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Worry still graced his eyes, but he camouflaged it with a big smile. “I just thought my house might be getting jealous of all the attention I’ve been giving your place. When I came home this morning to shower, I could tell it smelled your apartment on my clothes and it had to be wondering where I’d been all night, driving itself crazy with worry. So, I just thought, you know, to appease both our homes and prevent either place from getting envious, we should keep things even. One night in your bed, one night in mine. Every night with each other.” His eyebrows lifted as he stealthily slipped in that last line. “What do you think?”
I fisted the lapels of his suit jacket in my hands and smiled right back. “I think that’s an awesome idea.” With a grin, I placed a quick peck to his chin. “Besides, I’m curious to see where you live.”
So we parted ways, agreeing to meet at my apartment where he’d drive me out to his house. As I climbed into my twenty-year-old junker of a car at the far end of the parking lot, I glanced over and caught sight of Ezra near the front, at one of the two CEO parking spots, slipping on a pair of shades and climbing into a pale-blue Bentley. The vast difference between our vehicles was so wide it was amusing, but I didn’t laugh, even though I was thrilled to see he owned such an awesome-colored car.
I’d grown up in that world where Bentleys and first class and gourmet everything was the norm. And here at JFI, I still had plenty of contact with those people. But since my dad had died, leaving me basically destitute, I felt so far removed from that life that I suddenly wondered how Ezra and I were going to handle the gap. He’d never talked down to me before or said a condescending word about my social status, but this thing exploding between us was still fresh and new.
Would it cause problems later? Or was I looking for problems because things were going so well? I was making headway at work, my design had been picked, Ezra was in my life, Brick and I were closer than ever, and heck, even Hayden seemed to like me.
I’d gained so much in the past week, it was almost overwhelming. So I just kept thinking, I had so much to lose now.
And I didn’t want to lose any of it.
Across the parking lot, the light-blue Bentley pulled out of the parking lot. Ezra was probably headed to my place right now to pick me up, so I climbed into my car, cranked the engine four times before it decided to start and chugged out of the parking lot after him.
When I arrived at my building, however, he wasn’t there yet. That was mildly curious since he’d left before me, but it gave me a chance to hurry up to my room and pack a small overnight bag… An overnight bag that quickly filled with about four outfits because I wasn’t sure what to wear the next day.
A knock came on my door just as I was sitting on it to zip the crammed thing closed.
Giddiness bubbled inside me. I hurried to the exit and flung it open, only to gasp when a bouquet of red roses and white lilies greeted me instead of Ezra.
“I hope you don’t mind that I stopped by for these,” the roses said before shifting to the side to reveal Ezra’s face behind them. “I just thought you needed something to help commemorate your first design acceptance.”
“Oh, Ezra.” I reached out to tug them into my arms. “They’re beautiful. I love them. Thank you. Oh my gosh, and none of the petals are wilting either.” I fingered the blood red roses in awe.
Ezra stepped inside, frowning. “There better not be any wilted petals. I swear, my sister’s asshole boyfriend charged me three times the price he charges normal customers. I’ll go back and kick his ass right now if they’re not flawless.”
I laughed at his answer, only to close my eyes and hug the flowers to my chest. “They are. They’re perfectly flawless. It’s just that I’ve only ever gotten the castoff bouquets they’ve been ready to throw out because I could never afford a new bouquet. But these… I love these.”
Stepping close, Ezra caught that one stray piece of hair that always came loose from my ponytail and tucked it behind my ear. “If I have a say in it, you’ll never have anything castoff again.”
“Why, Ezra Nash,” I murmured on a teasing scold and stepped up into his face to smile and kiss his cheek. “You’re not thinking I need to be saved from my miserable little life here in this hovel, are you?” When my eyebrows arched significantly, warning him he better say no, he chuckled and tweaked my nose.
“After seeing the unpaid intern rise up today to become an official shoe designer for JFI, oh, I know you can take care of yourself, baby.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and grinned at me as if charmed. “But since you’re the one who saved me, I feel the need to pay you back in every way possible.”
I blinked my surprise. “Save you? How did I save you?” I’d never saved him, except maybe to help him find his shoe that first night.
He delicately drifted the backs of his fingers across my cheek as if touching something precious. “You might not have realized this about me, but I’ve kind of been one of those lucky bastards who was born with a silver spoon stuck in my mouth. I pretty much have everything.”
“Hmm.” I tapped my chin and squinted at him as if I had to think about that, even though, wow, I hadn’t really thought about how true it was until he came right out and mentioned it. And yet… I’d never held any of that against him, because he’d never acted like the high and mighty rich boy with the famous, rich daddy.
Nodding slowly, I finally agreed. “Okay, I can see that, but how—”
Grinning, he pressed a finger to my lips so he could continue. “For a guy who has everything, you’d think I should be pretty satisfied and happy with life, right? Except...” He cringed and shrugged. “The past few years have been… I don’t know. I’ve just felt like something was missing. After my mom died, things changed so much. My sister checked out for a while, my dad buried himself in his work, and I just… I just drifted. I didn’t even realize I
was still mourning the loss of my family until this yellow Power Ranger walked into my company Halloween party and made me feel more alive than I’d ever felt before.”
The power behind his words was fierce and strong. It caught me right in the feels, making tears mist my vision. I whispered his name, but he only smiled before wiping a droplet off my cheek with his thumb.
“So, don’t ever think I want to make you my kept woman or save you from your life or anything like that, okay? I know you’re fully capable of taking care of yourself. Which means, anything I ever give you will be because I want to show you my gratitude for you showing up in my life, and to maybe hopefully convince you that I can be worthy enough to be in yours.”
“You are,” I rasped, gripping his face in my hands and looking deep into his eyes, unable to believe he’d have any doubts about that to begin with.
When his mouth took mine, I kissed him desperately. Our tongues touched, and he groaned before pulling away.
“My place,” he insisted before linking his hands with mine. “I want to show you something there.”
He tried to tug me from the apartment right then, but I remembered I had my bag, and purse, and coat, and keys.
