Page 268 of Fame & Chaos

“Don’t walk me into anything.”

I grin. “Would I do that?”

She snorts. “Absolutely.”

I laugh. “That’s fair.”

When we reach the rug, I stop. “Okay… sit down.”

She hesitates. “What happened to the coffee table?”

“It’s gone.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

Carefully, she lowers herself onto the rug, running her hands across the soft pile beneath her. “Ooh… this feels nice.”

I sit opposite her. “Okay.” I smile. “You can look.”

She slowly opens her eyes, and her mouth falls open. “Oh, Caleb…” Her gaze drifts around the room, taking in the candles, the firelight dancing across the walls, the rose petals scattered across the rug. “It’s beautiful.”

“I thought our last night together deserved to be something special.”

Her smile softens. “It smells amazing too.”

I disappear into the kitchen, bringing back a tray of hot finger food before pouring us each a glass of wine.

She watches me with a smile that still makes my heart skip.

“I really don’t deserve all this.”

I take her hand. “Yes, you do.” I brush my thumb across her knuckles. “You deserve far more than this.”

She tilts her head. “What do you mean?”

I take a steadying breath. “When I get back from tour…” She waits patiently. “I want us to buy a house.”

Her eyebrows rise. “A real home.”

I smile. “Somewhere with a proper kitchen where you can bake whenever you want. A shed big enough for me to tinker with my cars. A backyard—”

“For dogs?” she interrupts hopefully.

I laugh. “As many as you want.”

She grins. “Two.”

“Done.”

“And I get to choose them.”

“Obviously.”

“And name them.”

“I wouldn’t dare argue.”