Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 92334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Just as I’m placing the ceramic star on top, I hear the faint sound of her workshop door opening down the hall.
Quickly, I dim the other lights in the apartment and grab the puppy, who’s fallen asleep on the couch. He blinks drowsily as I hold him against my chest, positioning myself next to the tree.
“Cole?” Sloane’s voice carries from the hallway. “Is that you?”
“In here,” I call back, my heart pounding.
She appears in the doorway, still wearing her work clothes—jeans and an oversize sweater, red hair piled messily on top of her head. There’s a smudge of something on her cheek, probably silver dust from the piece she’s been working on. She’s never looked more beautiful.
For a moment, she just stares at the tree, her expression unreadable.
“What is this?” she finally asks, her voice quiet.
“It’s a tree,” I say lamely. “You said you wanted one.”
“That was before—” She stops, noticing the puppy in my arms for the first time. Her eyes widen. “Cole . . .”
I step forward, the puppy now fully awake and wiggling. “I know I messed up. I know I should have told you the full truth from the beginning.” I take another step. “Your work is brilliant, Sloane. I knew it the moment I saw the first piece you created. Yes, initially I thought your line would be a perfect way to fuck over Julian and protect Claire’s legacy. I was using you as a tool. I can’t deny that. But you’ve created something beyond what I could imagine. Something that stands entirely on its own merit. You aren’t Claire. You have something far darker, edgier, and completely your own.”
She doesn’t move, but her eyes remain fixed on the puppy.
“I never meant to put you in danger. I let my arrogance get in the way of thinking I was more powerful than Julian. Knox tried to warn me, and I didn’t listen. I also should have never stalked you. Because you are right. That’s exactly what I was doing. No excuse.”
“A tree and a puppy,” she says softly. “That’s how you think you’ll fix this?”
“No.” I shake my head. “Nothing fixes what I did. But I’m hoping it’s a start. I’m hoping you’ll let me spend every day showing you how much I believe in you. In us.”
She looks up at the tree, taking in the crooked trunk, the sparse patches, the messy popcorn garland. Her eyes linger on the ceramic star.
“You bought a star,” she notes.
“I wasn’t sure if you had your grandmother’s.”
The puppy yawns dramatically, making Sloane laugh despite herself.
“Cole . . .” she whispers, reaching to take the puppy. It immediately starts covering her face in enthusiastic kisses. “This is the puppy from the rescue van. You adopted him? I thought—”
“I know it’s crazy,” I say quickly, my words tumbling out. “I know puppies are messy and unpredictable and completely against everything I usually—” I break off as the puppy wriggles free from Sloane’s arms and bounds over to me, attacking my tie with delighted ferocity. I can’t help but smile. “But when I saw the way you looked at the little guy . . .”
Sloane watches me as I gently detangle my silk tie from the puppy’s mouth, and I’m acutely aware of how undignified I must look—Cole Archer, CEO, completely undone by a handful of fur and enthusiasm. But somehow, I don’t care.
“When did you do this?” she asks, moving closer, taking the puppy into her arms.
“Knox went back for him. He’s been hiding at his place, which has not been good for Knox’s reputation with his security team.” I feel my expression turn serious, the weight of what I’ve done settling in. “I know it’s a big step. A puppy isn’t just a gift, it’s—”
“A commitment,” she finishes. “A responsibility. A complete disruption to your perfectly ordered life.”
“Our life,” I correct her softly. “And maybe it needs disrupting.” The puppy is licking her face and squirming all around. She catches him just before he face-plants. “I’ve spent my whole life thinking I needed to control everything. Then you came along . . .” I look down at the puppy, now contentedly chewing her finger. “I thought I was giving you a gift, but really . . . I think I’m giving us both permission to make a mess. Create something new.”
She takes a deep breath, and I can see the walls she’s built around herself starting to crumble. Carefully, she sets the puppy down on the floor, where he immediately begins investigating his new surroundings.
Sloane steps toward me until we’re just inches apart. Her eyes search mine, and I force myself to stay still, to let her see everything—my regret, my hope, my love.
“I was so angry,” she whispers. “Not just because of what happened, but because I was afraid of my worst fear. That you never really believed in me.”