He waits patiently for me to continue, crossing an ankle over his knee as he leans back in the club chair.
“Accepting this has been weighing on my mind,” I confess, knowing my reasoning isn’t quite logical, but I can’t help it all the same. “Like I’m giving in to everything he put you through. Like this is… I don’t know, bribe money or something. If I take this, then it means I’m okay with him cutting you off.”
He cocks his head to the side, a smile slowly spreading over his face. “You know what would be the best way to get back at him?”
“What?”
“To cash this and live a happy life.”
I roll my eyes. “Gabriel-”
“I’m serious. I don’t want you doing anything that puts you on his radar. He’s not a part of my life anymore. And unless he hires some P.I. or something, he should have no reason to discover we’re together.”
We agreed to keep our relationship private for now, so there’s no backlash from his father. And in a couple months, when all the commotion surrounding the infamous Bishop wedding has died down, we’ll be a little more circumspect with the people we tell. So far, it’s only Diana that’s aware of the true nature of our connection.
“You don’t think I should tear it up? Out of principle?”
“Hell, no.” He seizes it out of my hand, like he’s afraid I might actually rip it on a whim, and carefully folds it in half before placing it in the breast pocket of his polo. “We’re poor. We can’t afford to give this up out of pride.”
A chuckle escapes me. “Look at all these events lined up.” I point at my planner on the desk between us, open to my annual calendar filled with new bookings. “We’ll be rolling in dough by the end of the year.”
“Your version of big money is different than mine,” he smirks, laughing as I swat at him. “Besides, this is your money, not mine.”
“We’re business partners now. This affects both of us.”
His smile fades, face going uncharacteristically serious. “You want me to be your business partner?”
A stillness overtakes him as he carefully clasps his hands together in front of him, awaiting my answer. This isn’t the casual, relaxed demeanor he displayed earlier as he waited for me to talk about his dad. This answer means something to him.
“I’ve been watching you all week.”
His brows narrow in confusion before I elaborate further.
“I asked you to take care of the invitations for the Weber-Gonzalez wedding and you had them assembled, sealed, addressed, and in the mail by the end of the day. Two hundred of them.”
“Okay…”
“I asked if you could follow up with your friend who sent that super vague email about wanting to throw a party, and the next thing I know, you’ve got a specific invoice typed up with everything we’re doing for him.”
He opens his mouth, but I continue talking. “You helped me strategize the best arrangement for the seating chart for the Blakely-Vaughn wedding, met with Mr. and Mrs. Wilson about their retirement party while I was busy, and answered phone calls if I was unavailable. Not to mention you’re a whiz at marketing, the thing I hate doing the most. I have fifteen new bookings for the next two months alone. Solely because of you.”
He’s quiet, watching me warily.
“You’re committed to this. On top of things. And good at it.”
His cheeks flush the faintest bit, quick enough to miss if I wasn’t studying him so closely. Is he really not used to hearing praise?
“So, yeah, I want you to be my partner. I wouldn’t be doing so amazing if it wasn’t for you. And I love having you around. You’re a huge asset to Sweet Events.”
The flush this time lingers as he carefully stands, leaning over the desk to give me a long, leisurely kiss. “Thank you,” he whispers as he pulls away, the love in his eyes well worth the few moments it took to tell him what’s been on my mind all week.
Really, though, I should be the one thanking him.
“I, uh, actually have to go,” he says, heading toward the door. “It’s Friday and-”
“The children’s hospital, I know. Tell Kaia I said hi.”
“Will do. I’ll see you tonight?”
I nod, already impatient for what later’s sure to bring. Once Gabriel came over to my apartment that first night, he never left. And both of us like him being there too much to talk about him getting his own place. Us being together just… works. It’s effortless.
And after resisting him for so long, I never want to be apart again.
Epilogue
Gabriel
“You look divine. You’ll upstage the bride in that thing.”
Mackenzie does a little twirl for me as she exits our bedroom, then pauses to slip her heels on over by the front door. “You’ve seen me in this dress a good dozen times.”
“And you’re more beautiful every time.”
“Smooth talker,” she smirks, grabbing her earrings off the coffee table to put them on.
I cross my arms over my chest and lean against the couch, watching as she flutters around the place finishing getting ready. After eight months in her cramped apartment, I can finally breathe in this bigger one-bedroom that James found for us. It pays to have realtor friends who have the inside scoop on when rent-stabilized places are up for grabs.
“You have the timeline for the day?”
“Yes.”
“And the blueprint for how everything needs to be set up?”
“Yes.”
“And-”
“I’ve got it all here, don’t worry. We’ve done a million weddings together. Today’s not any different.”
“Then you know by now that I’m obsessive about each one.”
She stops for a second to check her makeup in the mirror by the front entryway, and I take the opportunity to slip in behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist. My nose skims along the back of her neck, inhaling her sweet scent, and she shivers ever so slightly.
“You can’t mess up my hair. Or my makeup. Or my dress. We need to leave here in five minutes to make it to the venue on time.”
I grin. “Is that a challenge?”
“No,” she laughs, extracting herself from my hold.
“One kiss. Just give me one kiss to get me through the rest of the day.”
“You’re never satisfied with just one,” she murmurs, turning around to wrap her arms over my shoulders.
I kiss that luscious mouth, dipping her down low in my arms, her grip tightening on me the way I love before bringing her back up.
She thumbs away the stray lipstick on me, smiling provocatively before continuing to pack up everything she needs for the wedding we’re coordinating today.
Business is booming. There’s no other way to say it. And while Mackenzie claims it’s all due to me and how I initially reached out to my many acquaintances asking them to give her a try, the truth of the matter is that she’s the reason we’re doing so well.
Capable. Talented. Personable. Skilled. I could go on endlessly listing the ways she’s amazing, but for now I’ll just say that every day with her is a new reason to be thankful for getting stuck in that god awful engagement to begin with. If I hadn’t, I’d never have met her. Never have known the satisfaction that comes in completing a day’s work. Never have this whole new life that it turns out I love. People don’t see me as the billionaire heir anymore. And I found out real quick who only wanted me for my perceived connections and money, and who was actually interested in me.
I’m a co-business owner now. A brother. A boyfriend. And hopefully soon to be a fiance. An eager one this time.
I glance toward our bedroom, where my nightstand sits next to our bed. Tucked away in the back corner of the drawer underneath a pile of innocuous junk is a velvet box, with a diamond ring nestled inside I can’t wait to slip on her finger.
But now’s not the right time. Not when she’s knee deep in planning someone else’s big day. Maybe tomorrow when no events are on the schedul
e, cuddled up together here at home on the couch with a glass of wine. Or next week when her parents come to visit and we have a ready made excuse to go to a fancy restaurant. It doesn’t matter the day, though, or even where it happens. Because every day is special now.
“You ready?” she asks, hitching her tote bag up on her shoulder.
“I’m ready.”
For a life with her. Forever.
Also by Allie Winters
Want more Gabriel and Mackenzie? Get a free sweet and sexy bonus epilogue featuring their engagement when you sign up here.
The Bishop Brothers series is a contemporary romance trilogy featuring three sexy billionaire brothers who find love in Manhattan. Marrying the Billionaire (Bishop Brothers #2) (Archer and Serena’s story) is coming January 29, 2021. Seducing the Billionaire (Bishop Brothers #3) (Connor’s story) is coming mid-2021.
Check out the Suncoast University series – Four steamy new adult romances that will have you swooning.
* * *
Let Go (Suncoast University #1)
- Charlotte - Putting yourself out there? Getting close to others? No, thanks, I’ll pass. It’s safer to keep to yourself. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way. So when I accidentally tell the muscled hunk I’ve been secretly drooling over all semester how I really feel about him, it’s not like I meant for him to take an interest in me. I don’t want a boyfriend. Not even when it turns out he’s so much more than just brawn.
My goal for so long has been simple - get into grad school. And when I get a dream TA position at the beginning of the new semester that will help me achieve just that, I’ll have to forget about him now that he’s my student. Easy, right?
- Luke - I can’t get her out of my head - the shy, sexy brunette that’s trying so hard to keep me at a distance. I can be patient, though. Anything to break through that reserve and get under her shields. But just when I thought I’ve succeeded, she’s off-limits. Say hello to my new TA. Even though I’m hot for teacher, there’s no way she would risk this opportunity. Right?
* * *
Watch Me (Suncoast University #2)
- Samantha - I need a place to stay ASAP when my living arrangements fall through before college starts. And I shouldn’t have any trouble resisting my new roommate… despite how much I find myself connecting with him.
- Levi - I have absolutely no interest in the beautiful blonde living in the room next door. She’s not my type. Not even when it turns out she’s nothing like I expected.
She’s only here for the summer, so it shouldn’t be a big deal to act on this attraction before she leaves. It doesn’t have to mean anything, right?
* * *
No One Else (Suncoast University #3)
- Evan - I messed up. I admitted to the girl of my dreams I’m in love with her, only to have her run away. Why don’t they ever warn you things like that happen?
Now that we’re paired up for a class project, I have to figure out a way to keep things from being weird between us. I can’t lose her again.
- Natalie - We shared a kiss the night after I broke up with my boyfriend of three years. A heart-stopping, panty-melting kiss I still dream about. But I wasn’t ready then for anything more.
Now that I am, he’s unavailable. What will it take to get us both on the same page - and stay there?
* * *
First and Only (Suncoast University #4)
- Jake - When my dreams of going pro are crushed by a career-ending knee injury, I have to figure out how to use brains over brawn for the first time to graduate college. Enter Eden, my new Biology tutor. Except she doesn't want to be paid in the usual way. She wants me to give her relationship tutoring to attract a guy she likes. But this shy, awkward brainiac is turning out to be so much more than I expected. In the words of a scientist, will this equal exchange turn out to be more than the sum of its parts?
- Eden - Hot guys don't fall for nerds like me. It's just a fact of life - one I've come to accept like gravity or thermodynamics. So even though others think Jake's interested in me, I know it's just this tutoring deal we have going on. I show him the electron transport system and he shows me how to kiss. Simple as that. There's no sense in getting my hopes up, even as I realize this ex-jock and I fit together in a way I never thought possible. Rarely does an equal exchange turn out to be more than the sum of its parts. Even when I desperately want it to.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my husband, who patiently listened to me talk about this book as the idea bounced around in my head for months. Your always-ready ear is so appreciated.
* * *
Thank you to my beta readers and editor for your thoughts and suggestions, especially that the cover model must match Gabriel!
* * *
Thank you to the bloggers, reviewers, bookstagrammers, and anyone spreading the word about this book. Your time and efforts are invaluable. If you enjoyed the book (or even if you didn’t!) please consider writing a review. I love to hear your thoughts.
* * *
And a huge thank you to my readers for starting a new journey with me and the Bishop brothers. I’m so excited to share Archer and Serena’s story with you next.
About the Author
Allie is the author of the Suncoast University series, the Bishop Brothers series, and the upcoming Psych 101 series. She lives in sunny Florida with her husband, daughter, and two cats. A librarian by day, she spends her nights writing happily ever afters. She enjoys reading, playing video games, and all things Disney.
Find out more on her website or follow on Instagram.
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