Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78634 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78634 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“Oh, for sure,” I said. “Good thing he dropped by on a night when we were being all cute and cozy.”
Bryson grinned. “Isn’t that every night?”
“Yeah, it is.”
I leaned in and kissed him. When it started to heat up, he nuzzled my cheek and murmured, “Come on, let’s go to bed.”
“Are you tired?”
He flashed me a huge smile. “Not even a little.”
17
Bryson
January passed in a blur. Before I knew it, I found myself in Sausalito, standing on the balcony of the same inn where my grandfather had celebrated his birthday for at least the last ten years.
This time was different, though. This time, I was with Embry.
I turned away from the view of San Francisco, sparkling across the bay against a purple twilight, and grinned at the much better view in front of me. My boyfriend—okay, technically, my husband—was naked and strewn across the bed, snoring softly. We’d torn each other’s clothes off and fucked as soon as we’d arrived, and then he’d taken a shower and claimed he wanted to rest his eyes for five minutes. That was over an hour ago.
As I crossed the room, I ran my gaze all the way up his body, starting at his toes. I lingered on his cock for a moment before sliding up his happy trail and over the scar on his chest—fully appreciating the trust he put in me by allowing himself to be totally naked. Finally, my gaze came to rest on his angelic face. I took a seat on the edge of the bed and gently brushed his hair out of his eyes.
He was beautiful and sexy and so much more than that. He was everything to me, everything I could ever want, and far more than I ever thought I’d find.
It was no wonder I was falling in love with him.
I hadn’t told him that. I was worried he’d think it was too soon to confess my feelings… worried I wouldn’t be able to find the right words… worried he wasn’t in the same place yet.
I was worried that I wasn’t enough for him.
He was so vibrant and fun, so full of life and energy. He made me think of fireworks, gorgeous and bright and colorful, lighting up the world.
No one would ever describe me like that.
Embry stirred and raised his eyelids a fraction of an inch. When he saw me sitting beside him, a drowsy smile spread across his face, and he held out his arms to me. I stretched out beside him and gathered him in an embrace, and he murmured, “You smell good.”
“I smell like I always do.”
“And you always smell good.” I kissed his forehead, and he burrowed deeper into my arms as he mumbled, “Please don’t tell me it’s time to get up, because I don’t want to.”
“There’s still a little time. Cocktail hour with the family is in about forty minutes, but Granddad sent a message asking me to meet him beforehand. He says he has something important to discuss with me.”
“What’s that about?”
“No idea.”
He sat up and knit his brows. “There’s no reason to be worried, right? He couldn’t have discovered the truth… or did he?”
“How could he?”
Embry thought about it before saying, “What if he tracked down one of the women you met up with from the dating app? She could tell him you offered her money to pretend to be your wife. Since that happened just before you and I met, it would definitely make him question our marriage.”
“I don’t see how anyone would be able to find them. I deleted the dating app right after I met you, along with all the emails and text messages, so there’s no trail back to them.”
“Yeah, that sounds pretty impossible.” He climbed out of bed and pulled on a pair of briefs as he admitted, “I’ve been worried and anxious about this weekend, but I don’t know why. When we got together with your family at Christmas, we weren’t in a relationship yet, and now we are. That has to mean it’ll be easier this time, because we’re not faking it.”
“You’re right.” I watched him as he found a tank top in his suitcase and put it on. He seemed tense, so I asked, “Is there something else on your mind, Em?”
“I keep feeling like something bad is about to happen, but I know there’s no reason to think that.”
“Come here, baby.” I shifted around so I was sitting on the edge of the bed, and he climbed onto my lap. As we wrapped our arms around each other, I told him, “I wish there was something I could say or do to put your mind at ease.”
“Just keep holding me. This is all I need.” He put his head on my shoulder, and after a pause he said, “I feel a lot of pressure when we’re with your family. I’m always so afraid of saying the wrong thing and giving away our secret. If I end up doing something that costs you your inheritance, I’ll never forgive myself.”