She should be in my fucking arms, not at some club where a bunch of losers will ...
I suck in a breath.
“Yeah, cool.Go have fun.I need to get to the gym.”I say even though it’s only three in the afternoon.“Talk later.”
I end the call before Mason can give me shit.He will have seen right through my crap, but I’m not ready to admit how I feel yet.
Not yet.
Or ever.
I’m so goddamn confused.For someone who despises the idea of marriage, I like the idea of snapping a ring back on her finger and marking her as mine, then locking her in my goddamn bedroom.
THREE HOURS LATER,I’ve messaged my broker and liquefied a couple of billion in assets.Khalid is not going to force my hand.
If I marry, it will be because I know the woman who takes my name is the one I cannot live without.
Standing under the shower, washing away hours of sweat, I’m questioning a lot of my life choices.Including the one I’m about to make.
As I lifted weight after weight and imagined Emily sitting next to someone on her flight home, chatting away, and returning to her world, flying mile after mile away from me, I found my answer.
She’s mine.
She’s been mine from the moment she walked onto that aircraft, and I rolled my damn eyes.
Hello, I’m Emily Harper.
Not for much longer.
I turn the shower off and step out just as my phone rings.
“Colt.”
“You coming to the club tonight?”he asks, probably because I didn’t reply to their earlier text messages.
He’s calling to check on me.
“No.I have some business stuff to take care of.”
He’s quiet for a moment, then, “And tomorrow night?”
I stare in the mirror and rub a hand over my pec, feeling the shadow of Emily’s touch.
I need to do this alone.
When the time is right.
And to be one hundred percent sure.
“You should go.I like that you’ll be there to protect her.”There’s no way any of them would make a move.Like Mason said, she’smy girl.
“Or you could do that job.”
The idea of not being with her on her birthday rips at the edges of my heart, but seeing me might not be what Emily wants.There is a lot to talk about, and she deserves to have a fun night with friends.
“Colt, you ever wonder if there’s somebody you would marry?That Jack fucked up, but we’re older and wiser now?”
The impact on the four of us was immense.Sandy’s an evil piece of work.As wealthy men, we might have power, but we are still vulnerable.
