Page 145 of Ask Me Something

Epilogue

Watching the woman I’d been in love with for the last eight years moving toward me across the upscale Manhattan bar, with her eyes only for me, provided me a thrill that I’d never get used to. I absolutely loved the seductive way her hips swayed while her pencil skirt and heels made me want to throw her over my shoulder and take her some place private. We’d only been apart for five days while she made a short trip to Raleigh and then took care of selling her condo up here in New York City, but it felt like forever.

“Hi,” she greeted in that breathless little way that did a number on a man’s senses.

“Hi, yourself.” I kissed her fully and smiled internally when she gave the little sigh of pleasure I adored so much. I’d have lipstick on me for the effort, but since her full lips were the sexiest thing on the planet, it was well worth the sacrifice.

“How did the closing on your condo go?” I was chomping at the bit to get her back to my hotel room but needed to stall in order to give Haylee and Catherine some time to set up.

“All right, but I missed you a lot.”

My heart felt like it would explode out of my chest. I’d never get used to hearing her say those words and how they made me feel. “The sentiment is quite mutual. How was Raleigh?” Sasha had insisted on going by herself to visit her birth mother’s gravesite. Watching her be brave alone was one of the hardest things I’d ever done. But it was also a testament to how far I’d come in working out my issues about wanting to fix everything. I’d both given her the space she needed and hadn’t pushed her to talk about it directly afterward.

Her hand took mine. “It was difficult, but I needed to do it.” She took a deep breath with tears in her eyes. “I was thinking the next time, maybe you could come with me?”

“I’d be honored.” I cleared my emotion-clogged voice. She was so much stronger than she’d ever give herself credit for. Knowing she needed a change of subject I asked, “Do you think you’ll miss living up here in New York?”

She smiled appreciatively. “I’ll miss seeing my friends, but I’ll travel up here every so often. North Carolina feels more like home anyhow. Now the only thing left is to look for a place down in Charlotte.”

I didn’t like the sound of that one bit. “You know you can stay with me.”

“I love your place, but I need my own office and a space that I can put some of my things.”

She’d been transitioning into her new role over the last few months and spending half her time in the Charlotte office, but I couldn’t wait for her to move down permanently. “I like you staying with me.”

“Then ask me something,” she challenged.

I grinned. Oh, I was going to ask her something, but not right now and not what was on her mind. “Ask you what?” I decided to play dumb.

She blew out a breath, looking nervous. “Do you want to move in together? We could get a bigger place, which I know sounds greedy considering I’m coming from a one-bedroom condo, but we could get something a little more his and hers. I’m not pushing too fast, am I?”

It was ironic that she was worried about moving too quickly when she was the one who normally panicked. It was also amusing that on the same night I was about to propose, she was asking me to move in with her. My beautiful, impatient, overanalyzing girl.

“Well, it’s a big step,” I hedged and then quickly reassured her when I saw the hurt flash in her eyes. “Sorry, bad joke. Of course I do. These five days apart have been torture.”

She instantly smiled and leaned over, whispering in my ear, “How about we get out of here and celebrate?”

“Okay. Let me finish my drink.” I needed to buy some more time. I shot a text to Haylee to make it quick as we’d be leaving the bar in fifteen minutes.

Ten minutes later, Sasha narrowed her eyes at me. “Are you are nursing your drink?”

“Impatient, are we?”

I watched while she snagged my martini glass and threw back the rest of the contents. I could add that to the long list of ways she turned me on.

“Yes, I am.” She ran her hand over my bicep and leaned in for another kiss.

This woman was absolutely perfect for me. “Let me pay the tab, and then we’ll go.”

She smiled with satisfaction, and I prayed the waitress would take her time. Hoping to kill a few more minutes, I went to the men’s room and sent another message, this time to Josh to call me and pretend it was work related. I still needed to stall.

I went to meet her in front, frowning on cue at the call coming through. “Hey, Josh. Um, no, we were about to head back to the hotel.” I held up a finger for her to wait a moment. Being the professional woman she was, she pinched me on the butt and gave me some space to take the call from our boss.

“Yeah, no problem. I can get those to you. Huh, that is some interesting news.” I was having a hard time keeping a straight face while Josh read me a book for his baby girl.

“Then the cow went moo and the horse went neigh—” Josh used a voice that I’d never heard before. Fatherhood definitely agreed with him.

I breathed a sigh of relief. “She went outside. Thanks, man. I owe you.”

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