Page 34 of His Wood Her Fire

“There you are, Gloria, you genius!”Susan, the gallery owner, grabbed hold of my hand and started pulling me towards the back of the room.

“Susan, is everything okay?”I asked, racing to keep up with her.

It wasn’t easy since she was about a foot taller than me, and my boots had heels, dammit.

“Everything is fabulous!You were right about this show.It was exactly what people wanted.Come on, he wants to meet you.”

“He who?”I asked, not quite following.

“Why B.D.of course, and let me tell you, honey, the man is fine as fuck!”She turned her head and winked before slowing her pace.

I froze.

No way.

Shivers raced up and down my spine as Susan called out a cheerful, “Found her!”

The renowned recluse and brilliant photographer, B.D.was standing five feet away from me.He’d been facing the other way at first.But I’d know him anywhere.

Those shoulders.

That hair.

The tailored shirt I drooled over the whole ride into the city.

It couldn’t be.

But it was.My breath hitched as Bo turned to face me, his hands in his pockets.

“B.D., allow me to introduce the woman who made this all possible, Gloria DeSoto,” Susan said proudly.

“Hey, Slick,” Bo murmured, and I covered my wobbly lips as tears pricked my eyes.

“Y-You’re B.D.?How long have you known?Why didn’t you tell me?”I asked, assuming the worst.

Concern darkened his emerald eyes and two seconds later he had his hands wrapped around my upper arms and he pulled me into a hug.

“I only put it together when I heard you talking to your assistant.But if I hurt you, please forgive me.I thought it would be a nice surprise, but I’ll kick my own ass if I made you cry, Baby,” he murmured, kissing my temple as I clutched his sides.

“No!I mean, I’m not mad, I just can’t believe it,” I whispered, tilting my head back so I could see him.

“Believe it, Gloria.We’ve been destined from the start.If you hadn’t come up my mountain, I would have run into you sooner or later, seeing as how I’m your client.But I’m glad we met when we did.”

“You are?”

“Hell yeah, Slick.How else would I be able to propose to you on Christmas Eve so we can have enough time to fly to Vegas and tie the knot before the new year?”

“Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack.What do you say?Put me out of my misery, Slick, say you’ll be my wife.”

He nuzzled my nose with his, and that woodsy scent that was all Bo filtered into my nostrils, making me dizzy with desire.

“So bossy,” I whispered, claiming his lips with mine.

“Ouch!”I yelped, feeling the sting of his teeth on my bottom lip.“What was that for?”

“You didn’t say yes,” he growled, mock-frowning at me.

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