Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 40969 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40969 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
“Celeste.” The sliding of the elevator door alerts me that Wylde is home, and that is not the sound of a happy man.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” I turn off the television and throw the remote on the couch. Going to him is the only thing on my mind. Wylde being okay trumps everything—the casino, the hotel, the spa. Nothing matters if he’s not okay.
“I’m okay, promise.” I greet him halfway. His lips touch mine, arms wrapping around my lower back, pulling me close. It’s a kiss full of everything—hope, dreams, happiness, contentment, and even love. The words we’ve yet to say to one another, yet are bubbling under the surface, at least for me. I’d scream them out right here and now if the timing were right.
“You may say you’re okay, but the heaviness lurking behind your eyes, the heaviness of your body, they’re telling me something different, Wylde.” He doesn’t let me go, not when he takes a deep breath, inhaling before exhaling. The suit he’s wearing looks like he’s been in it for days instead of hours, and his hair is askew. Clearly, his hands have been running through it more than normal. The tie he never leaves without is off, and I can taste and smell the sweet oaky flavor of his preferred bourbon.
“Yeah, you could say that. I think you should be sitting down when I tell you the shit that went down at the casino today.” He pulls away, not going far, just enough for us to move through the penthouse, bypassing the living room and open-area kitchen. I’m thinking we’re heading towards his wet bar that stays fully stocked off what’s essentially the dining room, but we don’t go there either. It’s when we’re closing in on the balcony that I clue in that he needs to be outside, to breathe fresh air after being in a closed-up building all day.
“Hey, you’re kind of scaring me, handsome,” I say after we finally sit down. My ass is planted on his thigh, legs hanging over the chair, body turned into his. Wylde is quiet, almost in-his-head kind of silent.
“That’s because I’m trying to come up with the words to let you know how today went while still cushioning the blow.” My mind turns to the spa, thinking something happened to it. If that’s the case, I’ll have my dad to thank for taking out an extra insurance policy, but surely, Wylde would have called and had me go down to look it over.
“Well, I think the suspense is making it worse. So, if you could, you know, pull the Band-Aid off with one quick pull, it might help move things along.” There’s a tilt to his lips, and his eyes soften.
“Nico and Dante figured out why Layla left as abruptly as she did.” He nods, hand going to my outer thigh, squeezing it before he continues, “Layla was an accomplice of Terry’s, the head of security who was fired. They had this big grand scheme. I don’t know the whole story, and frankly, I couldn’t give two fucks since it came with a shit ton of red tape and dealing with cops all day.”
“Well, that wasn’t too bad, Wylde. We can’t help what people do. Did it suck how she all but dipped out? Yes, but that’s on her. It really pisses me off that it took you away today and that it’s giving you nothing but more stress, but handsome, we can’t control other people. This isn’t on you, and it isn’t on me; it’s on those two people.” I wrap my arms around his neck, touch my forehead to his. Wylde lets the weight go that was piled on his shoulders.
“Fuck, Celeste, this whole day, I was worried it would wreck you. I hated that I was missing a great day to be around you, seeing you surround yourself with Tyra and Von, knowing one day, that’ll be us, chasing after a toddler back here.” He stops. My heart beats out of my chest. “Loving you, sweetheart, it’s easy, like needing air to breathe, and I know I’ll love you until my very last breath.”
“Oh God, Wylder Hayes, how am I supposed to compete with that? You just gave me everything I never knew I wanted. Your love alone is everything, and when the time comes to have children, I know it’ll only ever be with you.” The hand on my thigh moves to my lower back, his other one to the back of my head, guiding me towards his lips, not like it takes much persuasion on my part. I’d follow him anywhere if it meant getting drunk off his love for me.
Epilogue
WYLDE
Six Weeks Later
“Is this what I think it is?” Celeste asks, looking at the marquis sapphire diamond I placed on her ring finger without so much as saying a single word. This morning, I left the bed while she was still asleep, sneaking off to my home office, where I grabbed the ring and pocketed it in my gray sweatpants. I didn’t want to wake her, not after keeping her up most of the night. At least this morning went uninterrupted, but with this on my mind, I was too keyed up to stay asleep or lie in bed much longer, and there was no reason to wake her up with my restlessness.