Total pages in book: 225
Estimated words: 218500 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1093(@200wpm)___ 874(@250wpm)___ 728(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 218500 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1093(@200wpm)___ 874(@250wpm)___ 728(@300wpm)
Derek told me he’ll be stepping up with helping with his father’s company. He said his clubs are running well with the current management and he doesn’t mind stepping up for a few months, helping to recruit some additional C-level team members to help lighten his dad’s load. Asher, who previously vowed to never work for the family business, is planning to step up as well.
Derek told me Grace is moving home with her father for a while to help run the household and take on her mother’s charitable work. Derek feels comfortable with the safety of where we live, but tells me he’s hiring extra security short-term while things get sorted with Elijah’s enemy and wants me to use personal security when I leave the house, until all this is over with.
I tried to ask questions, but he asked me to trust him, to not worry about any of that.
He scoops me up into his arms as we approach the front door of the house.
I laugh.
“Feels like a new beginning for us. Wanted to do this again. Crazy?”
“Batshit crazy,” I quip.
He laughs, pushes in the door code and crosses the threshold.
And I stare straight ahead. At my dream house. That Derek bought for me.
Tears spring up in my eyes.
“Bunny?” he asks.
I try to blink them away. But he’s seen them.
“It’s been a whirlwind. A whirlwind and a half. I think I’m just feeling it.”
He nods, seeming to understand, and carries me upstairs.
“Why are we going upstairs?” I ask.
“Why do you think?” he returns.
I giggle as I’m dropped on the bed. He pounces.
And he doesn’t fuck me. He makes love to me. Slow, unhurried, passionately. I cry when I come and he holds me tight, whispering that he loves me.
I’m cooking when Derek comes into the kitchen. His eyes light up.
“What is this delicious scent I’m smelling, wife?”
“Mongolian beef,” I reply.
He kisses me and looks into the pan. “What’s the occasion?” he asks with a big smile.
“Uh… dinner?”
“Dinner is the occasion?” he asks.
“We need to eat.”
He wraps both arms around me and backs me up against the counter and tugs on my ponytail.
“Thank you for making dinner for us, Chloe. I can’t wait to eat it.”
I feel like I’m beaming. And I feel a little silly for it, but the praise feels nice.
“How about if you set the table?” I suggest.
“You’ve got it, baby. My sister gave me a hard time for not hiring staff. I wanted to leave it up to you. If you want to hire someone to cook and clean, if you want to use my sister’s chef friend for our meals, whatever you want, okay?”
“Okay.”
“I love this, you cooking for me, but don’t want you to feel like you have to do it just because you’re a female.”
“I don’t know when I might go back to work, I might like to take another few weeks off,” I say.
“Whatever you want,” he says, and it seems like he means it.
“I can handle some domestic things for now. When I decide, maybe we can have someone come in once a week for the deeper cleaning. But day to day, we’re both pretty tidy and I like to clean. I find it relaxing.”
He smiles. “Your decision. I don’t want live-in staff. Unless you decide differently when the baby comes, and you need help for that… you know. I mean, I’ll help as much as I can of course.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re really fixated on this today, aren’t you?”
He moistens his lips and looks like he’s weighing what he wants to say.
“I do eventually want kids, Derek, but let’s not jump the gun. I’m on the pill and-”
He squints a little.
“I don’t want to burst your bubble here,” I continue, “but let’s table it for at least a year.”
“Why?” he asks.
“We’re very… new.”
“You don’t know if you’re fully in this?” he asks.
I feel uncomfortable. “Derek, a whole lot has happened. How about if we just take one day at a time? If this were a traditional relationship, a year would probably pass before the conversation came up. You know?”
I can’t decipher his expression. He sets the dinner table.
“This is delicious,” he says for the third time.
“Thank you.” I reach to grab the wine bottle and top my glass off. “There’s more. You look like you’re ready for a second helping. Want me to grab it?”
“No, I’ll do it,” Derek says, giving me a strange look. He fishes his phone out of his pocket and does something on it, looking concerned as his eyes scan the screen.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
He looks conflicted.
“Something wrong?” I ask.
He blows out a breath slowly. His face is full of uncertainty.
“Is this about the baby stuff? If you’re looking for a declaration, if you’re asking me about the future, you have to be patient with me, please.”