by Daya Daniels
A sharp nose. A strong chin and jawline. Full lips that I could kiss for centuries. This hottie is the epitome of what I’d look for in a man. He’s everything a woman could want. And I want him to be mine.
“Please stay,” he whispers into the shell of my ear. “I want to make you breakfast.” He smiles. “Will you stay?” he asks, nudging me to lie on my back.
I nod weakly.
“Good. I don’t want to wake up in the morning and discover you’ve fled into the night like Cinderella.”
I muster a small laugh. “I wouldn’t do that. Besides, I don’t think I can let you go now. Not after all that action,” I joke.
He gives me a sly smile. “Neither do I.”
His hard cock brushes the inside of my thigh and I manage a laugh.
“I want to know everything about you, raindrop,” he whispers. “Everything.”
Giggling at the moniker he called me, I tell him, “There’s plenty of time.”
He grazes his nose against mine and I swear I’m forever lost in his eyes.
Those damn eyes.
MEI
FOUR WEEKS LATER
IT’S ELEVEN IN THE morning on a Sunday. Carter insisted we meet for coffee at a little café on Crosby Street in SOHO.
We’d been seeing each other for a few weeks, just casually. Most of the time we spent at his place on the Upper West Side. Anywhere was better than the cramped apartment that I shared with the most annoying roommate in the world down in Chelsea that smelled like soup and stale coffee all the time.
I was broke—always broke. I lived on a very menial budget. I had a small job waiting tables on some nights that paid well, but it wasn’t full-time. It was barely part-time because of school, so my earnings were always tiny. Carter insisted I quit and focus full-time on medical school, but I couldn’t afford to.
Carter is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. The type of man who would give you the clothes off his back if he knew you were cold. I’ve been swept away in the winds that are this man, who can always make me laugh even when I want to cry. He’d light up my day by bringing me a cupcake from Magnolia Bakery on Bleeker Street. And he always had a rose for me—either red or white. He gives me one each week.
Even though he’s young he has the romantic soul of a man much older, like he’s from another era. He plays guitar and sings. He quotes Hemingway and Shakespeare all the time. And Neruda especially when we fuck. And we fuck, a lot.
My cheeks heat at the thought. If we didn’t connect on everything, the bedroom is where he certainly has my attention. At least every other day I manage to be pinned beneath him or meshed to him in some way, covered in sweat and crying out his name.
He listens to jazz and writes poetry for me and even sketches. He’s quite the creative spirit for someone who’s committed the rest of his career to being a lawyer—in and out of the courtroom and reading books for a living.
We already told each other we loved each other. It was at Edie’s Halloween party when we dressed up as doctor and patient. It was a great night that ended with us drunk and fucking into the early hours of the next morning.
This fast-moving relationship was all insanity and my mother would slap me if she knew what I’d been up to in between attending medical school, working, and trying to establish my own independence away from her.
I met Carter’s friend Yannick, who I discovered was also his colleague. They were both employed at a prestigious law firm in Midtown called Croft, Goldberg, & Weiss as junior lawyers. The company was founded by Carter’s grandfather back in the 1920s. I asked questions but not many. Carter talked about anything and everything with insane openness, but when it came to his family, he snapped shut like a threatened clam. He did tell me he had no siblings, “that he knew of.” The last bit of that statement baffled me, but I said nothing. I didn’t push for any more information about his family.
Snuggled in my sweater, I lean against the glass and check my watch. He’s late. Exhaling, I wait and sip my tea.
After twenty minutes, he finally arrives. His face is flush and he’s breathing heavily as if he’s been running for his life. He’s also had a haircut. Much of his mahogany locks are gone. The close-cut style is preppy, office-like, serious.
“Sorry I’m late.” He presses a kiss to my cheek and takes a seat across from me.
“It’s okay.” I smile shyly.
“I had some work stuff to do before I could come here.”
“On a Sunday?”
“Yeah, on a Sunday.” He bobs his head, pulling a bouquet of flowers from behind his back.
Laughing at the surprise, I take the red roses and give them a sniff. “Thank you. These are really nice.”
He scoots around the table in his chair, coming closer. The loud screech of the legs of it against the floor earns the attention of the other patrons here. Carter’s elbows find his knees as he leans into me. I reach out and swipe away some of his hair that’s stuck to his forehead and stare into his eyes that flash with something.
“What is it?” I ask him.
He smirks and pulls a tiny Tiffany box from his pocket and places it in my hands. I only stare at it for what feels like an eternity. When I lift my eyes to his, nothing but a boyish grin has spread across his face.
This man is crazy!
“I know it’s soon, Mei,” he says. “But I don’t care. I’ve never felt this way about anyone and I know I’m in love with you. I’ve never loved any other woman. Just you, Mei.”
I open the tiny box, which reveals a two-carat diamond solitaire inside set in yellow gold. It’s beautiful.
“This is why you were late?”
“Yeah,” he breathes out.
“Marry me, Mei.”
My face twists. “I’m still in school, Carter. I don’t have any money.” I laugh.
“I have money,” he says firmly. “I have money, Mei. We’ll be fine, I promise.”
I look at him skeptically and fight the urge to tell him that this is all too fast. I haven’t met his parents. Hell, he barely even talked about them. He hasn’t met mine. I know I’d piss my parents off royally if I did this without their blessing. They still funded my education and expected to see me become a doctor in the next few years. I’d have a lot of explaining to do in the meantime. Every single negative thought bounces around in my brain and my heart rate picks up.
I open my mouth to speak and stare into his stormy eyes—nothing comes out.
He comes closer as if he wants to crawl into me and puts his hands together in prayer. His eyes widen as he speaks and after ten minutes I’m completely sold. In that moment, I’ve realized this man can be aggressive and convincing when he wants something. They must teach them that at law school. Carter had it all planned.
“Will you marry me, Mei?” he asks again. “Next week?”
Next week!
“At City Hall,” he adds. “We can get a marriage license in less than twenty-four hours. I checked it out. We can spend our honeymoon weekend at the St. Regis.”
My face lights up.
“Mei,” he says again, bringing my attention back to him.
This man is a dreamer. He’s everything I’m not. He’s passionate and reckless and full of life and I swear that’s what he breathes into me. Life.
I giggle as he fumbles with the box, taking the ring out.
“Be my wife, Mei. I love you.”
I shove my shaky hand toward him. “Yes,” I tell him. “Absolutely. I will. I love you more.”
“You won’t regret me, Mei. I promise,” he whispers against my lips right before we kiss.
“How could I ever regret you, Carter?” I ask, giving him a shy smile.
Did you enjoy reading about Carter and Mei? If you’d like to know more about their story, click on the link below!
I Hate You/I Love You - A Contemporary Romance - Daya Daniels
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lover of words. Poetry glutton. Cynic. Idealist. Art collector. Lip
gloss addict. Wife. Mommy. Music fan. Book whore. Beach bum. Self-confessed NERD. Madwoman. Water rat. Wine drinker. Bermudian. Las Vegas resident-wannabe. Hopeless romantic.
I'm an independent author who had this crazy idea during one very, very hot summer to start writing books and I haven't stopped. I'm loving the ride and I appreciate all the readers who take the time to enjoy my stories.
I live on the small sub-tropical island of Bermuda in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with my husband and two children. If you can't find me here on the beach, you can bet your G-strings that I'm in Las Vegas!
Love is what keeps the world spinning! XOXO
Follow me on Instagram @ authordayadaniels
I love hearing from readers! Feel free to email me with questions and comments @[email protected]
OTHER BOOKS BY DAYA DANIELS
Finders Keepers Series
Part I
Part II
A Poster Boyz Series
Chapter One
Stand Alone Novels
An Education in Calcutta {A Period Novel}
The Space Between Rachel and Evie {A Sci-Fi Romance Novel}
COLOR-BLIND
Once Upon a Time {A Dark Romance}
In the Eyes of Adeline {A Period Novel}
If Only {A LGBT Romance Novel}
Murphy’s Bedfellow
Stripped {A Dark Romance Novella}
Midnight Special
Mouthful {A Novella}
Words Left Unspoken {A Novella}
For Her {A Lesbian Romance Novelette}
Crocodile Tears {A New Adult Romance}
In Loving Memory of Isobel
War Baby {A M/M Romance Novella}
Blue {A Love Story on the Bermuda Shores}
I Wanna be the Girl... {A Lesbian Romance Novel}
I Hate You/I Love You
Becoming Benjamin {A Gay Coming of Age Story}
Breathe {A Lesbian Romance Novel}
TRAPPED {An Urban Romance Novel}
Blood in the Water {A Lesbian Romance Novella}
Non-Fiction
It Could Be Arranged
COMING SOON!
Stand Alone Novels
Letters to Olivier
I Am #4 {A Princess Rebellion}
Sweet Tea
New Adult
Running Interference
Series
Inferno Series – Part I
A Poster Boyz Series – Chapter Two
Finders Keepers Series – Part III