Series: Stacey Espino
Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23564 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23564 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
“What?” she asked.
“Do you love me? I’m not talking about a crush or something that’s fickle and temporary. Do you really love me?”
If she told him she didn’t, he’d leave and never bother her again. But somehow, he knew she had to feel the same way he did.
“You know I do.”
He exhaled. Grayson had no idea how desperately he needed to hear that. It meant everything to him.
“Then kiss me,” he said.
She bit her lip as he leaned down toward her. He brushed his lips across hers, softly, gently. “I love you,” he whispered. “Never run from me again.”
They kissed, deeply, with all the passion he’d been holding back the past weeks. He combed his fingers into her hair, pulling her body flush with his. Grayson lost himself in the kiss, savoring having her back in his arms and never wanting to let her go.
“People at your job will talk,” she said.
He smirked. “Baby, nothing you say will scare me away.”
“But—”
“I’m not letting you go.” He ran the backs of his fingers along her jawline. “I’m putting my house up for sale.”
“What? Why?”
“We’ll start over, start fresh, just the two of us. I’ll spend the rest of my life proving that we’re meant to be together.”
“I don’t know what to say,” she said.
He kissed her forehead. “Just tell me you’ll come to my house tonight. No sex. I just want to sleep beside you.”
“What if I want the sex part, too?”
Chapter Ten
Clara didn’t like this. The past month had been a whirlwind. First, she had arrived at Grayson’s house to see that he had put the place on the market. The moment she saw the sign, she realized she had made a big mistake.
The last thing she wanted was for Grayson to put his house up for sale. He had told her there wasn’t much history with April’s mother inside the house, and in fact, they hadn’t moved in long before her mother decided to leave.
Grayson was constantly showing her that it wasn’t his life he wanted her to be a part of, he wanted them both to share a life together, which she loved.
They had already told her mother, and she was certainly shocked by the news of her daughter’s much older boyfriend. Clara expected her to disapprove of them, but after enjoying dinner together, her mother had said she wasn’t worried.
“When you first told me, I was afraid for you, Clara. Dating an older man comes with a lot of … stigma … and I guess expectation. For a moment, I thought he was using you, but watching him today and the way he looks at you, and I mean all the time, there is nothing to worry about. That man is one hundred percent in love with you.”
Her mother had gone on to sing his praises and Clara couldn’t deny it.
She started out with a crush on Grayson, and now it was far more than that. Grayson had also asked her to move in, which had been a whole new experience for her. Packing up her meagre belongings and taking them to Grayson’s place was surreal. He even told her she could do whatever she wanted with the house to make it her own.
The other little surprise she had gotten was a job offer from his company. She’d been a little hesitant at first, but Grayson had sat her down in his office, and he’d conducted an interview, like he would with any other employee.
Clara had asked him if the only reason he was offering her a job was because of their relationship. She didn’t want to take any chances away from anyone else, if they were much better at the work than her.
Grayson surprised her even more. A couple of her professors had reached out to multiple companies on her behalf, asking them for a potential internship, or a chance at employment. They had even presented them with some of the ideas she had expressed in her thesis, as well as those she worked on through class as part of her studies.
He’d taken her hands and then cupped her cheeks. “I’m not the only company that is interested in you, Clara. You have an amazing talent, and I know my company will thrive with you as part of it. I want to keep you close, you know I do, but I also want to help you. I fear others will break you, they’ll use you, and keep you in place just to milk you for all you’re worth. I can’t have anyone do that to you. I won’t allow it. I know the assholes you’ll be facing.”
“People are going to talk, Grayson.”
“Do I look like I give a fuck? Yes, they are going to talk, but that’s the point. You can prove your worth to the company in a matter of months. Let them talk. I promise you, if I thought there was someone else better at this job, I wouldn’t be giving it to you.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “But I know you’re the best, and I know I can help you. Let me help you.”