“You’re lurking and hiding out in the shadows of my hotel room like a fucking stalker. How did you expect me to react?”
The corners of his mouth curl into a devilish grin.
“What?” I ask, my shoulders deflating.
His chest rumbles. “I missed you, that’s all. You and that smart mouth of yours. The one you only reserve for me.”
“Well,” I scoff, laughing. “You did scare me.”
He hums before crashing his mouth against mine. I reachup, threading my fingers through his hair. His tongue slips between my lips, tasting me.
I’m lost in his intoxicating kiss when reality hits me. I pull away, pressing my hands to his chest. “Wait.” I catch my breath and swallow. “What are you doing here? How did you get into my hotel room?”
I’d almost forgotten I was in Paris and not at home.
“I have my ways, Wallflower.” He smirks.
Very true. Holt apparently had a security detail following me for months without me knowing. Him finding a way to get into my hotel room doesn’t surprise me and isn’t completely out of character.
“Besides,” he continues, still dragging his finger along my jaw, down my neck, and over the swell of my breasts. “I’m aware I’m crashing your girls’ trip, but do you think I could just sit at home while you and my son were thousands of miles away with an ocean between us? It’s been the purest form of torture.”
I giggle, resting my head back against the wall to look up at Holt. I slide my hands down his chest before finding the buttons to his collared shirt. I start undoing them slowly, one by one. “You aresoobsessed with me. With us.”
His hands press against the wall at either side of my head. “I thought we already made that clear months ago.”
I undo the last button and slip his shirt over his shoulders. I’m quick to work on his belt. “You did.”
He pants, letting out a heavy breath. His eyes have darkened, taking on a hungrier gaze. Suddenly, I’m not so tired. I ache to have him inside me.
“You sent me a text a few minutes ago, telling me you had something important to tell me. What was it?”
I stop unbuttoning his pants, looking him directly in the eye. “The agency emailed me back. They want to sign with me.”
A smile comes alive on his face. He’s gloating, and the ideathat he always knew I would get here sparks that light he’s brought to life inside me. The one only he has been able to start.
“I knew it.” He kisses me deeply.
I get lost in his kiss before he pulls away. I miss his mouth the second it leaves me.
“I truly did miss you both,” he whispers deeply.
“We missed you, too.”
His eyes soften in the dark. He’s telling the truth. “I don’t plan on staying long,” he confesses.
I roll my eyes, shocked Holt is treating a day trip from New York to Paris like it’s normal.
His eyes search mine, and there’s an electric charge in the air. I feel it cackling between us, between the parts where we’re connected. I cradle the side of his sculpted jaw in my palm. My hand slips away when he falls to his knees in front of me.
I hold my breath when he kisses my swollen belly, then he reaches in his pocket, pulling out a single ring. The rock is a large, blue gem, surrounded by little white diamonds. I gasp, clamping my hand over my mouth.
“I have one more question before I go.”
A tear slips from the corner of my eye, sliding down my cheek.
“I know we don’t need a ring for us to promise each other forever, Wallflower.” His neck bobs as he swallows. “But I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone else. I’ve been obsessed with you from the start, and I used to daydream what a life with you would look like. And when I pictured it, you were always there beside me, wearing my mother’s ring. You’re the best person I’ve ever known, and I’ve never been too afraid to admit what everyone knows to be true. I am obsessed with you. I want you for life.”
“Holt…” I breathe. I’ve never been this deliriously happy.
