Where did he live in the off-seasons?
Obviously in Wakefield, but was it in one of those cute little apartments above one of the shops?
Or out in the suburbs with a white picket fence and a few nosey neighbors?
“I’m actually going to hit you if you keep talking.”
Smirking, I gave his ass a nice little love tap in response, my expression widening when his body jerked. “Think you’re the one that likes those, actually.”
“Millionaire, he says. Just a simple millionaire with the means to buy multiple houses.”
“Hey, I’m ethical. Unlike Avery who hoards the wealth. He’s the one percent we need to eat. Not me, I’m innocent.”
“And Silas?”
I shrugged. “Don’t know. He won’t let me near his funds. Isn’t that so rude? Like I’d gamble it all away on some failing stock. You know what, since I won our bet, I’m going to invest half of it in one of those scam bitcoins. That’ll show him to try and go back on our deal.”
Blake laughed. “You know, I’d like to keep you around for a little longer than next week. Why don’t you table playing around with Silas’s money for a bit.”
“Oh? He wants to keep me around...”
His expression softened. “As long as you’re okay with going back and forth... I know it’s only an hour, but traveling can get annoying.”
Relief flooded through me. “I don’t care. Most of my clients are done remotely. Give me an Internet connection and I’m good.”
“Off-season, I tend to not go on the property as much. Stopping by once or twice a week, at most. Summer is when I need to be there all the time.”
“I can take summers off.”
“Marlow—”
“Blake, I want this. I wantyou.”
He reached up to brush his fingers along my cheek in the same way he had when he found me. A gentle caress to chase away whatever worries and troubles clouded my mind. Turning my head, I caught the pads with my lips, kissing them until a smile worked its way back onto his face.
“I want you, too,” he whispered.
“Then stay. We’ll figure it out.”
He leaned over to rest his forehead against mine, his slow exhale ticking my face.
What was that saying?
About one person falling first and the other one falling harder?
I think I counted as both.
“I’d love to,” he murmured and then kissed me.
CHAPTER 26
Blake
WatchingMarlow’s chest rise and fall in a steady motion nearly lulled me to sleep until the sound of his front door alarm disengaging hauled me right back into reality. Rubbing my eyes, I slowly untangled myself from his arms to sit up.
He hadn’t told me he was expecting anyone later today. Then again, I’d caught him in the middle of talking with his mother and trying to convince her not to come over for dinner, so there was a strong possibility she’d gone against his wishes and come over anyway.
I had a hunch that him avoiding her was because of me. Hopefully, that only extended into the realm of this being a new relationship and not wanting to jinx it by telling people too soon and not falling into‘I’m worried my mom is going to hate you’territory.
