Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Uncle Cane was gone, and Carter was leaning against the SUV while he waited for me. He was on his phone, the corner of his mouth raised in a smile.
“I guess your conversation went over well,” I said as I walked to the vehicle.
He looked up from his phone, his eyes playful. “Yeah, we had our usual father-son talk. He’s still a little pissed at me, but he’ll get over it in time.”
“Then why are you grinning like that?”
“Funny that you ask…” He clicked something on his screen then turned the phone around so I could see it.
The video showed Muse outside a restaurant. Vanessa was in the background, and some of the guys on my security team were escorting Muse to the car while the paparazzi pushed a camera into her face. First, they asked if she was living with me, which she never really answered.
I took the phone from him and watched the video with narrowed eyes. When did this video take place? Did she go out last night? Is that why she called me?
“Sapphire, do you love Conway Barsetti?” They pushed the microphone at her and followed her as she headed to the car.
Instead of ignoring them again, a slight smile appeared on her lips. It was the same look she gave me when we sat across from each other during our intimate meals. It was the same look she gave me when she told me she missed me. It was real, not a mask she plastered on for the cameras.
And then she answered. “Yes. Yes, I do.”
Carter kept glancing at me from his side of the car. We were slowly approaching Verona, just thirty minutes outside the city. “Con, we haven’t said more than a few words to each other this whole drive. What’s the deal?”
I wasn’t in the mood to talk. That video kept flashing across my eyes over and over. I heard her voice as she said those simple words.
She loved me.
I knew it wasn’t a publicity stunt. I saw the sincerity in her eyes. The fact that I didn’t question it told me I had already suspected it anyway. It was obvious in her affection, the way she worried about me anytime I was gone. She slept on my chest every single night, and the second I wasn’t there, her senses picked up on it. When I gave her freedom to leave, she chose to stay.
Now I knew why.
Carter whistled. “You alive over there?”
“Shut up, Carter.” I stared out the window, unsure what I would do once I got back to the house. For a brief second, I’d felt warmth flood through my veins when I heard her declare her love for me. But then it turned ice-cold immediately afterward.
I told her I didn’t want romance.
Or love.
I wasn’t naïve enough to pretend she and I didn’t have a deep relationship. We had friendship, trust, and loyalty to one another. If she really meant nothing to me, I’d have been fucking other women this entire time.
But she was all I wanted.
But that didn’t mean I loved her.
Hardly.
Maybe she was arrogant enough to think I would change my mind. Maybe she thought I didn’t know what I wanted. Maybe she mistook my affection for commitment.
I enjoyed what we had, but I didn’t want forever.
I never wanted forever.
All things in life were temporary. Muse and I were no different. She ignited a fiery passion inside me, making me obsessed and protective. But that was an example of intense love, nothing more. This was just a phase, an inspiration for my career. But Muse wouldn’t be my muse forever. Eventually, she would lose her allure, and I’d want someone else to replace her.
Even though that made me a dick, it was the truth.
Carter broke the silence again. “What is the big deal, Con? A beautiful woman loves you… Poor you. She’s got to be the most gorgeous woman in the world right now. Everyone is obsessed with her—but she loves you.”
“I don’t want her to love me, Carter.”
“Bullshit,” he said. “You’re so sprung off her.”
“Yes, I know,” I said quietly. “I’m obsessed with her. I care about her. But that’s where it stops. I told her I didn’t want anything more than that. I told her marriage and love would never be on the table…but she didn’t believe me.”
“And I don’t blame her. No one would. You two act like—”
“Our relationship is intense, but it has a time limit.”
“Why?” he asked. “Why does it have to have an expiration date?”
“Because that’s not how I design lingerie. Lingerie is about passion. Monogamy already leads to stale and boring relationships. I can’t have that.”
“You’ve already proven you’re the best of the best, Conway. I think you can take a step back and cruise.”
“I don’t want to cruise,” I argued.
“And it seems like our parents are still in love,” he pointed out. “So, your theory about staleness is incorrect.”