Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 94585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“I'm sorry, I've been dragging my feet. It wasn't about you. At all. I was just worried about everything with the bakery and if I was going to have to find work somewhere else. I didn't feel like I could settle in until I knew I had a job.”
“Just for the record, I don't care if you have a job.”
“I want to support myself, Royal. I'm not—”
I leaned in to kiss her, stopping her words. “I know. And I get it. I really do. But life isn't always smooth, and I'll love you through the hard times along with the good. Job or no job.”
Daisy didn't answer me in words. Setting her champagne on the table, she framed my face in her hands and kissed me. Thoroughly. I was breathing hard when she pulled back to say, “I'll go to the DMV on Monday and change my address. Maybe after I’m done you can help me pack up the rest of my stuff from the apartment.”
“Sounds great to me,” I agreed.
“What's in that basket?” Daisy asked, shifting on my lap to brush against my erection. It never failed. Kissing Daisy always made me hard. “Can it wait until later?”
My cock insisted it definitely could not wait until later. It took me a second to realize she meant the food. “Finn cooked us dinner, and yes, it can wait.” Truthfully, I wasn't sure if it could, but it was going to.
Daisy's eyebrows shot up. “Finn cooked for us? Finn doesn't cook for anyone.”
“I know. I had to beg and bribe him with a favor to be redeemed later.”
“From the smells coming out of that basket, it was worth it.” She leaned in for another kiss. I hated to do it, but I held her off.
“One more thing.” I set the velvet box in front of her. Reading the alarm in her face, I covered the box with my hand. “It's not what you think. I'm not dumb enough to try to give you an engagement ring when I'm still trying to get you to finish moving in.”
A sheepish smile curved her lips. “Sorry, it was knee-jerk. So, it's not a ring?” The smile faded. “Not that I want a ring. I mean, I do, someday, but it feels too soon and—” She rolled her eyes, shaking her head at herself. “Shut me up, will you?”
“Never.” I loved listening to her, even when she made no sense. Except she was making sense. “I want to give you that kind of ring. But not yet, not until you're ready. We can wait on that, but I wanted to give you something from me. I never got the idea of promise rings. It always seemed like a cop-out. Why not just pull the trigger and get engaged? Now I get it. You're mine. My woman. My love. Forever. I want you to wear that promise, to have that from me.” I flipped open the box.
A delicate ring of yellow gold gleamed against the black velvet, the center pearl glowing in the candlelight, surrounded by petals fashioned of tiny yellow diamonds.
A daisy. She reached for it, then snatched her hand back. “Can I—”
Pulling it from the box, I slid it on her finger. It was a perfect fit. I owed J.T. a thank you for that. Holding her hand in mine, I turned it back and forth, watching the sparkle of the diamonds, the glow of the pearl. This ring was Daisy, the fire of diamonds and the serene calm of the pearl.
“It belonged to my Great-Great-Grandmother, Lady Estelle Ophelia Sawyer. My brothers and sisters helped me look through the jewelry, and when I saw this, I knew you had to have it. Not just because it's a daisy. It reminded me of you. As delicate as the pearl and as strong as the diamonds. Will you wear it?”
She closed a fist around the ring. “I'm never taking it off.” Shifting on my lap, she went in for another kiss. Dinner could wait. Scooping her up, I left our champagne on the table and carried Daisy to the bed.
Laying her across the white duvet, I looked down at my future. Her warm brown eyes, the explosion of pink curls, her wide smile. She radiated love. For me. She was what I'd been waiting for my entire life.
We were what I'd been waiting for. Together we could do anything.
I set about stripping her bare, needing to show her exactly how much I loved her. Daisy was ready for me, her eager hands making quick work of my pants before I managed to get her shirt off. We rolled across the bed, laughing and loving until our dinner was cold and we'd sated ourselves on each other.
I got up to bring the champagne to the bed and looked back to find Daisy sprawled across the duvet, gorgeously naked, a smile of satisfaction spread across her face. I didn't know what the future held for us, but with this woman by my side, I knew it would be everything I’d dreamed.