Page 20 of A Novel Seduction

“I couldn’t let him think that you were sleeping with a student,” she responded, stepping back from their embrace. “Even if it cost me my job, I couldn’t let that happen to you.”

“Thank you, Evie. I know how important it’s been to you that we keep everything between us, so it means so much that you would risk everything to protect me.”

“Of course. You mean everything to me, Drake,” she said.

Drake’s heart squeezed as he heard her say those words. She meant everything to him. She was his world. But he needed to say more to her, and he hoped she was ready to hear it.

“I have something to tell you, but I’m hoping you’ll play a little game with me first,” he said, looking at her playfully.

“Okay…”

“Go stand at the board, marker at the ready,” he instructed.

She did as he asked, picking up the purple dry erase marker and uncapping it.

“Ignoring the ones from college, write down the first letter of the first book I gave you.”

Turning to the board, she wrote a large capitol W in the purple marker.

“W?”

“Yes, Wicked Designs, by Lauren Smith.”

“I said to ignore the ones from college.”

“You technically didn’t give me that one in college,” she pointed out. “You stole it from my backpack. You didn’t give it to me until a couple of weeks ago.”

“Okay, well, Godfrey is disqualified, since he’s a double-dipper. Start from what I gave you my first day here.”

“It’s Godric! Why can you not get his name right?!” she giggled. Damn, he loved that sound.

“Maybe because I’m jealous of how much you adore him,” he teased. “Now, what was the first title I gave you?”

“Into You,” she answered as she erased the W and replaced it with an I.

“Second book?”

“Little Did She Know, so…L” she said, writing it on the board.

“Keep going…”

“Then it was Only the Beginning, followed by Viscount and His Virgin—oh, that one was good!” she cooed.

Drake laughed. “Yes, you did rather enjoy that one. Keep going.”

“Enticingly Yours. You Never Know. Open Arms, Closed Heart,” she said, scribbling out the letters.

“And what is our current read?”

“Untowards!”

When she’d written out the final letter on the board, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into him. Wrapping his arms all the way around her, he leaned down and placed his forehead against hers.

“Evie, I know you were hesitant at first, but I’ve known since the moment I saw you again in All Booked Up. I’ve wanted to say it to you for so long but have been worried about scaring you away. But after today, I can’t wait any longer.” He stepped back a half step and spun her around to face the board before pulling her back into him so her backside was flush with his front. “The titles say it all.”

He could feel the back of her head move as it took her a moment to flush the letters and their meaning.

I LOVE YOU