Total pages in book: 244
Estimated words: 236705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1184(@200wpm)___ 947(@250wpm)___ 789(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1184(@200wpm)___ 947(@250wpm)___ 789(@300wpm)
That’s when it hits me—he told Holly the truth, just like I told Mason. Our story is no longer up to them. It’s ours.
“I’m thinking a coffee run in a few minutes. Maybe along Fifth Avenue for everyone to see,” Slade rattles. “A walk along Central Park. A dinner. More posts, more dates, more—”
“Nope.” I stand, cutting him off, then head to the door, open it, and gesture for them to get the hell out. “Not that I don’t appreciate your willingness to come over on a Friday afternoon, and not that I don’t value all you’ve done for Jude and me, but you all need to go. Now. Enjoy your night. I’ve got a real date with Jude, right here, right now, and it doesn’t involve anyone but us.”
Across the living room, my boyfriend smiles. His spotlight shines beautifully on me.
Just me.
My heart thuds like a drum. Yeah, I made the right call kicking them out.
“Well, then,” Holly says, but her lips twitch into a grin as she heads to the door.
Mason is all too happy to ditch us. “Clutch. Fucking clutch, TJ. Put that move in your next book. Make the laidback hero say it and it’ll get all the readers hot,” Mason says on his way to the door.
I laugh. “Get out of here.”
Slade sputters, “But wait. Hold on. We need to—”
Mason slaps a hand on Slade’s mouth. “Sometimes you have to let the kids do their thing.”
My agent escorts the publicist out of my place. The fake boyfriend game is officially over.
I shut the door with a satisfying click, then turn around, ready to haul Jude into my arms . . .
But he’s already come to me. He’s a foot away, and he grabs my face to hold me tight. “I love you. I love you so much. I am utterly, absolutely in love with you, TJ.”
Joy floods every cell in my body. He took the words right out of my heart.
The only thing I’ve loved more than writing is this man. “I love you too, Jude.” I press a kiss to his lips. “I just love you.”
We stop talking and kiss like it’s the answer to every problem.
Fine, this kiss doesn’t erase Rikki’s story. It doesn’t clean up the mess. And it doesn’t solve our career issues.
But it does one thing spectacularly well. It reminds me that all of that will be fine. Whatever happens, I’ll be fine as long as Jude is here with me.
And I do. I have the man I love in my arms.
When we break the kiss, Jude looks elated. “You are such a sneaky fucker,” he says, grinning wickedly.
I shrug playfully. “No idea what you mean.”
“You’ve been leading a double life. You never said a word to me about your inspiration.”
I roam my hands down his arms, enjoying every second of this. I got the guy. I’m riding off into the sunset with him. “I didn’t not say a word either.”
“You didn’t tell me! How could you not tell me?”
“Dude. If you had just read it . . .”
“You told me not to read it,” he insists.
“You don’t always listen to me,” I say, but we’re both laughing, we’re both giddy, and neither one of us is talking about Malcolm or Rikki or the paps or a fake romance.
Because we’re real. Definitely real.
Just like all those feelings in my book came from this real love, the first time around. When I wrote that romance, Jude was the guy who got away. At the time, I was gambling that he’d read it and like it, think it was clever and fun. But, I’m so glad he read it today.
Jude runs his thumb along my face, tracing my jaw. His smile widens, and his voice softens. “You wrote me a love letter in your book.”
My heart hammers. “I did. I remember the day at the river when you asked me to write a story about you.” I take a beat, enjoying this moment more than anyone has a right to enjoy anything. “You’ve been all my inspiration since I left London. I’ve been longing for you the whole time, and I put that in every book I wrote. You’re every love story. You’re every romance I write.”
He threads his fingers through my hair. “I fell in love with you in London. And then again in Los Angeles. And then once more over the last few weeks.”
“I can’t seem to stop falling in love with you either,” I say.
“Don’t stop. I won’t either,” he says.
Nothing else matters. I need him. “Kiss me again.”
Jude obliges with a long, deep, passionate kiss that has me pulling him to the bedroom and tugging him onto the bed on top of me.
36
SEX MAGICIAN
TJ
Someone read a ton of articles.
Someone did extra homework.
I’m not pointing fingers, but holy fuck. My guy is good.