Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72543 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72543 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
“Believe it, baby, and just say yes.”
“I mean yes, of course, I’ll marry you. You know that isn’t even a question, but not like this. That’s not how I want to remember it and enjoy it. And we can’t go to Vegas. It’ll make it look like we’re sheltering you by offering me immunity from testifying.”
My lips press together with the reality of her words. “I wish you weren’t right.” I catch the strand of hair over her face, and caress it away. “I love you, Alana.”
“I love you, too,” she whispers, capturing my hand in hers.
“I’m going to get you a new ring that isn’t attached to this fake fiancée stuff you have in your mind. I’ll ask you again, in a romantic way, you’ll want to remember.”
“What? No. No. I love this ring. And right here on the floor of a home we share together, with wine in our bellies and our glasses, is pretty darn romantic to me.”
“You sure?”
“Very, very sure.”
“Then it’s official,” I say, possessiveness for Alana burning through my blood and roughening up my voice. “You are no longer my fake fiancée.”
She laughs. “No. I am no longer your fake fiancée.”
Chapter fifty-one
With Alana the star of the weekend in my mind, and my life for that matter, we spend the remainder of two days, talking, fucking, planning our future, and repeating, Somehow in the middle of it all, I keep in contact with Blake and his team without Alana knowing and getting all worked up. Outside of my communication with Walker, an interesting part of the weekend is hearing from not one single board member. They’ve gone silent, and that tells me my father is up to no good, but it’s nothing Walker can identify. Whatever talks are happening, and there are conversations happening behind my back, they’re done carefully and off the known record. Too many of them have links to the nastiness that is my father’s business. They might think they’re staying on with the company, they will think that now and Monday morning, but not much longer.
By the time I wake Monday morning with Alana’s naked body sprawled all over mine, I’m feeling the pulse of agitation for what is to come, and I need to fuck. I roll her over, sliding inside her, and pound away my frustration, my hand on her backside, her submission, as powerful and sweet as it gets. It’s not until we’re in the shower, her arms wrapped around me that she says, “I know today is the day.”
“Maybe,” I say, because I really want her to go to set and just focus on her day, not mine, when I know she’ll be trapped on set and worried. Though I’m more than a little happy to have her stuck there, where I can keep her safe.
“You’re doing that thing, you do,” she says, when we exit the shower and start drying off.
“What thing?”
“When you’re preparing for something big you get intense and withdraw.”
I close the space between us and kiss her. “Not from you.”
“I know. It’s the moment. You’re just highly focused on what’s before you, but I think it will work out.”
As do I, but not as gently as she suspects, because I know her, as well. She paints sunshine and rainbows to guide her through the storms, and sometimes, they’re contagious, especially to me, but not this day.
It’s only six am when we pull up to the studio in a Walker SUV.
Adam exits the vehicle first and Alana follows with me joining them outside last. Adam intuitively steps away, allowing us privacy, and my hands settle on Alana’s waist, under her jacket. “Feel free to tell the world we’re engaged. And how have you avoided questions about your ring? Or have you?”
“I took it off in the studio and probably still have to do the same. Because I promise you, they will want to cover my personal life now more than ever and Lana will have some grand scheme to announce it to viewers.”
“You took it off,” I say, not quite sure what to do with that.
“We were fake. I couldn’t deal with that on camera.”
“We were never fake, woman. And you knew it. We both knew it.”
“We hadn’t dealt with that together yet. I still really want to get past what’s going on this week with your father before I open up that pressure the press will be for us with the show. They’ll probably tease my love life for the next season.”
I cup her face and lean in close. “Tell Dierk to fuck off.”
She laughs a sweet, fluttery butterfly laugh. “I’ll keep saying no to him. No saying fuck off to him. He’s on my show and still has to film part of it.”
“I make no promises on that. Hell, I’ll pay to re-film the episode with someone else.”