Page 142 of Open To Negotiation

“Do you remember the first day we went for lunch?”

She tilted her head to the side, a quizzical look on her face as she tried to track my thought process. “Of course.”

“From that first day, I liked the sound of your voice, it didn’t annoy me.”

“High praise,” she interrupted with a smile.

“I liked the way you carried yourself, how you didn’t let Noah get away with shit and how you genuinely seemed to care about what the guys were saying. I was pulled in from the moment I laid eyes on you and I’m never interested in people. Something about you settled something in me, just by being in your presence.”

“You settle something in me too.” Her face softened as she rested her hand on my chest, right over the heart that completely belonged to her.

I tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. “You said goodbye to us at the elevator and I watched you go, mesmerized by you.”

“Really? I honestly thought maybe you were irritated by how much I talked at lunch,” she said with a laugh.

“I love your nervous rambling and how much you talk.” She rolled her eyes at me. “But do you know what I said to Oli and Noah?”

Her eyes lit up a little. “No, but I remember seeing you say something to them.”

“Noah thought I was kidding and I think Oli wanted to call a therapist for me.”

“Not giving me much confidence there, Money Bags.”

“I said I was going to marry that girl.”

Her breath hitched as her eyes bounced between mine. “Don’t you dare propose to me right now. I haven’t showered today and I’m in dirty Uggs and I have dirt on my hands from getting the toy away from Thor, it stinks and I might need to throw it out,” she said all in one breath with big eyes. “I love you, but I do not want to tell this proposal story to our kids and grandkids for the rest of our lives.”

I smiled down at her, giving her a kiss on the nose. “I won’t,” I assured her. “I just wanted you to know it’s coming.”

Because she was my forever. And every piece of me would always be hers.

Epilogue

Asher

“This place is…” Quinn paused as she looked around the restaurant, “nice.”

I scoffed at her untrue assessment, resting my arm on the booth behind me.

The place was a run-down dump and yet I’d been coming here every day for the better part of two weeks for a mediocre dinner. The tables all looked like they needed replacing five years ago and carpet in a dining room was never a good choice.

“Why the hell are we in this dump?” Knight asked as he looked around too. Quinn shoved her elbow into his side as he smiled down at her warmly.

For most of my life, Theo Knight and I had been close, brothers in every way but blood. Since Quinn came into his life I’d seen a huge change in him, he was more relaxed, he took time off work and smiled more than he ever had before. I would’ve loved Quinn for those things alone, but she’d become a member of our family and I considered her my sister.

Since she forgave Knight for being an absolute wanker six months ago, things had been calm for all of us. She was working with the foundation and busier than ever. Their home had become the central hub for all our get-togethers, and I’m pretty certain that Knight was planning to propose when they went to visit her mum again in Italy in just over a month. Their puppy, Thor, was thriving and probably spoiled. I’d bonded with him and had done a lot of training, hence the reason I would be on puppy duty when they were gone.

“I am curious about why we’re here?” she rephrased Knight’s question more diplomatically, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

This was not one of the places we’d normally visit. It wasn’t because it was cheap, there was good cheap food, but this was not one of those places. The uninspired lukewarm food left something to be desired.

I’d seriously considering calling a health inspector at the sight of some of the food coming out of the kitchen.

“You need an assistant.” I wasn’t much of a talker, I knew that. I never gave more information than I thought was necessary. It was really because most people pissed me off and the more I talked the more annoyed I got. But I made exceptions for Quinn.

“Hi.” We all looked over to our server.

The very reason I kept coming here.