Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
I chuckled, and she frowned at me. “I’m not laughing because I think you need more, baby,” I explained when I realized where her mind had gone. “I’m laughing because you seem to think I’m going to stop spoiling you at some point. Skye, I will never stop. I love pampering you, spoiling you, doing anything that will put that beautiful smile on your sweet mouth.” I gave her a quick kiss and patted her on the ass. “Now get changed.” Then I spun on my heel and marched out of the room. If I stayed while she attempted to change, we’d never make it to dinner.
When she found me in the dining room, I was standing by one of the tall windows, staring at the view. But at the sound of her gasp, I turned and my mouth went completely dry. “Wow,” I croaked. “You look…” Words failed me.
Skye’s cheeks turned the same shade of sweet pink as her dress, and she did a little twirl. “Thank you. For the dress and the compliment.” Then she swept her hand out. “And all this…did I forget something?” She chewed her lip, but when she saw my scowl, she immediately stopped.
“No, baby, you didn’t forget anything. I want to talk to you about something important and then we’ll celebrate together.”
“Oh?” Her interest was piqued, and when I crossed the room to take her hand, she looked up at me expectantly.
I didn’t say anything as I led her to the table and helped her take a seat. “Patience, Mrs. Tate,” I teased.
Her lips pinched, but she didn’t voice the retort I knew was rolling around on her tongue.
I waited until I was seated around the corner of the table from her, then reached across to take her hand. Smiling, I drew little circles on her palm, enjoying the way it sent a path of goose bumps up her arm.
“First,” I began, staring into her deep brown eyes, “Gil called. Better Sports made an offer. A very generous one. But the best part is that when Gil told them what I wanted to do with the money, they offered to donate a large portion of the equipment.”
Skye’s eyes went wide, and her mouth formed a little O. Then, out of nowhere, her entire face crumpled, and she burst into tears. It was the opposite of the reaction I’d been hoping for.
12
Skye
With the candlelight and flowers, the dinner Dempsey had planned was the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for me. I thought for sure it was because he was going to tell me that he’d developed feelings and wanted our marriage to be real. But instead, he’d gone to all of this trouble because he was excited about the endorsement deal.
“Shit, baby. I thought you’d be happy to hear that Best Sports decided to go with me,” he muttered, rounding the table to drop down in front of me. Taking my hands in his, he stared up at me, his eyes filled with concern. “I don’t know how I managed to fuck this up so badly, but I’m sorry. Please tell me what’s wrong so that I can fix it. I’d do anything for you to never cry again.”
His words only made more tears stream down my cheeks as I sobbed harder. He swore again before getting to his feet and scooping me into his arms. Striding into the living room, he dropped onto the corner of the couch and cuddled me against his chest while I cried it out.
When I finally took a shuddering breath and sniffled away the last of the tears, he asked, “Did I fuck things up so badly that you want to leave me?”
My head jerked up at the hint of insecurity in his tone. “What? No.”
“Okay, good. Thank fuck.” He heaved a deep sigh. “Then I can fix whatever is wrong.”
I shook my head, nerves unsettling my stomach. “I wish it were that simple.”
Pressing a finger against the bottom of my chin, he tilted my head up so he could stare into my eyes as he vowed, “I will do whatever it takes to make you happy.”
“Even stay married to me after you’ve clinched the deal that was the only reason we’re together in the first place?” I whispered.
The concern in his blue gaze was replaced by a burgeoning hope at my question. “Is that what all those tears were about, baby? You thought I arranged this fancy dinner so I could let you down easy now that I’ve gotten what I wanted?”
The lump in my throat was too big for me to speak, so I just nodded.
“Nothing could be further from the truth, Skye.” Shifting me onto the cushion next to him, he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a jewelry box before getting on his knees in front of me. When he flipped open the lid, I peered down at the diamond encrusted infinity band nestled inside. “Opening the community centers has been my dream for so long, but they’ll mean nothing to me without you in my life. I want you at my side every step of the way. The two of us building a family while we achieve more together than we ever could on our own, as an unbeatable team. For-fucking-ever.”