Page 140 of Mr. Wicked

But I had to ask.

“And why do you think that?”

He leaned his arms on the table, teasing the edge of something chocolate with his spoon. “Come on, Jovana. You’re not doubting me, are you?” He waited for a response. All I did was smile. “I’ve looked at the same foods in my fridge for years now. You think I wouldn’t catch on when two new pints of strawberries appear each week or see the pink bowl of ice cream you eat every night before bed?”

My smile grew, spreading as wide as it would go.

“I notice everything about you—whether you think I do or not.”

“I love that.” I dipped my fork into the dessert, and I was immediately hit with the tartness of the fruit, followed by the creaminess of some type of cheese, all of it surrounded by a flaky, almost nutty shell. “Wow.”

“It’s good?”

“It’s more than good.” I took in another mouthful. “I could eat this every day for the rest of my life.” I knew I had only a few more bites left in me, so I moved on, tasting a layered cake that had different hints of coffee flavor. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“When was the exact moment when it hit you that you wanted more to happen between us?”

He took a drink of his champagne. “What makes you think it was a moment and not a series of moments?”

“Well, it could have been, but I think at some point, something went off in your head and you went from ‘Oh fuck, I want this girl’ to ‘Oh fuck, I think I want more with this girl.’”

“Is that your way of imitating me?” His grin was pure fire.

“How’d I do?”

He chuckled. “You did pretty well, actually.” He set his fork down after he finished chewing. “I think there were plenty of moments, if I’m being honest. Whether I wanted to admit they were moments at the time ... that’s a different story. But I think it started during the photo shoot, when I looked at your phone and saw all those messages from those dudes.”

“You felt threatened.”

“No.” His response came out quick, the word harsh as it left his lips. “Territorial. That’s how I felt.”

“Ahhh.”

He leaned forward to get even closer. “I didn’t want them creeping on what’s mine.”

“Yours.” My brows lifted.

He nodded. “I didn’t like the thought that they were getting your attention.”

“But so were you.” I twisted the stem of the glass. “Every bit of it.”

“I didn’t see it that way.” He drained the rest of his flute. “I still don’t, but I know I’m going to have to share you with your followers. That’s part of who you are. I can’t change that.”

“Would you want to?”

He was silent for a moment. “No. And you want to know why?” He wiped his mouth with his napkin and called the waiter over, handing him his credit card. “When we were at your parents’ place, after I’d asked your dad for his permission to marry you and we’d returned to the living room, he brought up one of the TikToks he’d recently seen you in, and how proud he was of you. Your mom too. She had the biggest smile on her face.” He returned the napkin to his lap and mashed his lips together. “I know what it’s like to do something a little out of the norm and build it from scratch. Shit isn’t easy. And not everyone recognizes that, nor do they understand what it takes to get where you are. The fact that your parents do, that they acknowledge your hard work and your successes—that’s something not everyone can appreciate. But I do and I’d never take that away from you.”

I’d known before.

I’d felt it.

It was in my chest, trumping the guilt.

But this was the moment that the feeling was solidified.

This was the memory that I’d think of whenever I wanted to answer the question: When did you know you’d fallen in love with Grayson?

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