Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 164705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
One of the teenyboppers groaned. “Dude, just kiss her already.”
“Patience, kid.” I whipped him with a glare, softening just a tad because our goals were aligned. “I’m trying to earn it here.”
He didn’t back down. “I could’ve binged all of Outer Banks by now.”
Briar scrunched her nose. “Close proximity to teens is unparalleled birth control.”
That triggered the hostile crowd.
“Wrap it up, man. Are you getting paid by the word?”
“Someone call Hallmark. These assholes stole their script.”
“Yo, speak up. I don’t have subtitles.”
I obliged – not because of bootleg Zac Efron over there, but because I wanted my words to soak inside Briar’s skin. “I told myself I needed to sacrifice for my family at all costs, but I forgot one important fact. The most important fact.”
She held her breath. “What’s that?”
“You’re my family, too. Always have been.” I edged closer, just a breath away now. “This is me promising you that I’m 100% in. No excuses. Even if it means moving to a city where juice cleanses qualify as meal plans.”
Briar tossed her head back, releasing a throaty laugh that shot straight to my neglected dick. The smooth column of her neck called for my lips. I wanted to tug her into the nearest room and remind her why she begged every time I entered her.
But no, I needed to bare my soul to her here. In public. For far too long, I’d dragged her into too many secrets. She deserved better than to be one of them.
Briar rocked back on her heels, a little dazed. “You’re really moving here.”
“I am.”
“What about …” she trailed off, arching a brow.
“He knows. He’s okay with this. Who do you think hacked Philomena’s court records to find Cooper’s contact info?”
Her lips parted. “You asked him to do that?”
“As if I trust that grifter to tell you the truth about your father.”
Her smile faded. She nibbled on her lower lip, tapping her fingers against her thigh. “You still have to run the Grand Regent.”
“I’ll fly back and forth.” I held up a hand, stopping her. “I know, I know. The gas. I’ll buy some CO2 credits to offset it and donate to save a few beached whales.”
She rolled her eyes but couldn’t help the grin that crept back up her cheeks. “They really don’t need you there every day?”
“Dad came out of his cave.”
Her eyes widened as though I’d announced the purge. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. We worked it out last night. There are details that need ironing, but for the most part, I’ll fly to Potomac for two days a week to check on my home and attend Friday board meetings. You can join me whenever you want, but if you don’t, I’ll be back here ASAP.”
She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. “You’re moving in with me.”
“I am.”
“This is going to work,” she promised.
“It is,” I confirmed.
Her tiny hands fisted the lapels of my jacket, tugging me closer to her lips. I held my breath, feeling like a teenager again, about to kiss the hot girl next door for the first time. Then, the lights shut off.
Oh, shit.
Briar’s gasp fanned my lips. “What’s happening?”
I groaned. “Dallas convinced me to make a presentation on the plane.”
A spotlight flashed over us, casting bright lights in a semi-circle over the marble. During regular hours, it projected the hotel’s signature crest onto the sleek floors. Right now, it illuminated dozens of photos, each one a testament to my questionable Photoshop skills.
Me and Briar cloud watching on the Eiffel Tower. Spinning under cherry blossoms in Japan. In matching parkas beneath the Northern Lights. Marrakech, Ha Long Bay, Patagonia. Places we once promised we’d visit. Places I couldn’t wait to take her to.
“Is that … comic sans?” Briar bit her lip, stifling a giggle. “That should be illegal.”
“I didn’t want to overwhelm you with Helvetica.”
“You overwhelmed me with …” She squinted at the very realistic edit of her sunbathing on a frozen Lake Baikal. “… my three heads?”
“What can I say? One head wasn’t enough to capture your magnificence.”
“This is a creepy level of devotion I wasn’t prepared for.” She spun, taking her time to study each and every photograph. “What are these?”
“They’re every memory we should have made – every memory we will make.” I signaled for Dallas to change the slides, which flickered to edited photos of her with our friends. “Christmas, Spring Break, baby showers.” I pointed to one of us eating turkey at my parents’, then again at Romeo’s. “That’s the year we fought over where to eat on Thanksgiving Day. Don’t worry. I made it up to you by feeding you the hottest stuffing of your life.”
She turned beet red, playing along. “So, that’s why they call it a feast.”
“It’s now an annual tradition.” I paused, letting her soak in the ugly Christmas sweaters, and obnoxious tree toppers, and dogs in silly Leprechaun hats. “And we’ll make more holiday traditions together. You’ll never be alone for a single one of them. You’re part of this family, Briar. We’re not let you go.”