The Best of Winter Renshaw - An 8 Book Collection - Winter Renshaw Page 0,487

his place. I even have my own drawer in his dresser, and I keep some extra clothes and pajamas in there despite the fact that whenever I sleep over, pajamas are pretty much out of the equation. Just last week, Ace bought my favorite organic cinnamon toothpaste because his mint paste makes me gag.

And he tells me he likes me too.

But it’s always just that.

“I like you, Aidy,” he usually says. “You’re different.”

I try not to think about his love for the girl from the notebook compared to his lust for me. For all intents and purposes, maybe he didn’t write those things after all. It is possible that I’m wrong. And it is possible that I’m reading too much into things. A few nights ago, we were lying in bed, and I almost brought up the journal again. It was on the tip of my tongue. And then I breathed in his mossy scent and kissed his full lips as he buried his fingers in my hair, and I remembered how happy I was and how magical this whole thing is, and I didn’t want to throw it away all over something he’d probably deny anyway.

The day Ace tells me he loves me, if he tells me he loves me, I’ll die and go straight to Heaven, like one of those cartoon characters lying on the ground with a bouquet of flowers in their hands as their ghostly spirit rises high above them.

“What’d you bring?” he asks, his hand on the small of my back as we head upstairs.

“Your favorite,” I say. “Corned beef and cabbage pizza from Chauncey’s.”

“God, I love you,” he says, his hands sinking into my hips as he leans in and kisses the spot just beside my left ear.

My heart flutters and then sinks hard as a stone. He doesn’t really mean he loves me. He only loves that I brought him his favorite food.

I ignore it, instead choosing to revel in the sensation of his hand creeping up the back of my thigh just before we reach the top step. A sly smile slinks across my face.

“Okay, well, you enjoy your pizza,” I say. “As soon as you’re done, you know where to find me . . . naked . . . in your bed.”

I throw the box on the island and it skids across. Tugging my blouse off to reveal the sheer black lace bra I bought especially for him this morning, I toss my shirt at him and saunter down the hall. Practically feeling his eyes on my ass, I know it’s just a matter of time before he makes the right decision, and I grin to myself.

“Fuck pizza,” he growls, a prelude to the determined trod of his footsteps. When his hands wrap around my waist from behind, I smile even bigger.

Ace loves me more than his favorite pizza.

That’s got to count for something.

I thought about letting him sleep in Saturday morning and creeping out just after the sun came up. But he looked so damn hot lying there all half-naked and peaceful. I stole a kiss, dragged my hand down his chiseled chest, and then whispered into his ear, letting him know I was leaving and I’d get a hold of him later. After that, I took the train home, showered, and headed out to a full day of appointments.

By noon, Ace had texted me, asking what I was doing that night.

If I didn’t know better, sometimes I’d think he was more obsessed with me than I am with him.

And yet he still keeps me at arm’s length, and in many ways I still feel like I hardly know him. I know he’s great in bed. I know he’s athletic and bossy. He doesn’t whine about anything. Ever. He’s quiet more than he talks, which is where I come in, and he loves pizza and beer. He has an agent named Lou, whom I’ve yet to meet, and I spoke to one of his brothers, Matteo, on the phone once when we were lying in bed and Ace’s phone rang. He seemed nice.

YOU COMING OVER?

I glance at my vibrating phone as soon as I leave my last client of the day. It’s almost four o’clock. I’ve been running all over Manhattan since eight a.m, subsisting mostly on coffee and a single, day-old muffin one of my clients so generously offered me. I’m exhausted.

I fire one back: I’M STARVING. WILL YOU FEED ME?

He responds within seconds: I’M ASSUMING YOU MEAN ACTUAL

readonlinefreenovel.com Copyright 2016 - 2024