Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 121(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 121(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
“I don’t know about this stuff either. I’ll admit I think I might have taken the comment too close to heart because Lauren is so pretty, and there was a weird tension, so I thought maybe she assisted you at one time too.”
“No one compares to you, and there is only you. Lauren is nothing but someone who works for me.” I want to tell her I think she’s bland and rather fucking annoying right now, but Gabriella is so sweet I don’t think she’d care for the remarks. “You hear me?” I cup her face in my hand. “Only you.”
“Only you, too.”
When she smiles this time, I get the dimples.
The last twenty-four hours have almost killed me, but it was worth it because now I’ve got my ring on her finger.
14
GABRIELLA
“Are you sure I look okay?” I ask Caleb again as we ride the elevator down. He is the picture of perfection in his suit. You can tell it was made for him.
I smooth my hands down my sweater. When they’d brought a few items of clothing over for me to choose from, I got flustered. It was all so fancy and elegant. While the dresses were beautiful, I felt awkward in them.
Caleb had sent them out with the dresses, and when they’d come back, it was with an entirely new selection of things for me to choose from. It was still expensive. I can tell from the feeling, but the clothes were more me. I don’t know how Caleb was able to explain what would work for me, but he nailed it. The man is good at everything he does. I have noticed he has an eye for details and catches things others don’t.
I now have on a white knitted sweater with a cute cat on it wearing reindeer ears and a holiday scarf. It is paired with a plaid skirt, the colors matching, along with tights and my Mary Janes.
“I tried to have my way with you, but you stopped me,” he points out.
“You always want to have your way with me.” I laugh.
“It suits you, and I fell in love with you, so of course I would like it.” He drops a kiss on the top of my head as the elevator doors slide open. I stand there for a second, his words catching up to me. He said love, right?
Caleb’s arm shifts to around my waist to guide me off, so I have no choice but to move. Thankfully. I didn’t want to stand there like a dork and then have to explain why.
"All you have to be is yourself, Gabriella. Everyone will adore you."
"I suppose if I landed a sweet man like you, that has to say something about me." He grunts a response.
Caleb does that a lot when I point out what a sweet, good man he is. It's kind of adorable for him to be bashful about it. He is never shy about anything else. He might get confused or not know how to say what he wants to say, but he's not one to hold back if he’s feeling a certain way.
He keeps me tucked into his side as we enter a large banquet room. This building really does have everything in it. The place is filled with people. I notice a lot of them turn and stare when we pass, though they try to hide that they are sneaking glances at us.
"Are you planning to say hello to anyone?" I ask. I give people smiles, but they turn quickly like I busted them staring. I suppose I did.
“I don’t need to.” He leads us over to a bar. “Sparkling cranberry.” Caleb orders for me.
“You don’t want to?”
“I don’t want to share you.”
“It’s not sharing me.” I laugh, melting into his side. I don’t think I’ll ever get over the rush of happiness I feel when I’m reminded of how Caleb wants to keep me all for himself for no other reason than me being me.
I run my finger along the underside of the ring he placed on my finger. That was more than shocking. He’d already had a ring. That said everything I needed to know. And the thing is massive. There is no way anyone could miss it, and they must know it was Caleb who placed it there, given how he keeps me glued to his side.
“Really only here for the Greens.”
“Right.” I remember. “Is there anything I should know?” His assistant had mentioned she knew them to some degree. I’m going to guess talking points or something along that line.
"They want to sell a property, but they are hesitant due to some of the buildings on it."
“Do they own the businesses or only the land?”
“The land, but the Greens are rather generous, and the wife, Martha, is a philanthropist, so a few of those occupied spaces are paying nothing in rent for a couple of organizations.”