Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87904 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87904 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“Because the tip of this branch has a little bit of orange on it, like E.T.’s finger,” Liam said, squinting in the midmorning sunlight as he pointed out the branch. “And yeah, he’s the weird one, but still totally beloved.”
I shook my head, taking a deep breath. “Two things, Liam.”
“Yes?”
“You’re one of the strangest people I’ve ever known,” I said.
“If it’s strange to love gardening, then I take that fully as a compliment,” he said.
“It is a compliment,” I said.
“Then what’s the second thing? If you’re going to tell me I have to stop taking over your backyard with my plants, I think we’re going to have a problem.”
“The second thing is that I love the fuck out of you,” I said, “and I never want you to stop taking over my backyard.”
I bent my head down to press my lips to his. I could still remember the first time I kissed him when he returned to Amberfield, how nerve-wracking and thrilling and crazy it felt.
It still felt just as thrilling. But now I knew it was because he was mine.
For the last six months Liam and I had been spending equal amounts of time at his house and mine. He’d slowly built up the garden at his house until it was a miniature lush paradise, dotted with Gallica roses and growing trees and any seasonal flowers he fell in love with. He started by gifting me a few small plants for my own backyard, then over time, more and more, until it became a Saturday tradition for him to come over and tend to the garden in the back of my yard.
It didn’t even feel like my yard, strictly, anymore. It felt like both of ours.
It wouldn’t seem right to look out the window and not see Liam out there, pulling weeds or trimming branches or planting the latest addition to the little plot of land. I’d always been so good with curating the inside decoration of my place, making it my own little Old West island. But I’d always ignored the backyard.
Liam had made this place feel whole, in a way I hadn’t even known I needed until it was there, growing and flourishing under his care.
As I kissed him, I slowly slid my hand around his waist, squeezing the side of his body.
“Mmm,” he hummed, gently biting my bottom lip before pulling away. “I need to pack in the soil on the last one and then I’ll come inside.”
“Well, I sure do like the sound of that,” I said, reaching out and grazing my palm against the bulge in his pants.
“Don’t get me riled up in front of E.T.”
I snorted a laugh. “Now that’s something I never thought I’d hear from the love of my life.”
I could see the melt in his eyes, even just from that silly comment. “Did you ever think you’d call a weirdo, ex-party animal, porn-star-turned-porn-director, gardening nut ‘the love of your life?’”
I squeezed the side of his hip again. “Honestly? I never thought I’d get to call anybody the love of my life.”
He paused, taking a slow breath as he watched me. “Well, please keep calling me it,” he said finally. “Because I love you, too, cowboy.”
I headed back inside, gathering ingredients for the simple chicken dinner we were going to make tonight. I ended up in front of my computer a few minutes later, checking on the Hardy Productions reports from that week. Liam and I had released a few more videos over the past months, putting all of the money into Red’s Tavern and also back into the company itself.
It had been amazing watching Liam become a small business owner. He was running Hardy Productions like he’d always wished Naughtyboyz could have been run. He’d even started to film a few videos here and there with new, aspiring porn stars—mostly friends that Sam had put in good words for.
I had been around behind the scenes for a few of the video shoots, and it was an incredible experience. Liam was so professional, ethical, and caring, because he knew exactly how it felt to be on the other side of the camera. He made sure the people felt safe and secure on the other side. Hell, I’d even thrown together drinks and home-cooked meals for them after the shoots, when they wanted it.
This month, the videos had netted us a record-breaking amount of money.
I clicked over to my bank account website, transferring a healthy amount of my share into a smaller account I had titled “Proposal Money.”
That was something I had managed to keep secret from Liam. I had my eyes on an artisan jewelry crafter that would hand-engrave any design into the inside of a ring. I wanted it to be a rose for Liam.
Even just looking at the name of the account made my heart slam a little harder inside my chest, every time I saw it.