Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 57028 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57028 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
He laughs darkly.
“What?” I ask.
“You called me ‘Dad’, not ‘Father’. Call me sentimental, but that feels like it means something.”
“If tomorrow goes well, you’ll be ‘father-in-law’.”
His eyebrows shoot up. “Don’t you think it’s too soon?”
“There’s no such thing as ‘too soon’ for me and Evie.”
It’s our flavor of crazy, and goddamn, I love the taste.
CHAPTER 28
EVIE
Evie: I’m in the window seat of the cafe.
Itext Dom, a smile on my face, but that’s not a mind-blowing statement. This past week has been one full of smiles, of letting go, of accepting that, sure, we’ll never be ‘normal’ but ‘normal’ is overrated, anyway.
We’ve both got our fair share of darkness, especially when the nightmares come, but we’re there for each other. The confusion has diffused into a solid certainty. We started as a complicated mess, as a prisoner and her captor, but we’re something else now. We’ve evolved, and we’re going to keep evolving.
Forever.
At first, that felt like a weighty word, like I was venturing into territory I had no right in. I’ve spent so long living from moment to moment, from disaster to disaster, that ‘forever’ felt like a promise I had no right to make. But the more time I spend with Dom, the more believable it feels.
I deserve love. Happiness. And I’m done doubting.
Dom: I won’t be long. I’ll honk when I’m outside.
Evie: It’s going to be interesting to see who this mystery client is.
I sip my coffee. I’ve been busy the past week, focusing on the engagement ring, applying love and care to every detail. The ring costs two hundred thousand dollars. Two hundred thousand. I have to repeat it in my head just to convince myself this is my life.
I started in a cruddy apartment, struggling to pay rent. Now Tash and I have found men we love, who love us, and we have security.
Since the ring is so expensive, Dom agreed to take it to work with him this morning so that I wouldn’t have to carry it alone. I drove one of his cars from the estate into Century City. No–our cars. That’s what he told me to call them when he showed me the garage last night.
“Nothing is just mine anymore,” he told me. “The sooner you get used to that, the better.”
A limo pulls up outside the café, honking its horn. I take another sip of my coffee as I wait for Dom to arrive. He left in one of his sports cars this morning.
Dom: Hey, Keepsake, did you hear the honk?
I almost spit my coffee out.
Evie: Are you in a LIMO? Why?
Dom: You’ll see – come on. Join me.
As I walk from the café, I feel everyone’s eyes on me. I used to get paranoid about people watching me in public. What if they were working with The Vultures? Now, I feel special, singled-out in the best way.
The driver climbs from the car and opens the back door for me. I climb in and fall into Dom’s arms. He pulls me close for a kiss, tucking my hair behind my ear, making me tingle in that irresistible, hungry way that never gets old.
“What’s all this?” I ask.
He winks. “You’ll see.”
“Do you want to impress my customer?”
“Something like that.”
I lean back, drinking in my man with his sparkling eyes and his knowing smirk.
“Why do I feel like I’m missing something?” I ask.
He leans in and pulls me in for another kiss, pressing his lips firmly against mine, sliding his hand up my leg. Tingles dance and shimmer up my thigh, teasing my core. After our first time, I thought I’d need time to recover – and I do, but nowhere near as long as I thought.
“Now you’re trying to distract me,” I murmur, slipping my hand under his suit jacket and feeling the firmness of his chest, his heat blazing through the fabric of his expensive shirt.
“Trying?” He kisses me again, our tongues hungrily finding each other, pleasure simmering and singing. “It feels like I’m succeeding.”
“Do you want me all hot and flustered when I meet this mystery customer?” I counter.
He leans back, looks out the window, the light catching him just so. His stylish clothes outlined perfectly in his muscular form. I press my legs together to stop myself from jumping his bones.
Soon, the car stops outside a large, empty storefront on Century City, a big sold sign outside it.
“This is a great location,” I say as we step from the limo, Dom’s hand on the small of my back. “Maybe the customer is going to open a store.”
Dom tilts his head at me as he leads me to the entrance and opens the door to reveal a gorgeous interior, glistening display cases just waiting to show their wares, with tall windows letting in floods of sunlight. I walk around the store, taking it all in, forgetting why I’m here for a moment.