Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
“I want to get better at protecting you from the assholes and con artists.”
“You will. Thankfully, it doesn’t come up that much, but when it does, all you have to do is give them Shonna’s business card.”
“Really?”
I huffed a laugh and pressed a kiss to his nose. “Yep. I don’t keep a regular staff at home because it’s just me, but I have a service that comes three times a week to clean and do laundry. And Shonna has an entire team of people who vet charities and work to make sure that every dime I give is going to the people who need the help. Not to mention, I also have several advisors monitoring my finances. The only thing I don’t have that you mentioned is a bodyguard. But if I were to suddenly find myself with a boyfriend, I would definitely look into hiring one or two bodyguards because I would want to make sure my boyfriend was always safe.”
Liam gasped and pushed at my chest, but I didn’t budge. “Now you’re being ridiculous.”
“I’m dead serious. You are the most important thing to me, and I don’t want anyone to hurt you, ever.”
Liam raised his hand to my face, his fingertips lightly tracing along my features as if he were trying to memorize them. “I love you.” His words were a whisper, but there was strength and conviction behind them, putting a knot in my throat.
“As a friend?”
A tiny smile lifted the corners of his mouth, and his eyes rose to meet mine. “Always as a friend. But then, as a lover and now as so much more. I love you as a boyfriend.” With each sentence, his grin grew wider and more mischievous. “We are going to date and have so much sex. We’re going to have amazing dates, and you’re not allowed to always pay!”
“Does this mean I can spoil you? Surprise gifts? Trips?”
Liam narrowed his eyes at me and tried to look serious, but his lips twitched as if he were fighting a laugh. “Maybe. Little gifts.”
I leaned in, bumping my forehead on his. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited to go hog-fucking-wild buying you stuff?”
“No.”
“I swear the first thing I’m buying you is that black BMX with all the chrome and the wheel pegs—” I couldn’t even finish because Liam was laughing so hard in my arms.
“Wha-what are you talking about? A bike?”
“It’s the bike you had your heart set on when you were twelve. You wanted it for your birthday, but the damn thing was so expensive. Your parents couldn’t get it for you, and I kept trying to convince my parents to buy it for you, but they said it wasn’t right. I even argued that we could keep it at our house and you could ride it each time we had sleepovers.”
Tears glistened in Liam’s eyes. “Fuck. You’re so adorable. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Please, don’t buy me a bike.”
“A car?”
“No.”
“A house?”
“No.”
“A dinosaur?”
“How about a dinosaur costume to match mine?” Liam suggested. “We can have antics and shenanigans around town.”
“Yes!”
Liam was perfect for me. And there would never be anyone else whom I could love more.
EPILOGUE
LIAM ROSE
Someone was pounding on the door, and I had to swallow back a giggle. I needed only one guess to know who it was. I took one last look around the room to make sure that everything was perfect prior to turning on my heel and speeding along the hall. As I hurried, I smoothed my tie and rebuttoned my suit jacket. A peek in the mirror revealed that my hair was behaving, for now.
I unlocked the door and opened it a few inches but immediately braced my foot against it to stop my guest from barging inside.
Rome gave me a pseudo-glare that wasn’t in the least convincing because his lips kept twitching into a grin before he could pull them down again.
“Can you please tell me why I’m forced to knock on my own door?” Rome said in a low, even voice.
“Because you’re not allowed to ruin the surprise.”
“The surprise? What surprise? You’re being weird. Pierce just took me out for a drink, stole my keys, and abandoned me. What the hell is going on?”
I closed my eyes to fight back another laugh. When Pierce had offered to provide a distraction so I could get everything ready, I hadn’t pictured that specific tactic to keep Rome away from the penthouse for an hour.
“Are you ready for our final date?” I inquired as soon as I could speak without chuckling in his face.
“What? No way.” He leaned in close, rubbing his nose along mine. “I plan to date you forever and ever.”
“That still has to be negotiated. We agreed on five dates in exchange for a sizable donation to the natural history museum.”