Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 114011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
“Don’t mess up my stuff,” she says, laughing.
I lean my forehead against hers. “I’m your boss now. I can do what I want.”
She smacks my shoulder.
“I meant it when I told you that I love you,” I whisper. “I love you, Palmer Clark.”
“And I love you, Cole Beck.”
I pull her close to me again, needing to feel her heartbeat against mine.
This is better than any baseball game I’ve ever played in, better than any home run or grand slam in the biggest games of my career. This, right here, holding my girl, is it. It’s what I’ve always been looking for.
It’s the sweet spot.
And I’m never letting her go.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
PALMER
Burt’s face . . .” I giggle as Cole drives me home. “At least we were clothed, I guess.”
Cole snickers at the memory of Burt walking in with me sitting on my desk and Cole standing between my legs, kissing the hell out of me. He reaches across the console of my car and squeezes my thigh. “I need you unclothed as soon as humanly possible.”
My blood heats, and it’s hard not to undress in the passenger’s seat and climb on top of him while we’re going down the road.
“Is that what this is now?” I ask. “You think you can just undress me at any time?”
“You’re damn right I do.”
I lean back in my seat as his hand goes up my thigh.
Cole spent the entire afternoon at the office. Kirk ended up coming in for a few minutes while Charlotte was with her nurse and used that opportunity to tell the shop guys about Cole’s purchase. They took the news well. Burt walked Cole around the yard after Kirk left, and I think they had a bonding moment over stale doughnuts.
“We have some things to figure out, though,” he says, removing his palm from my leg.
“Like what?”
“Well . . .” He exhales. “Where do we live, for one?”
“What do you mean, ‘Where do we live’? You know where I live.”
Then it hits me. He wants to live together.
Butterflies take flight in my stomach, and I fight to keep them under control before I start dancing in my seat.
He glances at me out of the corner of his eye and grins.
“I know you’re Mr. Moneybags and all,” I say, laughing, “but I actually really like my house. Hey, by the way, do you own it now too?”
Cole chuckles. “Actually, I do. Or I will. It was a package deal.”
I roll my eyes at his amusement.
“I do want to add quickly before we move on,” he says, “that if you weren’t cool with me owning your house—like, if you were pissed at me and felt awkward about it—I would’ve deeded it over to you. I never would’ve held that over your head.”
“So you’ll deed it to me now?” I ask, testing the waters.
He reaches for my hand and laces our fingers together. “Pretty sure when I marry you that you’ll own half anyway.”
I don’t know whether to laugh, cry, or say a prayer that I don’t wake up from this wonderful dream.
“I’m going to marry you, Miss Clark,” he says, biting his bottom lip. “I’m going to marry you, put as many babies inside you as you’ll allow, and dote on you until you’re sick of me.”
“Easy on the doting, sir. I like my own personal space.”
He laughs in a way that makes me think he doesn’t buy into the idea of personal space. Oh dear. How will I ever manage?
I grin at him. “Can we still live at my house? At your house? At the house?”
He squeezes my hand. “I know things have been really easy with us.”
“Yeah.”
“But some things are going to have to change a little bit, Palmer.”
I furrow my brow. “Like what?”
“Like we can live at the house, but we’ll need to get a security system. That’s one example.”
“Really?” I think about needing a security system in Bloomfield. It’s unnecessary. Unless . . . “How much money do you have, Cole? Ballpark it, no pun intended.”
“How much do you think I have?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. A couple of million? That would be a lot.”
He bursts out laughing.
“Don’t laugh at me. I don’t know how much athletes make!”
“Palmer, I’m worth many, many millions of dollars.”
Many, many millions? Holy shit.
“That makes me super uncomfortable,” I say.
“Then let’s not talk about it. Let’s talk about the possibility of remodeling the house and making it exactly the way you’ve always dreamed of. Maybe a big bathtub?”
“Ooh. And maybe a new dishwasher?”
He laughs again like I’ve lost my mind.
I sit quietly as we pull into the driveway. We climb out of the car when Val pulls in. Ethan jumps out of her car and barrels straight for Cole.
“You are here!” he says.
“I told you to trust me.”
He did? “When?”
They look at me and chuckle.