Dropping The Ball - A New Year’s Billionaire Romance - Weston Parker Page 0,90
of the word, her head tilting to one side. “Why?”
“When you read a book, you don’t skip right to the end, do you? You read the whole thing to see how the characters get to the end. It’s the story that matters.”
“I see where you’re going with this.” Her eyes were pinned to mine. “You’re saying that you want to be a part of my story, no matter how it ends.”
“Exactly.” I bowed my head to run my nose along hers. “Well, almost. I don’t want it to be only your story anymore. I want it to be ours.”
“What if I freak out on you again?” she asked, concern knitting her brows together. “I didn’t plan to do it. I can’t guarantee that it won’t happen again.”
“If it does, we deal with it.” I linked our hands together. “No one’s perfect, Ry. No relationship is either. I’ve fucked up too, and it’s going to happen again. I’ll always be waiting for you on the other side if you freak out again.”
“I’ll always be willing to listen. I won’t cut you off when you say you have something important to tell me, and I won’t assume to know what you’re going to say.”
A soft chuckle rumbled through me as I rested my forehead against hers. “It sounds like we’re reciting our vows to each other.”
“We kind of are.” She drew her head away from mine to look up at me. “Is that really it? Is it possible that we’ve sorted out things that have had both of us heartbroken for days in a matter of minutes?”
“The wonders of proper communication,” I murmured, sliding my hands into her hair to angle her face before bringing my mouth to hers in a kiss that was wildly inappropriate for being out in public, but I didn’t give a damn.
We only came up for air once our kiss slowed to a natural end, both of us smiling against each other’s lips before we parted. She nuzzled the underside of my jaw, her mouth against my skin when she spoke.
“We were communicating before. We just didn’t say everything we should have. Can we agree to never hold back again?”
I nodded, resting my chin on top of her head for just a moment and squeezing her hips before I let her go. “How about we get off the street? My place isn’t too far away from here, and you haven’t even seen it yet. I’ll make you dinner.”
Her eyes sparkled like sapphires in the sun when she looked into mine. “I remember what happened to your pasta the last time you tried to microwave it. How about I cook dinner and you drive us to your place?”
“You’ve got yourself a date.”
Our fingers brushed before mine wrapped around hers. I wasn’t a tingles kind of guy, but I sure as fuck felt them when we walked over to my bike with our hands joined.
After getting my spare helmet fitted on her head, we took off. There was an underlying nervousness in my stomach about showing her my place. She might’ve said she didn’t care, but she also hadn’t seen where and how I lived.
Stop it. She said she doesn’t care, so she doesn’t.
I swept those thoughts aside and let her arms around my waist and the warmth of her against my back take precedence over my worries. I was done with the being-insecure bullshit. She’d literally just told me in so many words that I was the only she wanted. I didn’t know how she could make it clearer than that.
When we arrived at my apartment, she climbed off the bike, removed the helmet, and shook her hair out once it was off. My tongue got stuck to the roof of my mouth. I can’t believe this stunning woman is really mine.
She caught me looking, frowning before she pointed at her mouth. “Why are you looking at me like that? Have I got something in my teeth or a rat’s nest in my hair?”
“Nope.” I caught her wrist and tugged her against my body, snaking my arms around her waist and kissing her hard. “Remember when we talked about your fantasies of me that day?”
A slightly pink flush spread across her cheeks. “Yes?”
“Seeing you get off my bike, looking hot as hell while you shake out your hair like that, might’ve just touched on one of mine.” I brought my hips forward to let her feel the effect she’d had on me. “See? No more holding back.”