Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 84219 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84219 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Right now, I have no interest to stop working. Besides, I like giving Franco crap at the office.
Not to mention the hot sex when he bends me over his desk.
“What do you think?” Mom suddenly asks.
“Huh?”
“Where’s your mind at?” she asks, holding up a cardigan for me to look at.
“Red’s not your color.” I dig between the other cardigans and find a light blue one. “This one will go with your eyes.”
Mom holds the red and blue one in front of her and turns to Via. “Which one do you like?”
Via instantly agrees with me as she says, “The blue one, ma’am.”
Mom drapes it over her forearm, and as we continue to look through the store, she says, “So he’s the one, sweetie?”
“Without a doubt,” I murmur, glancing at a couple of dresses.
“Have you talked about marriage and children?”
“Yes.” I grin at Mom. “We’d like to have two children, but we’ll see what the future holds.”
“Are you still going to work for him?”
“Yes.” Before Mom can throw the follow-up question at me, I say, “Franco is fine with it.”
“Really?”
I nod while holding a cute yellow dress in front of me.
“Oooh, I like that one,” Mom says.
I glance at Via, and she nods her approval.
When we walk to the counter to pay, Mom mentions, “He comes across as a very intense man.”
“It’s one of the things I love about him,” I reply while I look at some hats and scarves.
“He’s quite handsome.”
I grin at Mom. “Right?”
“Doesn’t it bother you when other women look at him?” she asks.
“No.” I place the clothes on the counter and add Mom’s items to the pile. “They can drool all they want. He’s mine.”
When Mom digs in her handbag for her wallet, I say, “Today’s shopping spree is sponsored by Franco.”
“Are you sure?”
I nod as I tap the credit card on the machine before tucking it back into my wallet.
I grab the bag, and when we continue to walk through the mall, Mom says, “I love how Franco looks at you.”
“Yeah? How does he look at me?”
“As if you’re his entire world.”
I let out a chuckle. “He actually tells me that on a daily basis.”
Mom hooks her arm through mine. “I’m really happy you met the one, sweetie.”
“Me too.”
Chapter 45
Franco
Scott sits at the kitchen table, watching as I roast the potatoes with herbs until they’re crispy.
“Where did you learn to cook?” he asks.
“My mom.” I glance at him from over my shoulder. “She practically lived in the kitchen.”
“Do your parents live in New York?”
I shake my head. “They passed away a few years ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he murmurs.
“They lived a long life,” I mention.
His eyebrows fly up, “How old are you?”
“Thirty-five. My parents had me late in life.” I take the pan off the stove and prepare three plates. Walking to the back door, I tell Milo, “Food’s ready.”
“Coming, boss.”
“Let’s eat here,” Scott says. “If we make a mess in the dining room, my wife won’t let me hear the end of it.”
I let out a chuckle as I place his plate in front of him. “It sounds like Samantha takes after her mother.”
“She does.”
Milo grabs his food and heads to the living room while I take a seat across from Scott.
There’s a nervous tension in my body as I lock eyes with him. “I need to talk to you about something important.”
His features tighten as emotion washes over his face. “I was trying to brace for it.”
“What?”
“You asking me for my daughter’s hand in marriage,” he says.
Nodding, I lift my chin, and after sucking in a deep breath, I murmur, “I love Samantha more than anything. Your daughter is the most amazing person I’ve ever met. She’s vibrant, intelligent, caring, funny, and so stubborn it drives me insane at times. I can’t live without her.”
He nods. “I know the feeling.” The corner of his mouth lifts. “I feel the same way about her mother.”
We stare at each other for a moment, then I say, “Your blessing is very important to me.”
“It’s up to Samantha. She’s the one who has to say yes.”
I nod. “I’d still like your blessing.”
He stares at me again. “Treat my daughter right.”
“Yes, sir.”
“She always bottles up her worries. You have to pry it from her.”
I nod. “I’m aware of that.”
The corners of Scott’s mouth tremble, and it makes me feel emotional. He takes a deep breath, then says, “You have my blessing.”
“Thank you, sir. I promise to protect your daughter. I’ll do everything in my power to make her happy.”
He nods before he cuts a chunk of steak and shoves it into his mouth.
An emotionally loaded silence falls between us as we eat our food.
Samantha
Cradling my baby nephew in my arms, there’s an intense need in my soul to have a child of my own.
It totally catches me off guard, and I can’t tear my eyes away from his wide blue eyes and chubby cheeks.