“Speaking of which, how the hell did you manage that? You used to be horrible with money. You got fired from the cash register at the school cafeteria because your drawer always had less money at the end of the day.”
I grinned. “Honey, that wasn’t because I was bad with money.”
Her eyes widened with realization. “You mean, you stole all that money?”
“How else was I supposed to buy you nice things and take you to nice places?”
“I always thought that was allowance money from your parents or something.”
I shrugged. “That’s what I told you so you wouldn’t nag my ear off.”
“What else didn’t you tell me?”
“Oh, that I’m an international spy, that I’m really 78, and get this, I’m actually an alien that the FBI captured and trained to act like an Earthling.”
She rolled her eyes. “I see growing up didn’t stop you from reading all those comic books.”
“A man has to somehow entertain himself.”
“Well, hopefully, you won’t be too bored now…” Her voice lowered as she leaned toward me, resting her hand on my thigh. “I’m sure we could come up with a lot of interesting ways to entertain ourselves… what do you think?”
I turned my head in her direction, our eyes locking for a moment.
Our faces gravitated together like two magnets, her lips calling to mine. She closed her eyes, anticipating a sweet kiss, but it never came.
When I chuckled, her eyes shot open. “I think that you want to see me crash this car.”
“Oh, come on, we’ve done crazier things in a vehicle.”
“Maybe you should jog my memory.”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about, don’t even act like you don’t.”
“I don’t,” I said, but there was an amused smile playing on my lips.
“You just want to hear me tell the story.”
“Maybe.”
She laughed, reclining her seat back until she was practically laying down. “Hey, does this sunroof open?”
“Of course, why else would I have a sunroof?” I pressed a button near the rearview mirror and the tinted glass slowly rolled back, revealing the beautiful night sky. A rush of wind whipped through the car, pulling her messy locks into a whirlwind over her head. She giggled, standing up so her head was sticking out the top of the car.
“What are you doing?” I grabbed her legs tightly, a feeling of dread washing over me.
“I’ve always wanted to do this.”
“You’re going to get yourself killed,” I warned, hoping she would come back inside before she got herself hurt in some horrible accident. The mere thought made me shiver.
“Oh, stop worrying. Nothing is going to happen.” She climbed onto the armrest so she could get even higher. Her whole upper body was outside at this point.
My hand tightened around her even harder, ready to pull her back in at a moment’s notice.
“Hope. Get down.”
“No. Drive faster!”
I slowed down, eventually coming to a halt on the side of the road. Suddenly, I yanked her back down. She landed on my lap.
“What did you do that for?”
I cupped her cheeks, forcing her to look at me. “Hope, I just got you back in my life. I’ll be damned if I lose you again because you forgot to duck when we come across an overpass.”
“Oh come on now, give me some credit.” She protested, trying to defend herself. “What happened to you? When we were in college, you were so wild. You weren’t afraid of anything.”
My expression softened, knowing that she was telling the truth. But, over the years, I had finally grown up, realizing that life could be extinguished in the blink of an eye. I caressed her cheeks with my thumbs, cherishing every moment with this woman. “Joining the Navy changed me. I saw too many comrades die in battle. I just don’t want to lose you.”
“We aren’t at war Andre.” She whispered, leaning closer, her forehead touching mine. “Nothing bad is going to happen to me so there’s nothing to worry about.”
I smiled for her benefit, but I still had the urge to wrap her in my arms and keep her safe from every evil in this world.
We were quiet for a moment as my hands ran through her hair, smoothing it down as I rocked her body ever so slightly. “I love you…” I whispered, knowing those three words were long, long overdue.
She looked up at me from under her eyelashes, her expression unreadable for a moment before a bright smile flashed across her face. I felt like that smile could light up the whole world. With her lips nearly touching mine, she wrapped her arms around my neck. “I love you too, for better or worse.” She closed the distance between our lips, kissing me ever so gently.
I savored the kiss, holding her even closer. A deep warmth flowed through her lips into my soul, trapping me in her spell. I knew, from that moment on, that I would never let her go again, no matter what happened.
***
By the time I got home, Hope was fast asleep in the passenger seat. I pulled into my garage, waiting for her to wake up, but from what I could tell, she was completely knocked out. I smiled to myself before I got out and carefully shimmied my arms underneath her body.
I picked her up with ease, carrying her bridal style into my house. Even though she was asleep, her lips were stuck in a smile. A part of me hoped she was dreaming of me.
Gently, I laid her down on my bed. Slowly, I undressed her down to her underwear so she would be more comfortable. I had the urge to pounce on her right then and there, especially with her lovely tits on display, but I restrained myself, knowing she was probably spent. If I had to be honest myself, the bed looked pretty comfortable right about now.
So, I quickly shucked off my clothes before jumping into bed beside her. I wrapped my arms around her slender body, pulling her close.
Soon enough, I fell fast asleep, into one of the deepest and most restful slumbers I’d had in years.
***
In the morning, my bed felt exceptionally empty. I stretched out my arm to find that Hope was gone. Instantly, my eyes shot open and I looked around the bedroom, already fearing the worst.
Where had she gone? Had she regretted being with me? Did something happen to her?
All these questions flooded my mind as I jolted out of bed.
Once I did, however, the smell of fresh breakfast wafted up to my nose, making me relax.
I tossed on some sweatpants before I made my way downstairs, where I found Hope standing in the kitchen, wearing nothing but my dress shirt from last night.
Damn. She looked good.
No. Good wasn’t even the word for it. She looked fine.
I lingered by the door, just staring at her. How had I ever been lucky enough to have her wait for me all this time? It felt so unreal. I didn’t deserve this woman.
“So, are you going to just stand there and gawk at me all morning, or are you going to actually pull your weight and help me with these avocados?”
I chuckled, walking over to her. I slipped my arms around her, pulling her into my body until our hips were locked together. “You look beautiful…” I whispered into her ear before gently nibbling on her lobe.
She blushed, the heat from her cheek transferring to mine as I rested my chin on her shoulder, glancing at what was cooking on the skillet.
“Hope. It’s burning.”
“Oh!” She exclaimed, quickly going back to stirring the scrambled eggs she was making.
I took her hand in mine, helping her with the technique. Hope had always liked to attempt to make breakfast, but in reality, she had never been very good at it.
“Shoot, let me make another batch…” She was already heading for the fridge when I stopped her, reeling her into my body like we were a pair of professional dancers. I tilted her body back until her foot came off the ground and her hair grazed the floor. She held her breath as she looked at me, her lips parted ever so slightly like she wanted to say something but just co
uldn’t find the words.
I smirked before kissing her hard, my hand on her ass, gripping it tightly so she wouldn’t fall.
“You act as if you haven’t burnt eggs before…” I teased. “And not once have I complained about them, have I?”
She shook her head.
“Then, don’t look so worried. I appreciate it when you cook me breakfast.” With that, I kissed her nose, eventually letting her back up. “But, I will say, I prefer my eggs edible and not charred.” I turned off the stove and scraped the eggs evenly into two plates.
“You always were the better cook.”
“I always said I’d be willing to teach you, but you never took me up on the offer.”
“Well, maybe I finally will. We got all the time in the world… right?” She asked the question with trepidation, giving me a sideways glance as she sat down at the kitchen table with her food. “You’re not, like, going to disappear on me again, are you?”
I reached for her hand, squeezing it. “I promise, I’ll never do that again. But…”
“I don’t like the sound of that…”
“But, I do have a month-long business trip to Spain coming up.”
“When?”
“First Monday of next month.”
“But… that’s like a week from now…” Her voice grew dull and her shoulders sagged. “How do I know you won’t just stay in Spain for the next ten years?”
“Because you’re coming with me.”
“Huh?”
I took a bite out of my eggs, countering the taste of burnt cheese with a chunk of fresh bread. I even sipped my coffee, looking at her over the rim of my cup. I had always loved teasing her like this.
“Andre! Answer me! What do you mean, I’m going with you?”
I continued to drink my coffee.
“I’m serious. This isn’t funny.”
Ever so slowly, I put down the cup. “Pretty funny to me.”
“You’re such a jerk sometimes.”
I shrugged. “I can’t be perfect. I mean, I do come close, but there had to be something wrong with me.”
“And still cocky as ever.” She started pouting, her arms crossed over her chest. She was so cute when she did that.
“You know you love me.”
“Yeah, I do. I must be insane.”
“Everyone’s a little insane.”
“Can you quit stalling and tell me what this great master plan of yours is?”
“Alright. Alright.” I was about to grab my fork when she slapped my hand away, shooting me a reprimanding glare. “That job you applied for, the position is still open.”
“You didn’t hire someone else, even though I stormed out of there?”
“Nope. Just couldn’t bring myself to do it. And, it wasn’t just because I wanted you to work for me. You were, and still are, the most qualified person for the job.”
“So, if I accept the job, I get to go to Spain with you?”
“You’ll be my personal interpreter. Didn’t you read the job description?”
“That wasn’t in the job description. All it said was a leadership position, based in Baltimore.”
“You were just looking at the pay rate, weren’t you?”
“That was… a factor, yes.”
I grinned. “You were always self-sufficient. Tell me, what were you going to do with the money?”
“Buy a house.”
“That roommate of yours getting on your nerves?”
“No. It’s not that. I just want to be independent. Darla, my roommate, is always looking for a man to help fuel her dreams. But, I honestly thought you were never coming back, and I knew I could never settle for someone else, so I was coming to accept the idea that I’d have to make it on my own.”
I frowned. “I’m sorry I made you wait so long.”
“I’ll forgive you… eventually.”
“You haven’t forgiven me yet? What was last night then?”
“Oh, you know… just a spur of the moment thing.” She twirled her fork between her fingers before taking a bite of her eggs. And just like that, the tables had turned.
“You can’t tell me it was nothing more than a spur.”
“That’s all it was.”
“You’re such a liar.”
“Am I?”
“Yes, you are.” Before she could react, I lunged forward, grabbing her out of her chair. With her in my clutches, I started to tickle her.
“Andre! Stop!” She squirmed, trying to get away from me but it was futile.
I continued to tickle her. The sound of her sweet laughter brought me back to our college days when I tackled her onto the dorm’s cardboard-thin mattress, making her squirm all night long… in more ways than one.
“Andre… can’t breathe…” She panted.
“I’m not going to fall for that.” I continued my assault before she finally managed to get away, dashing into the living room, looking for a place to hide.
Unfamiliar with the layout of my home, she trapped herself into a corner, her eyes darting left and right, looking for an escape path.
“You’re mine now,” I growled playfully.
“Eek!” She squealed right before I tackled her onto the couch, kissing her hard.
Life was finally going my way. I could feel it.
Chapter 7 (Hope)
I couldn’t believe I was actually about to board a plane to Spain. It felt surreal to be holding Andre’s hand as we waited in line to go through security. “This is nuts.”
“Why?”
“A month ago, my life was going nowhere. Sure, I had a decent job, I was paying the bills, but I wasn’t truly happy. I had nothing to aspire to. Then, all of a sudden, you came back into my life, turned it upside down and yet, everything feels right.”
Andre smiled before he kissed the top of my head. “Good thing I decided to build my headquarters in Baltimore instead of New York.”
“You think fate has anything to do with it?”
“Do you believe in that stuff?”
I thought about it for a minute. I didn’t really know. Fate was one of those things that was hard to wrap your head around. Like, who controls fate? Is there a way to change it? Do you always have to accept it?
“I’m not sure.”
“Well, do you think it’s a coincidence that you applied to be my personal interpreter without even knowing I would be your boss? I mean, you could’ve applied to a bunch of other jobs and never even come across mine.”
“You have a point… we also saw each other at the bar.”
“Right. What are the odds?”
“I still… I don’t know. But, in any case, I’m just glad that we’re together again.”
“Me too, babe.” He squeezed my hand, a smile on his face. “We’re getting close to the front, you’ll have to get rid of that water bottle.”
I nodded, finishing it off and disposing of it in the nearby trashcan. “Kind of silly that they don’t allow you to bring it into the airport itself.”
He shrugged. “TSA has silly rules like that. And it’s only getting worse. We’ll eventually have to get you a Pre-check membership.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s like a background check. They make sure you’re not a criminal, and in turn, there’s an express lane you go through where you don’t have to take your laptop out of your bag, take off your shoes or even your belt.”
“Damn. That sounds nice.”
“It is. It’s only like $85 a year and it legit saves you half the time.” He pointed his thumb behind him where a few people were cruising through the Pre-check lane. It never took them more than a minute to get to the other side.
On the other hand, I felt like we had been stuck in this line for a long, long time. Forever, even.
Eventually, however, we made it to the front and we had to start the tedious process of unloading everything into the little trays before pretty much stripping down in front of the TSA officers.
&nb
sp; “That wasn’t too bad,” Andre said, grabbing our things on the other side.
“Next time, I better have Pre-check.” I teased him. “Take it out of my paycheck if you need to.”
“For a new employee, you’re very demanding.”
CEO's Christmas Party: A Bad Boy Billionaire Boss Romance Page 23
