He froze.
“When I lost you…it hurt so much I thought I was going to die,” she admitted in a broken whisper. “I never want to go through that again.”
“Now who’s the dramatic one?” A smile teased at his lips as he continued backing her toward the wall.
Her heart skipped a beat because the second they reached it, he’d lift her up, step between her thighs, and bring her to heights she’d missed more than anything over these last few days. “Me,” she said, smiling.
The kiss deepened as her back hit the wall, and his hands under her butt supported her weight as he stepped between her thighs. His fingers slid where she needed him most. The second he pressed against her, they both groaned. Her because she wanted him, and him as he ended the kiss and took his fingers away. “Shit.”
“What?” she asked impatiently, trying to kiss him again.
He avoided her mouth, arching his neck as she nipped the skin under his ear, since it was all she could reach. “We have to go.” He tightened his hold on her hips. “The driver is outside.”
She sighed, dropping her head back and gripping his shoulders. “Can we send him away?”
“Unfortunately, no.” He stepped back, his fingers lingering over her butt as he lowered her to her feet. “It’s time to make our first official appearance together as a couple.”
She tugged on her gown, smoothing it, her heart dropping like an anvil. “Are you su—?”
“If you ask me if I’m sure again, I might lose my temper.” He cradled her face, his soft touch at direct contrast with his words. “What did I tell you my answer would be?”
“Yes, always yes,” she whispered.
He nodded, dropping his forehead to hers.
Her heart was so full with love and happiness it was a miracle it didn’t burst or lift her off the floor like a balloon. “I love you,” she said.
“I’ll never get sick of hearing that,” he rasped, kissing her again, but unfortunately keeping it short and sweet. “I love you, too. Now come on. I’m ready to show the world you’re mine.”
Smiling, she let him drag her out the door, only stopping long enough to grab her jacket and her purse. After they were settled in the back seat of the SUV he’d ordered, he touched his tux jacket pocket nervously, clearing his throat.
“So I pulled something together for you, in case you were interested. Please don’t think you have to accept this, but you were so upset when my investigator found out your past, and you said all you wanted was a clean slate.”
She frowned. “Okay…”
“Well, I got you one, if you want it,” he said, handing her an envelope. “If you want him to, my guy can make it so that whoever searches you up, no matter how good they are, they’ll only find what is in that envelope, if that’s what you want.”
She opened it, her heart beating fast.
As she unfolded the paper, her eyes widened, because according to the background check in front of her, she’d grown up in Georgia, lived a normal, boring life, attended private school, and moved to Chicago for college and stayed. No stories of her parents, no mention of a name change, nothing, just boring stuff no one would read twice.
“How…?”
He covered her knee with his hand. “Connections and money. I mean, it probably wouldn’t hold up against the cops or anything, but as long as you don’t get arrested, you could have your clean slate. Not because I want it, I don’t care if you go around telling everyone in that party tonight what your parents did, I’ll be right there with you, but if you want it…it’s yours.”
She blinked rapidly, holding the paper to her chest.
“I know it was presumptuous of me to start this without asking, but he hasn’t done anything official yet. He just mocked up a report of what your past would look like.” He laughed, running a hand through his hair. “He said it was best if we didn’t know too much, but you can apparently do wonders by just breaching a few firewalls.”
“You’d do that?” she asked slowly, blinking, still hugging the paper. “For me?”
“I’d do anything for you, Sammy.”
The love she’d been hiding choked her, welling up in her chest so much it was a miracle she didn’t explode. It threatened to spill out if she dared open her mouth to speak, so she kissed him.
He curled his hand around the nape of her neck, holding her in place as his mouth worked over hers. The car stopped, and he ended the kiss, sighing. “Interrupted, again.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. Reluctantly, she handed it back, smiling. “It means the world to me that you would do that, but I can’t let you break the law for me.”
“Are you sure—?”
She touched his mouth, nodding. “I wanted a clean slate, yes, and I got it, with you. If someone digs up my past, screw them. The only person I care about is right here, in this car with me, and he loves me no matter what.”
He nodded, kissing her again. “Yes, he does.”
“So…” She tipped her head toward the building filled with rich people. “Fuck them.”
Laughing, he nodded at the driver as he opened their car door.
She got out, and the second his feet hit the sidewalk, his hand closed over hers. With his other hand, he tucked the fake report in his pocket. She took a deep breath, tipping her head back to stare at the top of the skyscraper. “Are you ready for this?”
He tightened his fingers on hers reassuringly. “What did I say?”
“Yes,” she breathed, her heart filling even more. “Always yes.”
Epilogue
One year later
They sat on his couch (their couch, now), cuddled in the corner, his arms around her as they sipped wine in front of the crackling fireplace. They’d given up the pretense of her having her own place six months ago and had been happily living together ever since. Since she didn’t like opulence and her place wasn’t big enough for the two of them, they’d compromised and bought an affordable yet comfortable cottage on the outskirts of the city. It had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and was very sensible.
Gone were the days of penthouses and million-dollar trips.
It was Saturday, so they’d started out at Habitat for Humanity, then the soup kitchen, and ended up at their favorite restaurant—Fado Irish Pub—and finally, they’d gone to see a show. Taylor pulled out their calendar of dates, setting it on her lap.
“Want to mark today off for me?” he asked, handing her a marker.
She frowned at it. “Since when did you start carrying one of these again?”
He’d truly given up his schedules when they’d become official. They ate whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, and he no longer lived as a slave to his calendar.
“Just open it,” he murmured, pressing his mouth to her temple and kissing it.
She huddled closer to his chest and opened the pages, which had been paper clipped to open on November. She found the twenty-second and crossed it off with an X and frowned. “Why does it say see next calendar?”
“Does it?” he asked as if he had no idea—yet it was in his writing.
“What are you up to?” she murmured, craning her neck to see him and touching his unshaven jaw.
He’d participated in No-Shave November this year at her request, and she was fully enjoying the fuzz…though she wouldn’t mind when he shaved it all off and she could see his hard jawline again. “Nothing,” he said, pulling another calendar out of his back pocket.
She took it, frowning at it. “Have you been carrying that around all day?”
“Call me Hamilton.”
She blinked. “Why?”
He shrugged a shoulder, taking a big sip of wine. “The dude knows what he wants and doesn’t stop until he gets it.”
She rolled her eyes. “And you want a calendar? If you wanted to bring them back into our lives, you could have just said it.”
He laughed. “It’s not that.”
“Then what?”
He tipped h
is head toward the item in her hand. “Open it.”
Glancing down, her heart skipped a beat. She was almost afraid to see what was inside. The past year had been the best year of her life. He’d swept her off her feet that night at her old apartment, and he hadn’t let her touch the ground again. They had a few fights, sure, but each time they made up, it drew them closer to each other, and she couldn’t imagine her life without him in it. What if whatever was in here threw that balance off?
What if she was greedy to hope for more?
He cleared his throat and reached into his back pocket again, not removing his hand. It wouldn’t have been weird in any other circumstance, but sitting like they were on the couch, with her on his lap…it looked less than comfortable, to say the least. “Open it.”
“Okay…” She opened it. There were no markings, no mentions of meetings. It was completely bare except—she stopped flipping through at the date circled in pink. “What…?”
He slid out from under her and fell to one knee. It took her a full three seconds to figure out why, and when she did, she dropped the book and covered her mouth.
Smiling nervously, he held the diamond ring up. “This is the last time I’ll ever circle a date in my planner, but it felt way too huge to not do so.”
She swallowed, pressing her hand more fully to her mouth.
“So…I was thinking, if you’re not too busy that day, you might like to spend the day wearing a dress. I’ll wear a tux. But there’s one condition.”
She nodded for him to continue, not speaking because there were no words inside of her right now. Just incoherent squealing and shrieking.
“You have to promise, in front of everyone, to be mine for the rest of our lives. I love you so much, more than I ever thought possible, and the only way I could be any happier is if you did me the honor of being my wife.” He swallowed, his hand shaking slightly, which only made her eyes tear up even more, because Taylor never trembled. “Sam, will you marry me?”
She lowered her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks. “What did you say your answer would always be to me?”
“I…” He swallowed again. “I want to hear you say it.”
“Yes.” She sat up and swung her knees over the side of the couch, covering his hand with both of hers. “Always yes.”
He closed the distance between them, kissing her, and she clung to him with her eyes shut and her heart pounding so loudly she couldn’t hear the internal shrieking anymore.
When he pulled back, he gently slid the ring on her finger, running his hand over her knuckle. “I love you, Sam. So damn much.”
“I love you, too.”
He kissed her again, and as he lowered her on the couch and slid his body over hers, she thanked God that a year ago, she’d been too distracted and bid on the wrong man, because he was, hands down, the best mistake she’d ever made.
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About the Author
Diane Alberts is a multi-published, bestselling contemporary romance author with Entangled Publishing. She also writes New York Times and USA Today bestselling new adult books under the name Jen McLaughlin. She’s hit the Top 100 lists on Amazon and Barnes and Noble numerous times with numerous titles. Diane is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency. Her goal is to write so many fantastic stories that even a non-romance reader will know her name. Diane has always been a dreamer with a vivid imagination, but it wasn’t until 2011 that she put her pen where her brain was, and became a published author. Since receiving her first contract offer, she has yet to stop writing. Though she lives in the mountains, she really wishes she was surrounded by a hot, sunny beach with crystal clear water. She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her four kids, a husband, a schnauzer mutt, and four cats.
Also by Diane Alberts…
Faking It
On One Condition
Beauty and the Boss
The Prince’s Bride
The CEO’s Seduction
Romancing the Bachelor
Catching the Player
Try Me
Love Me
Play Me
Take Me
Temporarily Yours
Stealing His Heart
Seducing the Princess
Taking What’s His
Say You’re Mine
His Best Mistake
Falling for the Groomsman
Kiss Me at Midnight
Divinely Ruined
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