“Maybe I should just ask her,” he muttered to himself as he left his office.
“Ask who what?” Fisher stood there with Stacey, his arm around her carefully like she couldn’t even walk now that she was carrying a baby.
“Nothing,” Owen said. “What can I do for you?”
“We heard Zach’s coming home for Christmas, and we want to host on the twenty-eighth floor,” Stacey said. “You, the boys, Gina.”
“Just the six of us?” Owen asked. “What about Lexie and Sasha and all the others?”
“Lexie and Sasha are going on a cruise with Gabi,” Stacey said. “Jasper and Jason are going too, obviously. Esther is spending the holidays with Marshall’s parents. So it’s just us, and we’d like to have you and the boys with us.” She smiled at him in that loving, sisterly way that Owen needed in his life.
“I’ll talk to Gina.” He started to move past Stacey and Fisher.
“About Christmas,” Stacey said. “And that ring you keep in your top drawer.”
Owen spun back to them, his eyes wide. “You told her?” He couldn’t look away from Fisher.
He chuckled. “Look, she has a way of learning things,” Fisher said. “It’s not my fault.”
Owen’s anger faded as quickly as it had reared. “I want to ask her, but I’m not sure she’s ready.”
“Why don’t you find out?” Fisher opened Owen’s office and went inside. He returned a few seconds later with the black jewelry box. “You won’t know until you ask.”
“Let her tell you if she’s ready or not,” Stacey said. “Maybe she’s just waiting for you to ask.”
Owen took the box with numb fingers. “I was just on my way up to see her. She should have the last closet done today.”
“Go on, then.” Fisher’s kind smile seemed a bit at odds with his wolfish grin.
Owen took the ring out of the box and slipped it into his breast pocket. He handed the box to Stacey and said, “This could be a huge mistake.”
“Or a huge win,” she said.
The ring felt like a brand over Owen’s heart. “All right. Here I go.”
“Text us!” Fisher called after him, but Owen had to focus all his energy on walking and couldn’t respond.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Gina lined up the last hanger, knowing it would get moved the moment the client entered the closet. She didn’t care. This was the last closet at Sweet Breeze, the end of a huge, seven-month project that she’d busted her back to finish on time.
Satisfaction sang through her, despite the fact that tomorrow, she didn’t have another job lined up. She needed some time off after putting in eighteen-hour days for the last three weeks.
Stepping back, she said, “It’s done.” A smile accompanied the statement, and she wished Owen were beside her. He was due to arrive any moment, and Gina stood in the closet hoping he’d get there soon.
“Gina,” he said from behind her, and she left the closet and hurried through the bedroom.
“Come see,” she said. “It’s done.”
Owen grinned at her, because it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen this exact closet several times already. But he humored her, took her hand in his, and let her lead him into the master closet she’d finished in half the time she thought she could.
“Stunning,” Owen said. “As always.” He drew her into his side and admired the closet, just the way Gina wanted him to. He didn’t feel as relaxed as he usually did, and she glanced at him.
“How’s Zach?”
“Doing great. Got there. Got unpacked. Found a job.”
And now he was speaking in very short sentences. Not good.
“Gina, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Of course he did, and Gina actually liked that he did. “All right.”
“You can say whatever you feel, as always.”
“I will.” Her anxiety started to rise, just like it always did when Owen brought her a serious conversation topic. They’d had so many important discussions, and Gina only knew of one more that needed to happen.
Owen shifted so that he stood in front of her. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a diamond ring.
Gina gasped, sucking at the air. “Owen.”
“I don’t want to rush you,” he said, keeping his head ducked and his eyes on the glittering gem. “But I’m in love with you, and I want you to be my wife.” He finally lifted his eyes to hers, and Gina let his words roll through her.
Wife.
She’d never wanted to be a wife.
But she did want to be Owen’s wife, and that was a big distinction.
“What do you think?” he asked. “Jasper helped me pick it out, and I’ve just been holding onto it while I watched to see if you might be ready. But then….” He shrugged, and he was absolutely adorable.
“I thought maybe we could at least start talking about it.”
“We can talk about it.”
He moved to put the ring away, and she said, “Wait, whoa, wait. Where are you putting that?”
Their eyes locked, and Gina wasn’t sure what she was saying. So Owen’s next question—“What are you saying?”—was really hard to answer.
“I—I mean…I love you, too.” She reached up and stroked her hand down the side of his face. “You know that, right?”
“I do know that.” Owen leaned forward and kissed her quickly. “Tell me what you’re afraid of. What’s worrying you about us getting married.”
“Living arrangements,” Gina said, almost blurting it out. “I just bought my place, and I know it’s stupid, but I love being right on the beach. But I can’t—I won’t—take Cooper out of his childhood home.”
Owen nodded. “It’s a valid concern.”
Gina was sure he’d thought about it too. After all, no one knew her better than Owen.
“What else?” he asked.
Gina wound her hands around the back of his neck. “You know what? There is nothing else.”
Owen’s lips curved up and he said, “I have a solution for your living arrangements problem.”
Gina giggled. “I’m sure you do.”
“I don’t want to dislodge Cooper either. So I propose we get married as fast as possible.” He bent his head toward hers and kissed her, capturing her lips completely and telling her how much he wanted her. Wanted her in his home, in his life…in his bed.
“And then you move in with us.” His voice came out as barely a whisper. “Keep the beach house. We’ll go down there all the time. Run the two miles down to the beach, make coffee, enjoy the sunrise, and run home to get ready for the day.”
He kissed her again, and Gina really liked his solution so far. “And then?”
“And then, once Cooper moves on with his life, we’ll move to your place together. Make it our home, right there on the beach.” He swayed back and forth, and Gina would dance anywhere with him. Including the couple of miles up the road to his house until Cooper was finished with high school.
Gina closed her eyes and imagined dancing with him like this while she wore a white dress. It was everything she wanted, and not a stitch of fear existed inside her.
“All right, Owen,” she said, pulling back and gazing up at him. “I’ll marry you.”
His eyes lit up. “Yeah? Don’t sound so excited about it.”
She laughed, tipping her head back and letting him hold her around the waist. She sobered and met his eye. “I love you, Owen. Of course I want to marry you.”
“As soon as possible.” He grinned. “I fell in love with you right here in a closet like this one, and I can’t wait to make a life with you.”
Tears pricked Gina’s eyes, and she kissed Owen like she’d never kissed him before. “Will you put that ring on my finger now, please?”
Owen chuckled as he slid the ring on her left hand and then kissed her like he really, truly loved her.
Gina soaked him in, never wanted to be without him, and pulled away with a grin. “Do you thi
nk Christmas is soon enough for a wedding?”
“Sweetheart, I’d marry you tomorrow.”
“Well, I think the ladies in the Beach Club would kill me we did that. Christmas is only three months away.” A blip of panic pulsed through her. Three months.
“I guess I can wait three more months,” Owen said, kissing her again, and with the weight of the ring on her finger, Gina had never been happier in her life.
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Elana Johnson is the USA Today bestselling author of dozens of novels, from YA contemporary romance to adult beach romances. Check out her YA romance in JUST FRIENDS, ELEVATED, TO BE YOURS, and SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE. She is also the author of the Clean Billionaire Beach Club Romance series and the Hawthorne Harbor Romance series.
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THE BILLIONAIRE’S BOYFRIEND
Book Six, Clean Billionaire Beach Club Romance series
by Elana Johnson
Copyright © 2018 by AEJ Creative Works Inc, Elana Johnson
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this book can be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in, or encourage, the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Cover design by Bonnie Paulson
Interior design by AEJ Creative Works Inc.
The Billionaire's Boyfriend (Clean Billionaire Beach Club Romance Book 6) Page 15
