Chapter Thirty-Eight

Harry

I wanted to pinch myself to make sure this was all real. Amber’s soft body was curled up next to mine. I bent my neck and buried my face in the mass of hair spread over my chest and arm. The smell of strawberries enveloped me. I was going to buy some strawberries and whip cream and eat them off her very soon. My new favorite food was strawberries.

My right arm was numb under her body, but I didn’t care. I never wanted to move from right where I was. My other arm was draped over her body, my forearm resting on her breasts. The sound of her breaths coming soft and steady gave me comfort I had never known before. Last night had been something out of a movie. The only thing missing had been the torrential rain to make the scene complete.

I had poured out my heart and expected to be rejected. When she chose me, I nearly collapsed on the sidewalk with relief. The moment had been surreal. I had imagined the moment several times in my head. When it actually happened, I wasn’t even sure it was real. I half expected to wake up and realize it had all been a dream. It wasn’t. She was in bed next to me. She’d chosen me.

She had taken me to her bed and let me make love to her. It hadn’t been the hot and fast sex we were prone to. It had been soft and sweet and far more satisfying. Making love was very different than fucking. It involved the heart and soul, heightening the emotions and making the orgasms so much better. I had felt completely connected to her.

I felt her stir and knew she was waking up.

“Good morning,” I said, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

“Hi,” she said in a sexy, sleepy voice.

“What time do you need to get up?” I asked.

She lifted her head off my arm and looked at the small clock on the table. “Ten minutes ago,” she groaned.

“Uh-oh. You better get up, sleepyhead.”

She sat up and stretched. I ran my hand over her bare back, relishing in the feel of her silky skin under my touch.

“If you keep touching me, I’m not going to get out of this bed,” she said, turning and looking back at me with a sexy grin.

“That works for me,” I said, sitting up behind her, kissing her neck, and moving my hands up to fondle her breasts.

“I have to go to work. I wouldn’t be all that surprised if I had been fired for some stupid reason. I think things are going to be tense for a while. My mom and Courtney told me to quit. I was stubborn, but now I think I may have to consider it. I don’t know if I can work with him after the way he acted,” she said.

“Don’t let him run you off. Maybe you can work in a different part of the company, keep your job but report to someone else. I’ll admit, I don’t know all that much about what you do, but I know you’re a valuable asset they’ll want to keep.”

She laughed. “I’m an asset.”

“With a great ass!”

She laughed again. “I’ll see how the next few days ago. If it’s too much, I will definitely have to find a solution. Hopefully, he’ll just ignore me. I don’t think I can work with him if he is going to be as hostile as he was last night. That was a side of him I’ve never seen before.”

I scoffed. “That’s the William I know. He does a great job putting on a polished appearance, but he can get down and dirty when he wants to.”

“I saw that. I know he was angry. It isn’t like he’s been left high and dry. He told me he was going to go back to Tiffany if I told him no or didn’t choose fast enough.”

“I’m sorry. Really, I am. I never meant to disrupt your professional life. If he’s a total dick, let me know and I will say something. If I have to, I’ll tell my dad.”

We both laughed at the ridiculous suggestion, but I was serious. I would talk to my dad and let him know William was putting the company at risk for a harassment lawsuit. That would require him to step in.

She stood and walked to the bathroom. “I can handle him. It’s okay, and I’m glad you disrupted my professional life. My personal life wouldn’t be nearly as good if you hadn’t.”

I got up and pulled on my underwear before picking up the rest of my scattered clothing. I heard the shower running. I had no idea if she had coffee in the house and figured I better not start snooping around her cupboards.

She took the world’s fastest shower and walked into her tiny kitchen fifteen minutes later. She was wearing a skirt and bra.

I smiled. “That’s a new look.”

She laughed. “I needed to get the coffee started.”

“I like it. I’d like it better if you lost the skirt.”

She giggled. “I’m sure you would.”

I watched as she popped a coffee pod in her machine. She made two cups, handing one to me. She sat down at the table, gesturing for me to join her.

It was a little strange to be drinking coffee in my underwear with a half-dressed woman. I was usually out the door before the woman I went home with got out of bed. This was all a new world for me, and I was glad I got to explore it with her.

“Let’s do it for real,” I heard myself say.

She had her cup almost to her mouth. “Do what?”

I wasn’t even sure I knew what I was saying. It was like my mouth spoke without telling my brain what was happening.

“Get married. I mean, we can be engaged first, real engaged, but then I want to get married.”

She was looking at me like I had two heads. “What?” she repeated.

“I want to marry you. I want to be with you. I don’t want this to be for show. I want the real deal.”

She shook her head. “Don’t you think that’s too fast?”

I shrugged. “No. I know what I want. I’ll wait for you.”

She was smiling. “Are you being serious right now?”

I nodded. “I am. I don’t have the ring with me, but if I did, I would drop to my knees and put it back on your finger where it belongs.”

“You’re crazy,” she said, still grinning.

“Crazy about you. Crazy for letting you think you could ever be with another man. You’re mine, Amber. I need you to know I love you. I will do whatever it takes to prove that to you,” I told her, standing and pulling her to stand with me.

“I love you,” she said, her smile gone.

I kissed her. I kissed her so deeply, I could feel her in my heart, right down to my toes. I wanted her with me all the time.

“We better stop there or you’re going to be very late for work,” I said, taking a step away from her.

My hard dick jutting against my underwear was proof of my statement. I wanted to take her right there on her kitchen table. My eyes drifted to the tabletop and then back to her. It was the perfect height for me to really get deep inside her.

“No. We can’t,” she said, seeing where my thoughts were going.

“I better get dressed before I can’t stop myself.”

“Me too,” she said, walking out of the kitchen.

When she returned, she was all put together with minimal makeup and her hair in the standard pile on her head.

“You’re gorgeous,” I said, walking toward her.

“Thank you.”

“I’m so glad I never told my parents we broke off the engagement. They would never take me seriously if I told them it was back on,” I said with a laugh.

“No kidding. My parents would probably have me committed.”

“Did you tell anyone?” I asked.

“William guessed, and I did tell Courtney, but that’s it. What about you?”

I shook my head. “Nope. I didn’t tell anyone it was fake. I told Grayson it was off, but who even knows if he was listening. I don’t think any of my friends believed it was real in the first place, and I never confirmed or denied it with William.”

“Well, it is going to save us a lot of embarrassment. I’m glad we waited to say anything.”

She stepped close to me and wrapped her arms around my waist, her face resting against my chest. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

I stepped back and looked down at her. “For what?”

“For being so dumb and putting you through all that. It wasn’t fair. I shouldn’t have done that.”

I reached out and cupped her cheek. “It’s okay. I know you were in a horrible position.”

“It wasn’t okay. I knew all along it was you I wanted. Every time William would demand an answer, it was you I saw in my head. I kept telling myself it was the sex, that I thought of you because you were the one I’d had sex with most recently.”

I smiled. “I’m not going to lie, the fact you thought of me because I left an impression on you is kind of hot.”

She laughed. “Stop. You know what I mean.”

“It’s okay. Really. I knew you loved him. The first time we met, I heard you telling him how much you loved him. I knew exactly what I was getting into,” I said.

She smiled. “I thought I loved him. I think I was caught up in the idea of being in love with him because I assumed he loved me. I was wrong. I don’t know that he is capable of love. Well, he loves himself. I’m not sure he can love someone else.”

“You two had history. I was treading into murky waters. I just didn’t expect William to wade back in,” I joked.

“You and me both.”

“I’m glad you finally came to your senses and chose the right guy,” I said with a grin.

She laughed. “It took me long enough, right?”

“Well…” I dragged the word out.

“I have to get going. Will I see you after work?”

“Damn straight. You want to come to my house or should I meet you here?”

“You want to come back here?” she asked with a strange look on her face.

I shrugged. “If you want me to. We don’t have to.”

She smiled. “No. Your place is fine. I’m surprised you wanted to come here at all. It’s not exactly the Ritz if you know what I mean.”

I put my arms around her. “I don’t care. Wherever you are, I want to be.”

“You’re too good to be true,” she said and kissed me.

“Come to my house after work. I’ll have dinner waiting.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you tonight.”

We walked out together. I kissed her good-bye and headed home to shower and change. The sun felt brighter and everything looked better. This was what love was. I liked it. I could see why people loved being in love. I never wanted to fall out of love. I was going to fight like crazy to keep Amber happy. I knew we were going to have a rocky road ahead of us with William trying to make our lives miserable. I was ready for him. He could do whatever he wanted. I was confident we would be able to weather whatever it was he tried to throw at us.