Page 148 of Off Pitch

“Mr. Spencer!” Stephen drawls. “I have the key card ready for you right here.”

Knox reaches out and takes a card from Stephen’s hand. “Thank you, Stephen. I appreciate this.”

Stephen waves us off as Knox and I walk over to the elevator. We step inside, and instead of pressing the button for the top floor, he hits the button for the roof and scans the key card.

“I guess it’s not much of a surprise now,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck, “but we’re heading up to the roof. I want tonight to be just us—no cameras, no fans. This was the only way I could think of to make that happen on such short notice.”

I lean back against him as we continue our ascent. “This is perfect. I honestly love this idea.”

“Thank God,” he says, letting out a breath as I turn around to face him. “I’ve been worried about this all damn day. Cole told me to stop overthinking it, but I really want tonight to be nice.”

I wrap my arms around his waist. “You talked to my brother about your plans?”

Knox runs a hand through his hair—his nervous tic—and sighs. “Yeah, I didn’t want to do something you wouldn’t like.”

“Have you not learned how easy it is to please me, Slick?” I chuckle.

His smile turns mischievous as he says, “I like to think I learned that well.”

I instinctively blush. “Uh… yeah… but that’s not what I meant.”

Knox kisses the top of my head as the elevator dings and the doors slide open. Across the way from us, there’s a red-checked picnic blanket with a bottle of champagne, two glasses, and what appears to be an assortment of sushi.

“This looks lovely,” I say as we step off the elevator and walk over to the picnic blanket.

“I picked the spot and set the blanket up before I came to get you. Stephen procured the sushi and champagne and brought them up right before we arrived.”

“Procured?” I shoot him a curious look.

He rolls his eyes. “Come on, I’m trying here.”

Knox and I both laugh as we sit on the blanket, him directly across from me, our knees brushing. “For someone who didn’t get close to anyone, you sure know how to plan something romantic.”

“Romantic, huh?” he asks, popping the champagne and filling our glasses.

I take my glass from him. “Very romantic. We’re fifty stories up, and only we know we’re here. We have privacy, champagne, and quite a bit of sushi. This is absolutely perfect.”

His smile brightens his face. “Well then, I’ve learned today that I can be romantic.”

“Lucky me,” I say lightly before sipping my champagne.

And I’ve truly never felt luckier.

I’m sitting here on a rooftop in lower Manhattan with the man I love.

My life is perfect right now.

fifty-three

Knox

“If I have anotherpiece of sushi, I might actually explode,” Harlow laughs.

I prop myself up on my elbow from where I’m lying while working off a food coma. “So, you don’t have room for dessert, Lo?”

“I can always find room for dessert.” She smiles, and I lightly chuckle.

“Thought so,” I say as I grab the white box tied up in gold string and set it between us.

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