Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
I couldn’t deny the hope that rose inside of me as I searched her gaze. “I want to be everything you need, Stevie. I want to give you anything and everything your heart desires.”
She smiled at me, so sweetly. “There is only one thing my heart desires.”
“Which is?” I was desperate to hear her say the words.
“Just…you,” she whispered.
“Stevie…you’ve had me since our first night together,” I told her, needing her to know how quickly and easily I’d fallen for her. “That’s all it took for me to realize that I wanted you in my life, but things happened with Alyssa and while we’ve been going through the motions of what you believe is a fake relationship, it’s been anything but that for me.”
Her eyes widened in surprise to hear just how long I’d been harboring my feelings for her. “So, now that being together for the custody case is no longer an issue…where do we go from here?” she asked.
I arched an incredulous brow at her. “After all that, you have to ask?”
She shrugged, but I still saw the smallest of vulnerabilities in her gaze. “I need to hear it from you.”
“I have something to show you instead.” Something that would give her all the proof she needed to know I was in this relationship for the long haul. That my feelings for her were genuinely real.
I surprised her by standing up, and offered my hand to bring her to her feet, too. She stared at me curiously as she followed me up to my apartment. She hadn’t been there since before the incident with Mark, and I’d made a distinct change that I knew would shock her, but I also hoped it would show her what she truly meant to me.
I led her into my living room, and because it was dark in the apartment the lamps on the end tables automatically switched on, illuminating the new piece of artwork I’d hung on the wall. When Stevie saw it, she gasped in shock.
“Oh my God,” she said, then laughed, a delighted sound I wanted to hear as often as possible. “I can’t believe you bought and hung up Fallon’s pop art painting in your perfectly neutral-colored penthouse.”
I came up behind Stevie, wrapping my arms around her from behind, and she automatically relaxed and leaned back against me. “You’re right about something,” I admitted, and feigned a sigh. “I could use more fun and color in my life. And this painting, which reminds me of you, will remind me of that. Owen loves it, by the way.”
She turned her head and glanced up at me. “I hope you enjoy it.”
I grinned down at her. “I hope you do, too.”
She looked surprised at that and arched a playful brow. “Are you giving me visiting rights?” she teased.
“No, I’m giving it to you,” I said. “With one condition.”
Confusion passed across her features. “Which is?”
I finally released Stevie so I could turn her around to face me. So she could look into my eyes and see how serious I was about her. About us. About a future together.
“My condition is that the painting stays here, right where it is. And you stay here, with me, right where you belong. Because when you look at the painting, and it makes you smile, I want to see that smile for myself, every single day.” I framed her face in my hands and gave her a light kiss before continuing. “That is what you bring to my life. Color. Fun. A lightness I’ve needed for a very long time. I want you here, with me and Owen.”
She shook her head, her expression perplexed. “I don’t understand. I can’t just move in with you, even if I wanted to.”
“Oh, yeah, right. That damn morality clause,” I said, having already considered the issue. “Give me a second to rectify that situation.”
Bewilderment glimmered in her eyes, but she’d understand soon enough. I left her in the living room to retrieve something from my bedroom, and when I returned, she was looking at the pop art painting, a quirky grin on her lips. She turned around to say something to me, then gasped when I opened a small black velvet box, revealing the three-carat diamond engagement ring I’d bought this week nestled inside, because I’d been prepared to fight for this woman who I knew I couldn’t live without.
“Caleb…” she said, looking both shocked and startled. “What the hell?”
I chuckled. “Okay, not quite the reaction I was going for,” I said, then realized I’d left out something incredibly important. “I love you, Stevie Palmer. There is nothing pretend or fake about my feelings for you. The fact that I fell in love with you so quickly and easily tells me more about who you are as a person, with so many traits that make me want to be a better man for you. I know this is unexpected, but I have every intention of marrying you, whenever you’re ready. But in the meantime, as my fiancée, that means there is no longer a morality clause issue, which means you can move in with Owen and me.”