Page 51 of Irresistibly Wicked

“You have a speedboat, and you’re worried about me having a prenup?”

“I already told you. As my future wife, protecting you comes first. Do you like speedboats?”

“I’ve never been on one.”

“We’ll fix that as soon as it gets a little warmer out.”

She studied him for a minute. “Aren’t you a contractor? How do you have any money left over with all that stuff?”

“Are you knocking contractors? We work hard, and we earn good livings.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just…You’ve done well for yourself. I was doing okay financially before Brian lost his job. I earn a good living and saved where I could, but I can’t imagine having my own place, much less everything that you do. How did you manage it?”

“It wasn’t planned, that’s for sure. Planning isn’t my thing.”

“For a pantser, you sure ended up in a good place. That can’t just happen.”

He sat back and said, “I don’t know what to tell ya, Angel. I never went to college, so I’ve got no school debt, and I’ve been working my ass off since I was a teenager. When I first started working, my parents taught me to put half of what I earned into a savings account that I don’t touch, and that’s worked out well for me. My truck and bike are several years old and paid off, and I bought the boat from a buddy and traded renovation work for most of the cost. I’ve got a mortgage, but I bought the place right before it went into foreclosure, and I got a good deal. If I were smarter, or if I’d listened to my family’s advice, I’d’ve done the renovations sooner and sold it instead of carrying it for years and paying all that interest. But I was having too much fun dicking around and picking up women to slow down.”

She waved her hand. “I don’t need details, but just so you know, that whole thing about dicking around instead of working on your house? It sounds like you were happy living that way. That doesn’t mean you weren’t smart. It means you chose to live life on your terms, which isn’t a negative. But we don’t need to go there.”

“I appreciate that, but there’s no place to go. I’m just telling you how I got here. But you’ve seen how I live. I’m a simple guy. I live at the beach, so every day is like a vacation. It’s not like I spend money on travel. I’ve got my family, friends, the brotherhood, and now I’ve got an ice-cream-hoarding almost wife.” He cocked a grin. “What else do I need?”

“You make it seem easy and attainable.”

“You’re only twenty-four, darlin’. I’ve got a lot of years on you, and I didn’t have to battle the things you have. To be honest, I don’t know how I would’ve handled being in your shoes, but I know it wouldn’t have been as well as you have.”

She set her spoon down and said, “I think you would’ve handled it better.”

“Then you think wrong. I’m just blessed with a great family that has given me good direction and kept me in line as best they could.” He sat back. “Don’t you see how impressive you are? You got yourself out of a shitty situation at seventeen. At that age I was nothing but a cocky mess of hormones. If not for my family, I could’ve easily ended up much worse off than you. I’m just now stepping out of that dick-around zone. You took it upon yourself to create the life you wanted, and now you’ve got a great job, a cute place, and a solid car.”

“I am proud of that.”

“And you should be. Life is not about material shit. It’s about how we feel and how we make others feel, and thanks to that sweet heart of yours, you’ll have your other best friend back on track in no time.”

She looked down at the ring shimmering on her finger and felt a little guilty hoping the time didn’t pass too quickly, because she had a feeling these were going to be the best months of her life.

THEY STOPPED AT Shauna’s cottage after leaving the ice cream shop so she could pick up her jewelry box. “It feels weird being back here knowing I don’t have to worry about what’s waiting for me inside,” she said as she unlocked her front door.

Zander put his hand on her back. “I’m sorry that you had to deal with all of that.”

“That’s life, right?” She stepped inside, confused by a lemony scent, and halted in her tracks at the sight before her. For a minute, she thought she’d walked into the wrong house. The place was spotless. There was no clutter, no dirt on the floor, no discarded clothes or misplaced furniture.

“I cleaned up while you were at work yesterday. I didn’t want you to come back to a mess in case you came here before you came back to my place.”

Astonished, she turned to him. “You did this? How did you get in?”

“I snagged Brian’s keys the other night. I knew if I asked to borrow yours so I could clean, you’d say no.”

“Zander…? I don’t even know what to say. I feel like I’m always thanking you. I could’ve cleaned up.” But the truth was, she’d been so thrown off when she’d driven there this morning, cleaning up hadn’t even crossed her mind.

“You’ve been cleaning up messes your whole life, Angel. It’s not a big deal, and don’t worry.” He held his hands up. “I didn’t go into your room and snoop around, or rifle through your lingerie drawer. I didn’t want you to feel violated.”

An incredulous laugh bubbled out.

His brows furrowed. “Why is that funny?”

“Don’t take this wrong, because I truly appreciate what you did, but you snuck into my house, and you don’t want me to feel violated?” She laughed again. “I’m sorry. It’s just funny.”