Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92809 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92809 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
“Indeed. It wasn’t your butt that turned me into a madman though, it was your face. Your smile, your eyes, the way you raise your eyebrows when you laugh.”
The goddess takes her hands from mine and points a finger at her watery eyes. “Looks great right now, yeah?”
“You will always look beautiful to me, Tiffany.”
“Yeah, well, like you said, we must be two very different peas in the same pod.”
I dare to smile. “Am I forgiven? I assure you, I won’t do it again.” I push her phone towards her. “Please, cancel the postponements, if that’s what you want.”
“And what if I don’t want to?”
“Then I will compensate you for all of them.”
“With proposals, or just cash?”
I lock my eyes with hers. “Whichever you want. Just forgive me, Tiffany. Please.”
She looks at her phone, but doesn’t take it. She sighs, and rubs her eyes on the cuffs of my robe.
“How about neither?”
“Neither?”
“Yeah, neither. I don’t need the cash, Reuben. You’ve stalked my account enough to know that. I’ve got plenty stashed away. I don’t need to be paid, and you don’t need to book me up with proposals. So let’s just…”
“Let’s just what?”
She shrugs. “Do what we need to. Hang out together because we want to, fuck because we want to. Be around each other like normal people.”
I have to laugh at that. “Normal people? That’s an interesting phrase.”
It’s a relief to hear her laugh along with mine. “Yeah, alright, maybe not normal people.” She takes my hand. “Be around each other like us. Just us. Reuben and Tiffany with no bullshit.”
I pull her into me, fuck the distance. I hold her like she’s a jewel, brushing her hair away so I can press my mouth to her ear.
“That’s exactly what I need, Tiffany.”
She relaxes in my arms. “Same. I’m getting used to being Tiffany, you know? I’m kinda liking it.”
“I’m getting used to being alive again. I didn’t know how dead I was until you lit up the grotto.” I smile against her cheek. “You could say I’m kinda liking it, too.”
The scarlet haired beauty pulls away again, tears drying. “So, what’s the deal? We’re gonna be Christmas sweethearts, are we? Have a happy holidays and go from there?”
“That sounds excellent to me. I can cook a really good turkey, you know. I just haven’t had the motivation for quite some time.”
“I can eat a really good turkey, you know. Can you do Yorkshire puddings with it? And mashed potato?”
“Carrot, peas, parsnips.”
“Roasters.”
“Cranberry sauce.”
“Gravy.”
“Christmas pudding for afters.”
“Twenty-seven boxes of festive biscuits.”
I chuckle. “At least.”
Her gaze turns serious. “Don’t you have anyone you usually spend Christmas with?”
I shrug. “Charities mainly.”
“What about family?”
“No. Unfortunately not. Jeanette took a lot of that with her. You stay in contact for a while, but it grows more distant.” I look her in the eyes. “How about you?”
“Nope. My stepdad is a douche, and Mum gets on my tits. I’m usually with Josh, but he’s with Ells now. His family are cool, but with them being together it’s different. I don’t want to be a third wheel.”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t be.”
“No, they’d say not, and they’d mean it, but…” Her words trail off and I sense a wall there. A gate closing on the conversation. She looks over at the flowers on the counter instead. “They for me?”
“They are, yes. Didn’t quite get the grand entrance of romance I was intending. I’m sorry about that.”
She gets up from the barstool and walks over to them. The fabric of my robe is tight across her ass, highlighting her hourglass curves. She grins as she picks them up and sees the beauty of the flowers. The roses are bright red, like her hair.
“Thanks.”
“Take them as an apology bouquet rather than a romantic one.”
She laughs. “Nah, I prefer them as romance. Apology is already accepted anyway. I’ve chilled out a bit now I know I’m not about to be kicked out of the Agency.”
I sit and face her, soaking her in as she plays with some of the petals.
“Let me ask you something, Tiffany.”
Her stare shoots across at me, wary. Yes, there is definitely a closed gate in there somewhere.
“What?”
“If the roles had been reversed, and you’d been the one with my booked up calendar in front of you, would you have done the same thing I did?”
Her cheeks flush red. “I, uh. Would have been tempted, yeah.”
“Tempted, or overcome with insanity?”
She cracks a smile. “I was the one who stalked you to the grotto, remember? My strictly anonymous boss, dressed up playing Santa, and I stood and watched you like a soppy teenager. I’d say that’s a symptom of insanity, wouldn’t you?”
“Maybe.”
“Definitely.” She puts the flowers down. “Talking of which, there’s one proposal you left in there. The founders. Why?”
My gut churns at the thought.
“Because I don’t have the power to postpone it. I’m only one of a faction. My stake is five percent.”