His To Have

by Devon Birchley

  Monica’s eyes sparkle with curiosity as she opens the door to us. Adler is very charming, complimenting her place, cracking jokes, and I can practically see her barriers going down. We’ve been messaging back and forth incessantly over the past day, and she’s warned me to be careful with my heart, but he’s doing everything to show that he’s committed to me. He holds my hand constantly, asks her about our shared childhoods, and she steps up to the plate, telling plenty of embarrassing stories that have us all in stitches. We go out for dinner and end up drinking too much.

  “What are your intentions with my best friend in the whole world?” she asks suddenly, fixing him with one of her characteristic mock-fierce stares.

  Adler grins, puts his arm around my shoulder and says, “To love her endlessly, and make her the happiest woman alive.”

  She keeps staring at him for a beat longer. “I believe you,” she says at last.

  The next morning, Adler drives me to the co-op and waits in the car while I have my interview. It goes very well. I know every single person interviewing me, and they’re smiling a lot as I show them my portfolio of work. By the end, they’re pumping my hand and offering me the job. And the funny thing is, the salary is the same as I earn now. I ask for a few days to think about it, and I walk back to the car in a daze. Adler leaps out of the driver’s seat and opens the passenger-side door for me.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. I just got offered the job.”

  For the briefest moment, he looks shattered. And then he hugs me tight. “Am I going to have to move my business to Springfield?” he says.

  My mouth hangs open. “Are you serious?”

  “I’m serious about you, Reagan. Everything else is just details.”

  “But you love the life you have, don’t you?”

  “I do, but it’s not very far away. We could go back for weekends.”

  “You would do this for me? Really?”

  “Of course, I would. There’s no way I’m letting you get away from me.”

  I look deep into those caramel eyes and see love and tenderness. I let out a long sigh. “How about we don’t think about this today? I want to show you a few things. And go see my parents for a little bit. And we can talk later.”

  He kisses me. “Sounds good to me.”

  I take him on a hike along the river, to some woods that I used to play in a lot as a kid. Spring is more than a month away, but there’s a sense of rebirth in the air. Everything suddenly feels simple, and Adler and I are holding hands, as if we’ve been in love for a long time.

  “It’s so peaceful here,” he says. “I don’t often have peace in my life.”

  “It gets old sometimes.”

  “I don’t believe you.” He stands behind me, arms wrapped around my waist as we gaze at a field of cows.

  “Right now it feels perfect,” I agree.

  “Okay, is it time to go meet the people who are responsible for your fetish for being spanked?” he purrs in my ear.

  “Stop!” I slap him, laughing.

  My parents are impressed by Adler. I can tell that my dad thinks he’s a little too smooth and flashy. No surprises there. Dad thinks the same about anyone who comes from the big city. But he has my mom charmed almost instantly. My dad warms to him a little later when he turns out to be surprisingly knowledgeable about baseball, and even slaps him on the shoulder a couple of times—a dad sign of regard.

  “Don’t let that one go,” my mom whispers to me as we’re leaving.

  “Everyone loves you,” I announce to Adler during the drive back.

  “Yeah, my first time meeting parents didn’t go as bad as I feared.”

  “Are you serious? You never met anyone’s parents before?”

  “Nope.”

  “You’re such a natural.”

  He lays a hand on my thigh. “I want them to like me. It’s important to me they think I’m good enough for you.”

  “They think you’re plenty good enough. Trust me.”

  We drive straight to his place, and as we pull up in front of the elegant old house, it feels like home as well.

  We sit up for a couple of hours discussing the job offer.

  “I think the main thing is that you’re not happy in your current job,” he says. “And that’s no way to live.”

  “It’s not. I hate all the competitiveness, all the backbiting.”

  “It doesn’t suit you.”

  “It doesn’t. I feel like it’ll change me in time.”

  “So quit. Go in tomorrow and resign, and then you can decide whether you really want to move back to Springfield or if you just need a change.”

  “I like this idea!” I take his face in my hands and plant a kiss on his lips. “And you can really see yourself living in Springfield, Monday to Friday at least?”

  “Why not? We’ll rent a nice, big house. Get some dogs. Spend a lot of time outdoors.”

  “You’re pretty awesome. Do you know that?”

  “If that’s true, it’s because of you.”

  Tingles of pure happiness run all the way through me. “And if I quit the job and we stay here, what then?”

  “Well, what do you want to do? Just imagine, for a moment, that money was no object. What’s your passion?”

  “Maybe I’d like to go to ad school and get a copywriting qualification,” I say slowly.

  “Or?”

  “How did you know there was an or?”

  “I can hear it in your voice.”

  “Well. I’ve always secretly wanted to be an artist.”

  “What kind?”

  “Ceramics, I think.”

  “Then that’s what you should do.”

  I laugh. “It’s even harder to get rich from art than advertising.”

  “Are you good?”

  “Yeah, I think I am. I did a minor at college actually, and I really loved it. My professor said I had talent.”

  “So that’s settled. You should go to art school.”

  “That’s not really possible.”

  “Rea. This place doesn’t cost me anything. You can live here, and it’ll be my pleasure to support you.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Are you kidding? I make more than enough from my business, more than I could ever spend. I’d love to help you realize your dream.”

  I stare at him wordlessly.

  “Just have a think about it, okay?’

  “Okay,” I say.

  As I get ready for bed, I look around the house, amazed he’d give up this place, this town he loves, for me. When we lie down to sleep, he doesn’t pull away from me, but continues to hold me in his arms. I wake two or three times during the night, and I can tell he’s restless. But I know he’s doing it for me, and it’s very touching. Eventually I take pity on him and roll away to my side of the bed, giving him the space he needs. Baby steps.

  As I walk out of Koln & Mathers gleaming offices for the last time, I laugh out loud. So many people would kill for a job here. Six months ago, I felt the same. And now I’ve thrown it away. The look on the HR manager’s face when I handed her my resignation letter was hysterical. Evidently, no junior leaves the company of their own volition—ever. She gave me an hour to collect my things, and then security escorted me out. I thought about saying goodbye to Jeremy. Maybe if he hadn’t freaked me out at the Sexpo, the universe wouldn’t have tipped me into Adler’s path. And if he hadn’t made a favorite of me, then discarded me so ruthlessly, I might not have found the impetus to quit my job. He wasn’t in his office though. Maybe I’ll email him later.

  I stand in the street and gaze at the jagged skyline, at the skyscrapers, at the hectic city life. I’m unemployed and my future is stretching out in front of me. I feel giddy, like doing something incredibly reckless. My phone beeps. There’s a single question mark in the message, nothing else.

  I’m free! They made me leave right away! I reply.

  Is it too early for Champagne?

  N
ope!

  Twenty minutes later, I’m striding into The Black Heart, looking for a broad-shouldered, muscular guy at the bar. But he’s not sitting there. He’s in our seat, watching me walk toward him with a smile on his face.

  “Baby, I’m so proud of you,” he says. I sit down beside him, nestling into the crook of his arm.

  “I’ve decided,” I say. “I want to stay here with you.”

  His grin becomes even wider. “Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”

  I nod. “I want to go to art school, too. But I’ll fund it with doing some graphic design on the side, like I used to at college.”

  He makes a kind of growly noise. “You don’t need to do that, seriously.”

  I lay my hand on his. “Maybe that’s a conversation for another day.”

  “Okay, agreed. Today is just for celebration.” He pulls a strand of my hair behind my ear and kisses me on my temple, inhaling softly, as if he’s trying to pick up the scent of my skin. “We’re going to be so happy living here together. There’s so many places I want to take you, so many things I want to show you.”

  I gaze at him, aware what a sacrifice it would’ve been for him to move to Springfield. “I love you so much, Adler.”

  He holds me tight against his big, strong chest. “I love you too, Reagan. And I can’t wait for us to start our lives together.”

  THE END

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  About the Author

  Devon Birchley writes wild romances with dark edges. Her stories are full of sexy, dominant men, and she has a weakness for tattoos, muscles and guys who look good in hats.

  Devon lives with three blue-eyed beauties (one of the human and two of the canine variety) in a rambling house in New England.

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