Page 217 of Billionaire Temptations

“It was, and he totally caught me off guard.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I said I had to think about it.”

“That must have been a blow to his ego.”

“He understood. He knows how we grew up and said he doesn’t need an answer now.”

“He’s a good man, Jules.”

“I know he is, but marriage changes people, and I don’t want him or us to change.”

“True. If you really don’t want to get married, then don’t. If he can’t understand that, then maybe he isn’t the guy for you.”

“I love him, Jackson, but marriage scares the hell out of me.”

“I know it does, and it should.” I kissed the side of her head. “Can’t the two of you just continue living together without the piece of paper? He knows everything about you and how you feel about marriage. Listen, do whatever your heart tells you. Don’t listen to what’s going on inside your head. If you love him that much, which I know you do, then marry the guy.”

“Coming from a man who refuses to get into a relationship.” She smirked.

“True.” I grinned. “Marriage and relationships aren’t for me, but it seems to work for you. So just follow your heart.”

“Thanks, Jackson.” She kissed my cheek. “I’m going to go home and get some sleep. Carter has another couple of hours until his shift ends.”

I wasn’t surprised that Carter asked Jules to marry him. He was so in love with her, and it was something you could see every time they were together. I decided to stay in and do some work from home. As I was sitting in my office, looking up some properties, I received a text message from Carter asking if I was home.

“Hey, man. Are you by any chance home?”

“Yeah. I’m just doing some work. What’s up?”

“I need to talk to you. Would you mind if I stopped by?”

“Not at all. Come on over. Just take the elevator up.”

About thirty minutes later, I heard the elevator ding, so I got up from my chair and headed to the kitchen.

“I brought us a pizza.” Carter smiled as he set it on the counter.

“Great. I’ll grab a couple of beers.”

After handing him a beer, I took down a couple of plates and brought the pizza to the table, where we both sat down and grabbed a slice.

“What did you want to talk about?” I asked, even though I was certain it was about his proposal to Jules.

“I asked Jules to marry me last night.”

“Oh?” I pretended that I didn’t know. “What did she say?”

“She said she’d have to get back to me.”

“Are you really surprised by that?”

“Not really. It just seemed like the perfect moment. Maybe I should have waited. I’m just so worried that she’s going to say no.” He took a sip of his beer.

“Don’t give up on her just yet. I know she loves you, and if she can push aside all the shit we grew up seeing, then I’m sure she’ll say yes.”

“I really do not like your parents at the moment.” He grinned.

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