AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My heart pounds against my ribcage, my head spinning. I don’t know what to think. Am I mad that he looked into me? Not really. Am I mad that he rigged the contest? No. I didn’t even want to go out with anyone else. But he should have told me.
“You can’t just go around bending the world to your will to get what you want.” I sigh. “It doesn’t work that way. You spent two weeks growling and snapping at me instead of communicating. And now, you’ve done all of this instead of just talking to me. Your life would be so much easier if you just talked.”
“You want me to talk?” He steps up in front of me, tipping my chin back until my eyes meet his. “I spent two weeks terrified if I told you how I felt, the best thing in my life would disappear,” he says. “I spent two weeks trying to figure out how to make you fall in love with me when you’re perfect and I’m an asshole. I spent two weeks not getting a single fucking thing done because all I could think about was you sitting at your desk. And then I found out that you were working two jobs right under my nose and I missed it. I should have spent those two weeks taking care of you, but I had my head up my ass.”
“Yep,” Lyra mutters, though the word lacks heat.
Josh ignores her. “I spent all that time worried about losing you instead of doing what I should have been doing to make sure that didn’t happen. I’m not trying to bend the world to my will, sweet girl. I’m trying to shape it into one that’s a little softer for you. And I hope like hell that version of it has you by my side for the rest of my life.”
My heart flutters, any lingering doubts or resistance crumbling to dust. How can I be mad when he’s trying so hard? Maybe he didn’t get it exactly right, but no one is perfect. And I don’t expect him to be. I didn’t fall for him because he’s perfect. I fell because he’s grumpy and growly and bossy and so damn sweet. That’s enough for me. No. It’s everything to me.
“I love you,” I whisper, blinking away tears. “I don’t need the world to be softer, Josh. So long as you’re in it, it’s perfect exactly the way it is.”
He drags me into his arms, his lips coming down on mine in a hard kiss. “Fuck, I love you, Lyric.” He touches his forehead to mine, lingering for a moment before he pulls back to face my sisters again. “I realize I have a lot of work to do to win your trust, but I worship the ground she walks on. I’m not going to hurt her. I promise you that.”
“If she loves you, we love you,” Melody says, practically dancing forward to hug him.
Harmony comes next, giving him a quick hug. “Be nice to her, Josh. She deserves it,” she says quietly.
“Lyra?” I ask, practically holding my breath.
My twin narrows her eyes at Josh. “I have one more question before I decide to forgive you,” she says.
“You can ask me anything.”
“Did you have anything to do with the two of you being discussed in the Silver Spoon Single Serve?”
Josh looks startled. “The what?”
“The gossip column,” Harmony says. “Giant said you two were in it, so we looked. They’re gossiping about you two all over the place in it.”
“Uh, what the fuck is it?” Josh glances between my sisters, clearly confused.
Lyra huffs a breath and pulls out her phone. She swipes the touchscreen, and then her fingers dance across the screen before she clears her throat. “Don’t tell HR, but it looks like more than contracts are being negotiated at the new consulting firm in town,” she reads. “Guess which Hot Boss was spotted getting cozy with his adorable assistant at a local steakhouse on Friday night with a little help from our local matchmaker? Rumor has it, he’s negotiating a few contracts of his own where she’s concerned. Will he convince her to sign on the dotted line?”
“Jesus Christ,” Josh mutters when Lyra lowers the phone, hitting him with a pointed look. “I had nothing to do with that. But I have a feeling I know who did.”
“Who?” Harmony asks.
Josh hesitates. “I can’t say.” His gaze flits to mine. “I’m sworn to secrecy. But I’ll handle this, sweet girl, and make sure they keep our fucking names out of the paper. This wasn’t part of our deal.”
“Wait a minute!” Melody cries, narrowing her eyes at him. “You’re saying the matchmaker and the person who runs the gossip column is the same person?”
Josh’s lips compress into a thin line. “I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t deny it, either,” I point out. Interesting.
“That’s genius marketing,” Harmony whispers. “She makes matches and then hard launches them in her column. When people see them around town, they know who was responsible and flock to the dating service for help.” She flicks her gaze at Lyra. “Maybe you should call her for help.”
Lyra glowers at her, making Melody giggle.
“I’ll handle it,” Josh murmurs to me, brushing his thumb down the side of my cheek. “Make sure we don’t show up in the column again.”
“Leave it,” I say, tipping my head back to look up at him.
He blinks down at me. “You want me to leave it?”
“Why not? She did help get us together, even if you strong-armed her into it. You own the company and we don’t have anything to hide, so the gossip isn’t hurting anyone.” I shrug. “Let her have her fun. You kind of deserve it, you know.”
