“You’re worried about your shoes?”
“I can stay here,” I warned him.
He saluted me. “Shoes. Check.”
I laughed and left him to his task while I grabbed the boxes from the garage. I swiped a few pictures I wanted out of the living room and made my way back to the bedroom.
He was standing outside my closet, his hands on his hips. “Do you even realize how many shoes you have?”
I nodded. “I do. I know each and every pair, so don’t think about leaving any behind. I’ll know.”
“For shit’s sake,” he muttered.
“Excuse me? Did I hear you complain?”
He took a box and started filling it with shoes, makingme laugh. I grabbed another and tossed in some scrubs for work, workout clothes, and lingerie. I opened another and laid a blanket inside. I sat my jewelry boxes and trinkets off my dresser carefully on the material. A pair of sunglasses fell out of a dish and hit the floor, cracking the lens. I tossed it in the trash, the sound getting Max’s attention.
“What was that?” he asked, nodding at the trash.
“A pair of sunglasses.”
“Do you have another pair?”
“Yeah, those weren’t even mine,” I said, emptying my bedside table into the box.
“Who do they belong to?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. They were just here a while back.”
He looked puzzled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I don’t know where they came from. They were on the kitchen counter a few months ago. Jada lived here then and she and I went for a walk. We came home and they were laying on the counter. I saved them in case someone asked if they left them here, but no one did. They look expensive, too, so I’m surprised no one was missing them. It was kind of a joke between us for a while.”
“That’s weird,” he said, standing up. “I think that’s all the shoes. What else do you wanna take?”
“Can we take my treadmill? Do you think it’ll fit in your truck?” It was the one thing I missed not having at Max’s. I ran outside when I was there and it was just too hot most days.
“Yeah, it’ll fit. Want me to take these boxes down now?”
I nodded, smiling at him. Instead of picking up a box, he walked across the room and stopped a few feet in front of me.
“I’m glad you finally agreed to live with me,” he whispered, the sparkle back in his eyes, gold flecks catching the light.
My heart swelled, burst, and pooled at my feet. “Me, too.”
“You know I love you, right?”
“I do,” I said breathily. “I love you, too.”
“Marry me?” he asked, grinning from ear-to-ear.
“Not today.”
TEN
MAX
I entered Alexander Industries from the side door outside my office. I tossed my briefcase and the plans I should’ve been working on the night before onto my desk.
