in with your family and everything. Rachel said it was important.” When in doubt, never be afraid to throw the nice rich white lady under the bus. “We can probably take it all back, right?”
He holds up a pair of vintage-styled, see-through, black boy-leg briefs. “Why would we do that?”
“Because it’s way too much.”
“Dearest.” He stops, sets down the underwear, and sighs. Next, he slides his arms over my shoulders, giving me a smile. This is the one that says I’m amusing him. Thank God he isn’t angry. “You need to breathe. Want me to give you mouth-to-mouth?”
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. Never apologize for shit you didn’t do. Another one of Mom’s quotes. Though that’s not how she worded it exactly.”
“What was your dad’s take on such things?”
“Dad never apologized regardless of who was to blame. Never admit culpability. Get a lawyer on the phone. ‘Plausible deniability’ was his middle name.” He leans his forehead against mine. “Alice, so long as you like the things, it’s fine.”
“It’s not really.”
“What would your mom say?” he asks, tone curious.
“That no one woman could possibly need this much stuff. Though she would also check out which designers were present and do some drooling.” I sigh. “She’d also say women apologize far too much for things that either aren’t a problem or aren’t their fault. So I guess our mothers have that in common.”
“I agree with them. Anything you don’t want, send back. It’s your choice.”
I frown some more.
“You have bewitched me, body and soul. And I don’t need you to change a single hair on your pretty head for me. You know that, right?”
“Quite a few of those hairs have already been chopped, dyed, and changed.” I smile. “But thank you. It’s nice to hear you say it. I feel like a gold digger.”
“Don’t be silly. I have the money and enjoy spending it on you. End of story.” He kisses the tip of my nose. “But if you don’t want it, send it back. If, however, there’s stuff in here you do like, then keep it. Let me spoil you a little.”
“This is a lot more than a little.”
“Here’s the thing.” He wraps his arms around me, pulling me in against his body. “If you’re worried this early in our relationship about us not being financially equal, the only way I can fix that is by giving you half of my net worth.”
I gasp. “That is not funny.”
“I almost want to do it just to see the look on your face. And Ethan’s. It is not an understatement to say my brother would lose his shit completely. Could be fun.”
“Please be serious.”
“I am being serious. You can’t let all of this freak you out,” he says, calm as can be. “I get that you didn’t have any warning about me coming from money when we met, but it is part of my world. And you want to be part of my world, right?”
I just look at him.
“And, no, I’m still not suggesting I needed you to change for me.”
“Then what are you suggesting?”
“That I have the money, first due to my trust fund and now the inheritance. It’s not going anywhere. We might as well enjoy it.”
Easy for him to say. “Beck, do you see how I’m kind of caught between being a money-worrying pain in the ass and feeling like I’m using you here?”
“You’re not using me,” he says, voice bordering on angry. “Believe me, I know exactly how that feels. Look at me.”
I do as told and his knuckles gently caress my cheek. “I don’t want to wreck this,” I explain. “I’m just so far out of my element.”
“Let it go and enjoy the things. Things can be fun.” He gives me a lopsided smile. Quite possibly the most endearing one in his arsenal. My knees instantly go weak. The power the man has over me is breathtaking. But still, there’s an opportunity to ask a question here. And the only thing I love as much as having Beck’s attention, having him touch me, is getting to learn more about him.
“Though if you were having fun, why did you leave all of this to clean tables?” I ask.
“Because I had to find you.”
I pause. “That’s a pretty great line.”
“And Austen didn’t even write it.” He pulls back, slipping his hands into his pockets. “I had to get my head sorted out and I had to find you. Think I did a pretty good job on both counts. Though