Page 89 of Release You

“No more cons, huh?” He chuckled.

I raised my hand, doing my best Girl Scout salute. “No more cons.”

Yeah, love was for fools. But fools lived happiest.

Epilogue

Nikki

“Come on. We’re going to be late to our first date.” Henry kissed the small of my back. His lips lingered where my spine curved, sending goose bumps down my legs.

God, I loved Paris.

“I thought the trip was the date.” I stretched on the king-size bed, turning my head to the side so I could see out the window, where the Eiffel Tower peered over the buildings.

The hotel room was beautiful, done in various shades of creams and taupe. Mirrored bedside tables crowned the big bed. In the living area, plush beige sofas were arranged to face the incredible view. Even the all-white bouquets of flowers in gold vases matched the decor.

“No. The dinner is the date. Come on.” He slapped my ass.

I pushed myself off the bed and walked to the shower. The warm spray felt good on my skin after the long flight here. When Henry asked me out to dinner, I’d figured he’d take me somewhere nice in Phoenix.

Instead,he had the local travel agency book us a trip to Paris. I’d been made that offer many times before, but I could never say yes. It hurt too much to think what it could’ve been. Paris was the place where Henry and I had planned to run off to and live happily ever after. Even though it hadn’t happened for us when we were fifteen, coming here without him felt wrong.

Months ago when Lisa asked me to go see her, I had planned to move here, to a little pied-à-terre I got from Derek for getting him his company back. Never in a million years would I have guessed that I’d end up here with Henry. After all this time, we finally made it to Paris.

“Car will be here in thirty minutes.” Henry knocked on the bathroom door twice.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll be ready in an hour.”

He groaned.

I laughed. “God, you’re bossy when you leave the States. Anything else I should know about you?”

What was his deal? It wasn’t like we hadn’t had a meal together before. I shut off the water and wrapped myself in a white fluffy towel. Henry had put his foot down when I told him we could stay in Derek’s apartment. Not only had he said we wouldn’t stay there, but he also made me promise I would return all the spoils from my last con—the apartment and the money. If I hadn’t been in the middle of a life-changing orgasm, I never would’ve agreed.

I opened the door to let the steam out and applied my makeup as fast as I could before I blow-dried my hair. A nervous energy bubbled in my stomach as I got dressed. Henry and I weren’t the dating type. I’d already moved into Cavalier Manor. We were as good as married. So why was I nervous?

Sitting on the bed, I planted both feet on the taupe carpetbefore I pulled on the zipper of my high heels. Outside the bedroom, Henry paced in the living area with his jacket unbuttoned and both hands stuffed in the pockets of his dress pants. Even after all the years he’d spent without his family’s money, he still had that polished look about him. That was something he was born with, not something money bought for him, just like his kind nature and big heart. He spun for yet another round of pacing across the room, then stopped to look at me. I lived for these moments when he looked at me like I was the most beautiful woman in the world.

“You look amazing.” He sauntered toward me.

“Let’s go. We don’t want to be late, right?” I swallowed. If he kept looking at me like that, we were going to miss our first date.

“They can wait.” He kissed my neck.

“You got me out of bed. Now we’re going.” I pushed at him.

“Right. The car’s waiting.” He offered me his arm, and I took it.

Outside the Shangri-La Hotel, a black sedan waited for us. I climbed into the back seat, smiling. How did I ever con this man into thinking I deserved all this? This fairy tale ending.

The car rolled a few feet before it stopped again on the roundabout. The insane traffic had us going ten miles an hour. Henry shifted in his seat again. I reached over and covered his hand with mine.

“Are you nervous?” I asked.

“Me? No. Why?”

“You keep looking at your watch.”

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