When I pulled back, she was smiling. She cupped my cheek. “What’s one thing you feel?”
I leaned into her hand, comforted by her as always. “The warmth of your touch.”
“What’s one thing you taste?”
My eyes darted to her lips. Without hesitation, I leaned in and kissed her. “Your salted-caramel lip gloss.”
She laughed, using her thumb to wipe at my mouth to remove the tinted gloss. “If we want them to take us seriously, you probably shouldn’t show up to the meeting with my lipstick on your mouth.”
I hated that I had to put Halle through this. I didn’t give a fuck what the board thought about me, but I cared how it impacted her.
“Mm. What if my lips glistened for another reason?” I gathered her skirt in my hands, bunching up the fabric.
She shook her head, batting away my hands. “Absolutely not. We are not having sex right now.”
“Why not?” I teased. “It wouldn’t be the first time we had sex in my office. Plus, we’re not likely to be caught.”
She smoothed down her skirt. “Yeah, but now that we’re going to come clean about our relationship, I don’t want everyone thinking that’sallwe do in your office.”
“Wait. So you’re telling me that after today, we can’t have office sex anymore?”
She planted her hands on her hips. “Of course not.”
I wrapped my arms around her waist. “We’ll see.”
She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling the entire time. “No. We won’t.”
I chuckled, swaying with her in my arms. I loved this woman. I’d do anything for her.
“Are you going to finish the fifth sense?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Are you calmer now?”
I gave my cock a pointed glance. “Does that look calm to you?”
“Jasper,” she chided. I gave her a look, encouraging her to continue. “Fine,” she huffed. I nearly laughed at her expression, but I knew better. “What’s one thing you see?”
“The woman I love. The woman I want to spend my life with. Hopefully—” I gripped her hips, nerves coursing through me “—my future wife. If that’s what you want,” I added.
“I—” She swallowed, and I braced myself. I hadn’t meant to tell her that now, but the words had slipped out unbidden. Even so, I couldn’t say I regretted them. “Yes,” she whispered.
“Yes?” I rested my forehead against hers. “That’s a yes?”
No fucking way.
She nodded. “Yes, Jasper. Yes to everything with you.”
I smiled, filled with hope and happiness. I couldn’t believe it. I was still trying to wrap my head around it when my phone chimed, alerting me that the meeting was about to start.
“It’s time.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Jasper’s words played through my head as we walked down the hall to the conference room. And even though I felt as if I were marching toward a firing squad, my heart was alight with happiness.
The woman I love. The woman I want to spend my life with.
That’s what mattered—us, the future. Things might seem difficult or uncertain right now when it came to our jobs, but our relationship was solid. And that was what I had to hold in my heart when I felt nervous. Because I was definitely nervous about this meeting. What happened today would forever define our careers—his future, mine, that of the entire Huxley brand.
