Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
“I’ll take it.”
He blinks at me. “You haven’t even read over the contract.”
“I assume you’ll have to update it anyway. Since apparently I’m getting a clause about not sharing my sex life.”
“Are you going to at least check the salary?”
“Nope. In the spirit of keeping the honesty going, you could be undercutting me like an asshole, and I wouldn’t have a choice. I’m at your mercy.”
“Good thing I’m not an asshole, then.”
“And that’s why I don’t need to check it.”
There’s a clatter as the front door opens and Oskar yells out, “Lane, you better be naked!”
Damon groans.
“I was interrupted,” I shout back.
Oskar rounds the corner, and when his eyes land on Damon and then flick to me, he throws up his hands like a busted perp. “I didn’t do it!”
I jump up before he gets a chance to realize that not everything is about him and haul him against me. Then I give him the longest, happiest, filthiest kiss I can manage. I’d thought I was happy before, but this? Nothing can beat this. I get Oskar, and I get to work in a field I love, that I’m good at, and I don’t have to sneak around or make sacrifices to do that.
A throat clears behind us. “I’ve just thought of another clause to add.”
I smile against Oskar’s mouth and reluctantly pull back. “Add whatever shit you need to. I’ll sign it.”
“Sign what?” Oskar’s attention ping-pongs between us.
Damon picks up his bag and moves to leave. “I’ll let you two talk. Maddy came with me for once, and he’s waiting for me back at the hotel.”
Oskar barely says goodbye before he’s on me. “What do we need to talk about?”
“You’re going to have to table your dreams of a fifties househusband. I have a job.”
“With Damon? But you’re not an agent.”
“And while I love the confidence you have in me to be able to do anything, King Sports has a PR department too.”
Oskar’s face falls. “In New York.” I can tell he’s trying to hold back his rejection, but I don’t leave him questioning for long.
“I’ll be working remotely, which means …”
“You can stay here?”
“Anywhere.” This time I kiss him. “Wherever you go, I go. I’ll follow you across the whole of the country if I need to.”
He tilts his head. “What if I’m traded to Canada?”
I cringe. “My love has some limits.”
I’m expecting Oskar to throw out a retort or thump me in the shoulder or something, but all he does is stare at me.
“You okay?”
“Love?”
Ah … fuck. I clear my throat, somehow more nervous than I was being called in for the meeting with Mick. My career was something special, but what we have is everything. “My answer to that question depends on your answer to mine.”
“No one’s ever loved me before,” he says, sounding stunned.
“Your parents?”
“That’s the most basic expectation for a parent. You … you don’t have to, you know?”
I chuckle and run my fingers through his messy hair. “I think at this point, I’m helpless against it.”
“Good.” He clings to me desperately. “Because if you love me, you can’t leave me. That’s how this works.”
“That’s exactly how this works.”
His face explodes with the most heart-stopping smile I’ve ever seen. And if that’s what Oskar looks like truly happy, the world better watch out. “If I say I love you too, does that mean we can get matching tattoos now?”
“Is your love dependent on that?”
“Well, no pressure, but …”
“I’m really feeling the love.”
“There’s just so much of me to go around. I need to be careful about locking all this down. Think of all the men in the world who haven’t had a turn.”
I slap his ass, and he yelps.
“I’m joking.”
“Yeah? Prove it.”
“Fine, you want proof that I love you? How about that I love everything about you? I love that you’re bossy and fuck me like you mean it. I love that you see more of me than anyone, and not because I couldn’t keep it hidden from you, but because you wanted to see. You looked for good where no one believed it existed—even me. You’re smart, and fun, and go against all common sense to make sure I’m happy. I think you’re an idiot for settling down with someone as reckless as me, but I’m never letting you go. Not now that I know what real love feels like. Not when I know what it’s like to be someone’s first choice. And because you’ve shown me how amazing those things are, I’ll spend every day doing the same for you. How’s that for proof, huh?”
I pretend to think for a moment, but I can’t keep it up for long. The happiness I’m fighting escapes, and fuck him for thinking he’s too reckless for me. “Oskar …”
He swallows and meets my eyes.
“You say you’re too reckless for me, but I say you’re selling yourself short. Your attitude, your love, your humor, your defensiveness, your vulnerability. It’s all too much. And I would never settle for anything less than what you give me.”