Page 102 of Roaming Holiday

“I know,” she says into the phone as I lower beside her and drape her legs across my lap. “Ruby, I’ll be okay… Yeah, but this is my decision…”

I stroke her calf at the sight of her troubled demeanor, pressing my lips to her knee, her thigh. This is what I want—to come home to her every day. Her good days, bad days, I want all of it. While continuing to stroke her leg, I slouch down to lean my head against the back of the sofa.

Nina huffs. “No, this isn’t to get back at him. This is the opposite of that… You’ve stayed out of my fights with him up until now. Why do you suddenly care? … That’s not what I meant.” Her head falls back in annoyance. “Yeah, I know I’m being selfish. That’s the whole point… Listen, can we just try this again tomorrow? … All right… Okay… Love you, too… Good night.”

With a long sigh, she hangs up the phone behind her.

“I don’t want to cause a rift in your family,” I say, although there’s no way in hell I’m giving her up.

She attempts a smile. “There was a rift long before you showed up.”

“Still. I don’t want to make it worse.”

She combs her fingers through my hair, watching me dreamily. “It’s less about you and more about me doing what makes me happy, no matter how they feel. They’ll get over it and learn to accept the man I’m in love with.”

I lift a brow. “You love me.” Half a statement. Half a question. I know that she does, but she hasn’t told me outright the way I told her.

A smile pulls at Nina’s lips. She climbs onto my lap, her robe slipping from her shoulder to reveal the lacy bra underneath. My erection grows as I glide my thumb over her nipple peeking through.

“Wesley Dominik Troutbeck,” she begins, gripping my hair to force my gaze to hers, “I am completely and madly in love with you. I don’t care what your job used to be. I know who you are, and I love you in your darkness as much as I love you in your light.”

This woman brings me to earth and puts me in a new dimension at the same time. She’s my home, salvation, and an extension of my soul. I brush away a lock of her hair, caressing her cheek before covering her mouth with mine.

“I really am the luckiest man on earth,” I say against her lips. I slip my hand under the silk, hooking a finger in the panties over her hip. “Is this the surprise?”

Nina nods, her cheeks turning pink. She wore this for me, and the thought only makes me harder. I tug on the string at her waist. The robe falls over her soft skin and I nearly salivate at her full breasts in front of me. I grit my teeth, my body tensing with need. I lightly slap her ass.

“Get on the bed. I want to unwrap my present.”

51

NINA

There’s no bliss like waking up beside Wesley. Flipping around in bed and finding him there is all the coffee I need.

Not really, but he’s already as important to my mornings as coffee. And that says something.

We savor the little time we have before meeting Arlo at noon, and I make sure Wesley changes his bandages and takes ibuprofen.

I was surprised to hear that he was going to give Arlo what he wanted alongside information about Santiago’s hidden assets. I wanted to be in the room with Wesley. He wanted me to stay at the palace. I compromised by taking a spot in one of the surveillance vans out front.

I step into a pair of denim shorts with a T-shirt from my high school volleyball team before tying my hair into a bun at the crown of my head.

“Are you really going?” Maia asks, arms crossed as she stands in the middle of my room.

Wesley left over an hour ago and I have to meet Jack at his office in ten minutes. I lower onto the divan to lace my sneakers.

“I have to.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Maia, please,” I snap. “This is hard enough as it is and I don’t need you or Dad or Ruby making it worse!”

She deflates, dropping her arms. “Then I’m coming, too.”

“Why?”

“Because if shit hits the fan, I’ll be there to help you.”

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