unclench. “You’ve made a mockery of this event long enough, Austin. Everyone here tonight has seen exactly what kind of person you are, and they’ve seen who this man is, too. This is a man whose selflessness and loyalty are unparalleled. He’s sacrificed years of his life to create Project Daisy Chain, a project that will revolutionize emergency response and make ETC look like just the beginning. And tonight, he sacrificed his privacy in an effort to protect this company. That is who Sterling Chase is. That’s who Sterling Chase was always supposed to be. And you should never have been a part of it.”
Exit music swelled, and the presenter yanked Austin off the stage with the help of two burly security guards. It took a while for the poor presenter to get the crowd under control enough to continue the awards ceremony, but by then, it didn’t matter. I’d gotten my quirky billionaire out of the banquet hall and managed to find us a convenient potted palm just off the main lobby. I dragged him behind it and wrapped him up in my arms, right where he should have been all along.
“Oh, fuck. Holy shit.” Rowe trembled slightly as the adrenaline coursed through his system. “We did it. Didn’t we? I mean, that’s it, right? You’re safe?”
“We’re safe,” I confirmed. “Thanks to you. Austin’s suspicions will be meaningless after this. And come Monday, he’ll be reminded of the NDA he signed when he joined our company. He’s done.” I clasped him tighter until there wasn’t a millimeter of air between our bodies. “But you and I aren’t. Not by a long shot.”
“Did you mean it?” Rowe demanded breathlessly. He wrapped his arms around my neck and stood on his tiptoes, peppering kisses over my face and neck, everywhere he could reach. “What you said back there?”
“The part where I said you were the love of my life? Where I said you were my greatest adventure? Where I said I planned to be by your side forever? Fuck, yes, all of it. And don’t you dare make a liar out of me, Sterling Chase.”
He laughed out loud and looked up at me, eyes shining with a kind of unconditional love I couldn’t have purchased with all my billions, couldn’t possibly have earned in the short time we’d known each other, but which Rowe had bestowed on me anyway… and I would do my best to deserve.
“I’m still scared, you know. I still have no clue what our future might look like… but I want it. This. You. I want to join your group chat and let you buy me ridiculous tuxedos. I want you to meet my mom and talk to me for hours about Daisy Chain or whatever project we dream up next. I want to make sure Silas never gets near your toaster again, and I want to spend some more time talking to Dev’s horse. I want us to be together. Rowe and Bash. No matter which mega mansion we end up in.”
“Wherever we live, you’ll make it a home.” I pressed a soft kiss to his head before moving my lips down to his ear. “Whatever Sterling Chase wants, he gets.”
“And if Sterling Chase wants a fairy-tale ending?” he whispered, running his thumb over my cheekbone. “With a handsome prince, and true love forever, and the whole shebang?”