Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 121460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
“But …” My hand hovered over the black velvet. “I … I only got you aftershave.”
Brodan shook against me with laughter. “Just open it.”
With butterflies rioting in my belly, I took the box and pried it open.
Surprise, awe, then tenderness filled me.
Lying on the black velvet was a thin gold chain with a gold pendant. But not just any pendant. It was a circle, the lower half a solid gold, the upper laser cut to resemble a sun and its rays as it set on the horizon. In the center of the sun was a cluster of small diamonds. It was modern and unusual.
And so meaningful.
“It’s a sunset,” I whispered, gently touching the metal as my vision blurred.
“I bought it the day after I confronted your mum about my letter,” Brodan confessed. “I wanted to believe that we’d be in a place I could give this to you on Christmas Day.”
I smiled up at him, blinking back my tears. “I love it. It’s perfect. Thank you.”
He pressed a kiss to my temple. “Thank you, my love.”
For a moment, I could only stare at the necklace, still discombobulated by all that happened between us in the last few weeks alone. Brodan chuckled and took the necklace from me, setting it down on my bedside table. “You can look at it in the morning. Let’s get some sleep.”
I nodded, dazed.
Once in bed, we spooned in the dark of the room, no sound around us except for our gentle breathing.
Brodan’s arm wrapped tightly around me, his hand resting between my breasts. I covered his with mine and closed my eyes, deciding to accept the unbelievable night. To not overthink it.
To just take pleasure in sleeping with the man I’d dreamed of sleeping with for too many years to count.
30
Brodan
I’d always considered myself attuned to Monroe. As an actor, I liked to think I was adept at reading people, sensing their moods. That I was empathetic. But with Roe, it was more. When we were children and I first became aware of how crappy her home life was, I’d watched Roe like a hawk. Ready to swoop down and rescue her the moment she needed it. Monroe rarely needed rescuing, but often she needed the comfort of knowing someone cared about her. Therefore, I watched for those moments when she needed me to be that person.
It was a habit that evolved until I was always aware of her changing moods.
Apparently, I still was.
And I was worried.
The days after Christmas were fucking magical. There was no other word for it. We’d canceled Boxing Day plans with my family because I’d turned into a horny eighteen-year-old and couldn’t get enough of Roe. For two magnificent, unforgettable days, we’d learned every curve and hollow of each other’s bodies. Our mouths had covered every inch. Just thinking about it made me hard.
Unfortunately, we had to return to the land of the living. I had to grab some clothes from the estate. And we needed food. Yet I was determined we walk into the village as a couple. I didn’t want to hide it, even if it meant gossip among the villagers. The one thing Ardnoch could be counted upon for, however, was appreciating the positive consequences of the economic boom brought by my brother’s exclusive club. In return, they respected the privacy of the celebrities who stayed there. I had faith I would be afforded the same privacy, and that they’d keep any gossip among themselves.
We ventured out, and since I couldn’t seem to go five minutes without touching or kissing Roe, it was probably well known among the villagers that we were a couple by the time we got home from buying coffee and groceries. We’d also visited my family members individually, and I knew they were happy for us. Arro had texted after our visit:
Well, it’s about bloody time!
This was followed by a series of dancing-women emojis. I guessed that was a good thing.
Some of my family were gearing up for Lachlan’s Hogmanay party on the estate. Every year he rang in the new year with his members, and despite Vivien’s birth, Robyn had insisted he not miss it. It was a tradition. Eredine disliked Hogmanay, so she and Arran had opted to babysit Eilidh and Lewis, and Arro and Mac were joining them along with Skye and Vivien. That meant Robyn, Lachlan, Regan, and Thane would attend the party.
I’d told Roe I wasn’t going. I’d rather ring in the new year with her, hoping it would be a good omen for the future. But mostly, I was worried that if I took her into that world, the world of glitz and glamour and fame, it might scare her off. She was already cagey about my celebrity.
As we sat on the couch in her cottage, however, just a few days out from the party, I watched Roe warily over the top of the science fiction book I read.