Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 35305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 177(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 177(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
I can't get enough of her smart mouth, her attitude, or the way she gives me hell, either. She takes no prisoners, ever. I fucking love that. I love that she's not afraid to call me out or force me to look at things from a different perspective. Most people don't even try. They wouldn't dare. But she's always dared, from day one.
She's tough, but she's sweet as hell, too. She warms up slowly, guarding her heart close, but when she does finally let you in? Jesus Christ. There's nothing better than the way she looks at the people she cares about, like she'd scale mountains and tear down the gates of hell just to make sure you were okay if she had to do it.
I tap on the glass, drawing her attention. She startles, spinning to face me. The way she lights up has my heart climbing into my throat. I want her to keep looking at me just like that for the rest of my life. If I have that, I don't need anything else.
"Hey," she whispers as soon as she unlocks the door for me. "I didn't think I'd see you tonight."
"I spent last night without you," I murmur, pulling her into my arms. "I'm not sleeping alone two nights in a row, sweetness."
She melts against me, allowing me to kiss the taste from her mouth. She kisses me back the same way, like she's starving for me. By the time we come up for air, her lips are swollen, and her eyes are glossy. I'm half tempted to say to hell with everything else and get her naked.
But I need to do this right.
"You have a minute to look at something?" I ask, stroking her cheek.
"Is it your cock, Lincoln? Because if I look at it, I'm going to want to touch it, and if I touch it, I'm going to want to kiss it." She smirks at me, her cheeks flushed. "If you give a romance reader a cock…"
"Isn't that a kid's book?"
A loud, surprised laugh burbles from her lips. "God, I hope not."
"I didn't mean the cock parts, smart ass." I grin at her, shaking my head. "It's something about a mouse and a cookie. And then he wants a whole bunch of other shit to go with it."
"If You Give a Mouse a Cookie," she says, still smiling at me. "Maybe it inspired me."
"I'm not even going to judge you for your choice," I mutter, beyond being shocked by anything she says at this point. I've been reading the books she likes lately. Didn't know I was capable of blushing over words on a page, but a motherfucker has been thoroughly educated now.
"If you're shocked by that, just wait until you see what they've done to the Grinch," she teases. "Or dinosaurs. Polar bears. Ravens. Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beau—" She laughs wildly against my palm when I place it over her lips.
"I need to show you something before you get naked and demonstrate, so you gotta stop talking," I growl.
She nods against my palm before pulling my hand away. "I'll behave."
"Little liar."
She just grins at me, linking our fingers together to pull me toward one of the tables on the far side of the store. "What do you need to show me if it isn't your cock?" Her gaze lingers on the document tube in my hand. "Is it the contract you signed with the devil for your soul?"
"Smart ass." I shake my head, chuckling. Christ, she's so fucking sexy when she's giving me shit. I love it. I move a stack of books out of the way, then slide the plans out of the tube and stretch them across the table. "Take a look," I murmur.
She bends her head over them, her brows furrowed as her gaze scans across them, trying to make sense of what she's seeing. "What is this, Lincoln?"
"I asked our planning team to draw these up," I whisper, my heart beating so loud I'm sure she hears it. "Two days after I met you, actually." I swallow when her gaze shifts from the plans to my face. "My meeting with the mayor and city council the other day was to float this redesign, with your store intact."
"I don't understand," she whispers.
"I need you more than I need this building, Lilah." I cup her cheek, my eyes locked with hers. "I need you, and I need you to keep your store. I won't be the one who takes it from you, not when it means so much to you. So we're building around it."
"What about your bid?"
"If you'll allow me to do it, this building will be your wedding present," I rasp.
She gapes at me, shock written all across her perfect face.
"I'm in love with you. I don't need this building, sweetness. It's yours. It'll always be yours. I just need my ring on your finger."