Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
He shrugged and looked out the window. “So I’m not saying it needs to be fancy. But it needs to be special. There’s a difference.”
I had to let go of his hand to steer once we got into the city. Out of habit, I headed home to my apartment without thinking. When we were halfway there, Hugh spoke up.
“You passed the turn to my place.”
“Shit. Sorry.” I turned on my blinker to correct my mistake when he spoke up again.
“I mean… unless… unless you were heading to your place for a reason… A-and we haven’t talked about the thing for your mom tomorrow…”
I glanced at him. “I honestly just forgot to turn, but… yeah. I mean, are you good with going to the brunch? You don’t have to, you know.”
“Definitely cool. I liked your brother, and I’m sure I’ll like the rest of them. Besides, I owe you a fake-boyfriend date.” He grinned at me. His crooked smile did its usual number on me.
“Come home with me,” I said in a low voice.
He blinked at me. “You sure?”
My casual nod belied my clenching stomach. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had someone over—I didn’t bring people to my home for hookups, and I’d stopped dating long before I’d moved into this apartment just over a year ago—but the urge to have Hugh in my private space was nearly overwhelming. “I can show you my place. You can see where your favorite hedgehog lives.”
The edge of his lip quirked up. “I am curious.”
We were already kissing frantically by the time we exited the private elevator into my apartment. If Hugh hadn’t stopped me, I might have completely forgotten about poor Frank.
“Frank!”
For a split second, I thought he’d called me by the wrong man’s name. When I finally got a few blood cells back into my brain, I pulled away from him long enough to take a breath. “Yes, come see his room, and you can help me feed him and put him to bed.”
Hugh’s eyes caught the light, full of playful teasing. “Okay, but then I think it would only make sense for you to take me to your room so I can help feed you and put you to bed…”
So much for whatever blood had made it to my brain. With the sultry emphasis he’d put on the word “feed,” the blood had drained completely away, leaving my head full of nothing but thin clouds colored by an intense need to rush Frank’s bedtime routine.
16
HUGH
Watching Oscar take tender care with Frank, despite being in a hurry to get done with it, made me even more of a sucker for him than before.
“He’s fine,” he said as we left Frank’s room, sounding more like he was reassuring himself than me.
“I’m surprised he doesn’t sleep in your room.”
Oscar shook his head. “It’s not really putting him to bed like I implied. He’s nocturnal. So he’ll be up all night playing. I tried sharing a room with him early on, and it was a disaster.”
I felt nervous about what was coming next. Being in this sleek penthouse, where even the light switches looked more expensive than my most tricked-out camera rig, was intimidating. It wasn’t often I felt the full weight of Oscar’s wealth, but tonight in the Ferrari and again in this apartment, I was left with the reality of what a vastly different life he led than I did.
When Oscar stepped across the hall into his bedroom, he turned and caught something in my expression. “You having second th—”
“No! Definitely not. It’s not that. I’m just… I’m realizing how fucking rich you are. And it’s strange.”
He paused and frowned. “Strange how? I thought you knew—”
“No, I do. I do know. The way you know what the northern lights look like from seeing images of them online or on television. But I imagine it’s completely different seeing them in person. More real. More… overwhelming.”
Oscar’s jaw moved. “Hugh. This…” He waved his hand around the warmly lit bedroom. A wall of windows showed the glittering lights of the Manhattan skyline across the dark void of Central Park. The furniture was modern but lived-in. It wasn’t stark and cold but full of color and oddities here and there. It was incredibly… well… Oscar. “This is just stuff. Purchased with money I made with a combination of smarts, hard work, and an incredible amount of luck. None of this defines me, and I hope you don’t think—”
I reached out to cup his face before kissing him to stop the flow of defensive and fearful words. He didn’t need to explain himself to me. I never wanted him to feel like he needed to explain himself to anyone.
Oscar pulled back after a few moments of indulging in the kiss. “You know what rich men expect when they bring an unsuspecting victim to their evil lair, right?” He lifted a hand toward my head, fingers catching on a curl. I could tell by the lustful expression on his face he was no longer concerned that his wealth would somehow scare me away. “Let me have my wicked way with you, Hugh Linzee.”