Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Daisy Rae's face was on fire.
"And you've had my cock in your mouth?"
"Mr. Ross!" Daisy Rae couldn't believe he had just said all of those things. Everyone at the office had always described Garion as someone incredibly serious, and so for him to tease her like this—-
"You're doing it deliberately," Daisy Rae gasped in realization.
"I beg your pardon?"
He was acting like he was elegance personified this time, and Daisy Rae was torn between laughing and crying.
She wasn't quite sure if the billionaire had already figured this out for himself, but everything was now clear to her. She had wondered why he seemed different from all the other men, and now she knew why. Just as he was the only man to make her feel all sorts of things, Daisy Rae was willing to bet that she was the only one to make him act out of character.
And knowing this...made all the difference for her.
Daisy Rae turned to the billionaire, and something on her face must've clued him in, with the way Garion's head cocked slightly to the side in a questioning manner.
Oh my.
She wasn't the kind to feel giddy, but right now it was impossible to feel anything else. The way they were already communicating without words could only mean they had a special connection, and she was so, so tempted to fully open herself up to him.
But what if she did do that...and she turned out to be wrong about him? Would she be able to recover if it was someone like Garion Ross who ended up crushing her heart into pieces?
I really want to trust him, God. Can I?
The superstitious part of her was still scared that this was all part of a horrible cycle. Fate seemed to delight in taking away the people she loved the most every seven years, and she was terrified that letting father and son inside her heart meant she would lose them next.
Garion could sense Daisy Rae struggling internally, and he was content to wait until she figured things out on her own. He had done a lot of thinking himself while they were apart, and the plan he had ultimately come up with boiled down to one simple fact: there was nothing he wanted more than to have Daisy marry him, and if that meant having to take the first step by baring his heart out to her—-
So be it.
A movement from Daisy Rae drew his gaze back to her, and the play of emotions on her face was telling. She seemed to have realized that he was treating her differently from the rest, but she still seemed bothered by something else, and it likely had to do with whatever had caused her to bolt earlier.
He cupped her chin, and he saw Daisy Rae bite her lip as if torn.
"What's wrong, baby?"
Daisy Rae's teeth sank harder into her lower lip. A man as serious as Garion wouldn't just call any woman his 'baby', and agony that was both sweet and painful pierced her heart when she realized what this meant.
Even though marrying her came with its own set of fears and uncertainties for Garion, the billionaire wasn't letting any of them hold him back from making her feel special. If Garion could take such a risk, then shouldn't she also do everything she could to make this work?
"There's something you should know about me," Daisy Rae forced herself to say, "and it's probably going to make you think I'm being silly or stupid."
"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?"
"I'm not sure how much Mr. Calder told you about my parents..."
"I was told they died in an accident when you were young."
"I was seven that time..." Her fingers dug deep into her palms. "And after that my Aunt Helena took me in."
"But she also passed away," he said quietly. "Didn't she?"
Daisy Rae nodded. "I was fourteen then, and in a couple of days, another seven years would've passed..."
Garion frowned. "Are you saying..."
"I'm worried something bad will happen again, and that it involves losing you and Theo?"
His eyebrows shot up. "But that's—-"
"Silly? Stupid?"
Garion had the grace to flush, and Daisy Rae's lips curved in a rueful smile. "I did warn you it was going to be all of those things."
The billionaire was silent this time, and Daisy Rae struggled to hold on to her smile. Any moment now, he was likely going to tell her she was crazy and unfit to be his wife, much less Theo's mother-—
"Have you ever seen a therapist about this?"
Her eyes widened.
"Rather than being silly or stupid, I think what you are is traumatized. You were only seven when your parents died, and fourteen when your Aunt Helena passed. In both instances, you were still a child, and if you've never spoken to a therapist—-"
Daisy Rae shook her head numbly.