Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
“Maybe people really are getting sick of all this fame-chasing.”
“Fame Warriors unite, right?” She looks over, her light layer of makeup highlighting her natural beauty, her hair in a cute bun. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?”
I reach over and touch her leg, almost relieved she’s wearing the denim. Every time I feel her bare leg, I lose control, slide my hand higher, and start touching her receptive, enticing body. Sometimes, we get so carried away that we “forget” to use a condom, but honestly, I think both of us want it. We know it feels right. We know I’ve already waited long enough to start living my life. We’re letting the passion take us to wherever it leads.
“It’ll be worth the wait,” I tell her, silently adding I hope.
I turn another corner, then drive up the hill so that, soon, we’ll be overlooking LA. “Paul and I used to hang out here sometimes,” I tell her. “We’d look at LA and make dreams about the future. We’d have offices there, we’d say, and in New York and London, all over the world. We’d build the business up together. We wouldn’t let being born poor define us.”
“And you didn’t,” she says as I pull up at the spot.
After I park, I walk around to her side and open the door for her. She looks vivacious and beautiful as she climbs from the car, giving me her hand. I pull her in for a kiss, squeezing her denim-clad hips and feeling the curves beneath.
She moans with her hand on my chest, looking at the empty road and then over at the city. It’s late afternoon, the buildings glistening. “Did you bring me here for that?”
“No…” I kiss her again, then take both her hands in mine. “I love you, Sophie.”
A smile spreads across her face, but there’s panic in her eyes. “Really? You do?”
“I go crazy if I think about you with anybody else. Whenever I think about the future, I only ever see you. I knew you were mine the second I laid eyes on you. That’s love, Sophie.”
“I love you too,” she whispers. “I wanted to say it, but I thought it would be too fast.”
“There’s no too fast with us,” I tell her. “Everything is just the right speed.”
She hugs me and pushes her cheek against my chest. I love it when she does that. I love the passion I can feel inside of her. It’s like she wants to glue herself to me. That would be fine with me, never having to be apart from her, fused to my woman.
I take another step back, reaching into my pocket. It should be anytime now. I spot it on the horizon.
“Sophie Taylor,” I say as I take out the ring box and lower myself to one knee. I look up into her glistening eyes at the shock and happiness touching her perfect features. “I love you so much. I never thought we’d make it, but somehow, we have, and I can’t wait to see where we go next. Together. Always together. So please, let me ask you. Will you look behind you?”
She turns slowly as the plane comes into view, trailing letters. Will you marry me?
She spins back, laughing in delight, nodding so hard like she’s trying to hurt her neck. I laugh and open the ring box. “My bad. I haven’t even shown you the ring yet.”
“I don’t need to see it,” she yells passionately.
“Give me your hand, then!”
I chuckle as she offers me her hand, sliding the ring onto her finger. She holds it up to the Californian sunlight. Maybe it’s the billionaire in me, but I’ve given my woman a big rock. It glistens in the sun.
I think about the man I was before all this started: the workaholic, the hollow man. I’m so filled with love now I can hardly believe that was ever me.
EPILOGUE
ONE MONTH LATER
Gwen
“No offense, but you’re acting like you didn’t know this was a possibility.”
Sophie flashes a smile at me, pacing up and down her bedroom. It’s a familiar scene, and yet so much has changed. Kaleb is moving to the West Coast. Paul is beginning to work with him, and both relationships are flourishing against all odds.
“Obviously, I knew it could happen,” she says, glancing over at her desk at the pregnancy test. “But knowing it could and having it actually happen are two very different things.”
“Well, how do you feel about it?” I ask, reaching out and touching her arm, stopping her frantic pacing.
She looks down at me, giving me the answer I need, even if she doesn’t say anything else. She can’t hide the happiness in her eyes. “I want it the more I think about it, but what if he doesn’t?”
“I bet he will.”