Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 130255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
He jerked back up and looked at me. “What?”
“All my stuff is at my house.”
He stared at me.
“I can’t just leave it all there,” I continued. “My favourite pyjamas are still on my airer where I forgot to grab them before I left, and you’ve got far too many cats here for Winston to be able to exist without his microchip bowl. He’s a greedy little sod, let me tell you.”
“Ellie.” He grabbed my face, looking at me with something that vaguely resembled hope. “What are you saying?”
“When you told me what happened to your parents, before you left, you said that I was the only thing you were sure of. You just said it now, too.” I blinked tears back. “Well, you are the only thing I’m sure of, Max.”
He held my gaze, not moving, not even so much as a twitch of a fingertip against my cheek.
“I just wanted inspiration when I came here. That’s all I hoped to find,” I said softly, swallowing desperately against the lump in my throat. “I didn’t expect to find you.”
His thumb brushed over my lower lip, slowly tracing its gentle curve with the softest of touches.
“I love you, too,” I said, no longer able to stop a tear falling. “I don’t want to leave. I love this place. I love the goats with their pool noodles. I love your grandmother. I even love her friends. If we ignore May.”
His lips pulled to the side. “As a rule, we always ignore May.”
“Smart.” I nodded, turning away so I could wipe my eyes. “Do you mean it? What you said? About the future?”
“Every word,” he said quietly. “You are my future, Ellie. If you want to be.”
I lifted my gaze to meet his and held it for a long moment, ignoring the silly little boom-boom thing my heart was doing. “I have some terms.”
Max sniffed and dragged his teeth over his lower lip, nodding. “Hit me with them.”
“I’m not selling my house,” I said firmly. “I like my house, and my publisher is in London. I’m not selling it to stay in a hotel when I have to go there for meetings and whatnot. That stuff is expensive. Like my house, actually.”
“That’s reasonable. Besides, property is a solid investment,” he replied without batting an eyelid.
“I want to write in the library.”
“You can have it. It’s all yours. Consider it your office.”
I tilted my head. “And I can read all the books?”
“Every last one.”
“Can we do that thing in the window seat?”
He rubbed his hand over his mouth. “If you ask me really nicely.”
“Okay, good.” I paused, then nodded slowly.
Max cleared his throat. “Is that it? You used ‘terms’ a bit loosely, didn’t you?”
“Hang on, I’m thinking.” I flapped my hands. “How public is this going to be? Because when this book releases my publicist is going to be working overtime when everyone asks me if it’s based on a true story.”
He choked back a laugh. “You’re the one who reads the society papers for research. How public do you think it’s going to be? Also, not a term. Or a condition.”
“Yeah, I ran out of those.” I looked up at him and smiled. “I just really wanted my house and the library to write in.”
“Ellie,” he breathed, laughing softly. “I’d give you my house if it meant you’d stay here.”
I collapsed into him, trying not to let out the sob that had my chest tightening. “I do have to go back, though. My parents are coming.”
“I know. I understand.”
“And my favourite pj’s really are on the airer.”
He cupped the back of my head and pressed his lips against my hair. “I can come with you, if you want.”
I shook my head. “No, if I’m coming back, can you look after Winston? It doesn’t seem fair to lock him in the carrier for such a long trip when I’m going to be coming back in a week or so.”
“Of course. He’s more than happy here.”
“You know my parents might come back with me when I tell them I’m moving. And my best friend is going to want to interrogate the crap out of you. Meg can be quite the shark when she wants to be.”
Max slowly nodded. “You’ve put up with Grandma for weeks on end. I think I can handle it.”
I leant back and smiled up at him. “Um… Can I stay in the lodge until I find somewhere to live?”
His eyebrows shot up. “Find somewhere to live? Did you assume I’d confess my love for you and then tell you to live elsewhere?”
“No, no. I just didn’t want to… you know, assume anything. Or make you think that I thought I’d just move right in with you, so…”
“The lodge is yours,” he said softly, smiling. “I only rent the properties out to stop them falling into dusty messes. You’re comfortable there, aren’t you?”