AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s a nice offer, Blake. But I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t ask,” he argued back. “I offered. Big difference.”
“It might be a big difference, but it’s the same answer.”
“Let me do this, Nell.” His voice was low, almost pleading.
And I couldn’t say if it was the lack of sleep or just the sheer amount of stuff that had happened over the course of the week prior, but I didn’t have it in me to argue about it. Didn’t think I could keep telling him no over and over again. Because he would eventually wear me down. I knew myself enough.
“Fine,” I agreed, but I made sure to make it sound petulant. I couldn’t let him think he was getting off easy. “I’ll get online today and find a cheap, fake engagement ring or something too.”
There was a brief pause before Blake muttered, “I might have that covered, too.”
“Please tell me you’re joking.”
“I’m not. I have a ring that would be more than good enough to get us through this. I promise you.”
“What happened?” I laughed. “You propose to some supermodel, and she turned you down? And you kept the ring to remind yourself to be a little humble?”
He chuckled. “Something like that. Look, if you’re gonna take the dress, you might as well take the ring.”
I rubbed my temple. “Is it expensive? Because I don’t want to be responsible for something that…”
“It wasn’t expensive, I promise,” he interrupted, and my argument died in my throat.
“Are you lying?”
“No. I can honestly say that this ring did not cost me much at all.”
I blew out another breath. “Fine. Alright. I’ll let you get the dress, and we’ll use your ring.”
“Perfect,” I could hear the smile in his voice. “Now, when do you want to go shopping?”
“I have stuff I need to do today. But I’m off tomorrow as well.”
I heard typing on the other end of the line, and I imagined him seated at a desk, likely in a suit. And with that image came a few more of him lifting me onto my kitchen table, and I had to stamp down on my thoughts.
“We can make that work. Why don’t I send a car for you around nine?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
He asked how the new radiator was doing and after I told him it had held up great throughout the night and the apartment was still warm and cozy, we disconnected. I glanced at my coffee pot, glad to see that it was now full and ready. I grabbed my favorite mug from the counter and filled it up with the hot liquid, warring excitement and dread in my belly as I thought about the next day's shopping trip.
All I could do was hope that we could pull this off and that I wouldn’t end up regretting it.
CHAPTERTEN
BLAKE
The followingday I was running late as I made my way out to the car to pick up Nell. I had tossed and turned all night thinking about spending the morning with her.
There had been a part of me that had considered just having my assistant take her out on the shopping trip instead of me.
It would have been the safer option, the option that wouldn’t tempt me to lean in and touch her.
It had felt close to torture the other night, sitting so close to her on the couch and not being able to reach out. Now that I knew what her skin felt like, knew how it felt to have her body melded to mine, I craved it.
And it was some kind of fresh hell not being able to act on it.
