Page 22 of Auctioned to the Billionaire

“Who cares?”

“And you’ll be tied to me and my family. My terrible family. My brother will probably try to get more money out of you,” I warn him.

“I have money and I won’t let him get to me, to either of us. I already paid off that loan shark and warned him to stay far away from us. He won’t be bothering you again.”

“How did you find the loan shark?” I ask in surprise.

“I have contacts. I do deal in security and intelligence,” he reminds me, and I nod.

“I feel like we’ve gotten off track,” he says, and I blink, realizing that he’s right.

“Oh…”

“You don’t have to say yes right away,” he says quickly, standing and taking my hands in his. “I know it’s a lot. And if you need time, I’ll give it to you. But just—don’t say no. Please.”

His words break something open inside me, and suddenly, I know there’s no point in pretending I need more time to think about this.

“Yes,” I whisper, my voice trembling. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

His face lights up with a mixture of relief and joy, and before I know it, he’s pulling me into his arms, spinning me around as I laugh.

“You’re sure?” he asks, setting me down and cupping my face, his thumbs brushing away the tears I didn’t realize were falling.

“Yes, Hugh,” I say, smiling up at him. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

He leans down, capturing my lips in a kiss so deep and so full of emotion that it steals what little breath I have left.

When he finally pulls back, his eyes are blazing. “You’ve made me the happiest man alive,” he murmurs, slipping the ring onto my finger.

I stare down at it, the weight of it—both literal and figurative—settling over me. This is real. I’m engaged. To Hugh. My boss. My… fiancé.

“Am I still going to be your assistant?” I ask him, and he shrugs.

“If you want. We can do anything that you want. To be honest, I cut way back on my hours and responsibilities when I hired you.”

“Yeah, I always kind of wondered about that.”

“Can you blame me? Who would want to work when they could be hanging out with you?”

“You’re so sweet.”

“Only for you.”

“You’re going to make me cry again,” I say, blinking rapidly as my vision blurs.

“Can’t have that. I think that I would do anything to never see you sad or in tears.”

“Does this feel like it’s all moving fast?”

“No, I’ve been moving slow for eight months now.”

I laugh, swatting his chest. “Oh, stop. Well, I’m going to need time to process this, you know. My brain is still catching up.”

“Take all the time you need,” he says, pulling me close. “As long as you do it right here. With me.”

I snuggle into his chest, breathing in his familiar scent. “Hugh?”

“Yeah?”

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