Page 70 of Tangled in Vows

It’ll all be okay. Just focus and get it over with.

First, I show her my office, and she marvels at the screens covering almost the entire wall. “This is amazing, Hold. And seriously impressive.”

Her praise is genuine, and I lap up every word.

“Thank you.” My voice is thick with emotion, and I don’t dare look at it too closely right now.

That means it’s showtime. We exit my office and stand in front of the last door.Herdoor.

This isn’t a big deal, or the end of the world. If it’s not what she wants, we can always change things or even get rid of the whole setup if she truly hates it. Okay, maybe that would be a bit extreme.

Olivia fidgets awkwardly. “You’re starting to freak me out. At this point, I’m either expecting a room full of dead bodies or a genie to jump me the second we open the door.”

Some of the tension leaves my body, and I shake my head at my questionable reaction. And the fact that Olivia has a front-row seat to all of it. But then I shrug it off and smirk. “Definitely the second one. I’ve always wanted my own genie. And if you ask real nicely, maybe I’ll let you be the Jasmine to my Aladdin.”

What on earth are you doing?

She quirks an eyebrow. “Oh really? MaybeI’llletyoube the Beast tomyBelle.”

Was that a challenge?

My brain seems to think so because I’m moving.

One step closer, then another one. And another one until I’ve got her backed against the wall, caging her in with one arm on each side. “I’ll be your Beast or Peter Pan or whatever damn hero you want me to be.” I pause and study her. Her quickening breaths. Her slightly parted lips. Then I lean in and whisper in her ear, “Or maybe I’ll be your villain? Is that more your thing, Hurricane?”

I linger for a second and listen to her loud swallow. Inhaling her sweet scent and feeling her warm skin close to me—close enough to touch or taste. If I moved half an inch, I could press my lips to her pulse point and lick a path toward her jaw.

She squirms, the movement brushing her chest against mine, and I almost cave right then. How easy would it be to devour her right now?

And then she’s gone, ducking underneath my arm and putting several feet between, storming straight toward the door and opening it.

“Holy shit.” Olivia stands in the open doorway, staring into the lowly lit room.

Her wide-eyed gaze swings to me briefly before focusing back on the studio.

Herstudio.

“Holden. This is . . . I . . . I don’t know what to say. Wow.”

She walks into the room, and I follow. My heart is still beating strongly from yet another something-almost-happened moment, and it continues to do so when I see her slack-jawed expression and the excitement in her eyes.

She walks around the room, brushing her fingertips over the long mixing console and checking out the recording booth beyond it.

The crew I hired for this had free rein and one job only: building the best home recording studio possible. We took out a wall to combine two large rooms into an even bigger space, making it the perfect place for her.

I lean against the door and watch her move around, happy to see her here. While this is her space, it’s still in my house. But only until I can convince Olivia that it’sours.

Eventually, she’s inspected everything and heads back to me, stopping right in front of me.

She tilts her head back and just stares at me for a minute, as if to decide what to do next.

And I let her, staring right back.

“I don’t know why you did this, or when you had the time for all of it, but it was incredibly kind of you. It’s the most beautiful studio I’ve ever seen.” She goes on her toes and grabs my arm for balance, pressing her soft lips to my cheek. “Thank you.”

Getting all my brain cells back in order takes me a while.

I clear my throat. “You’re welcome.”

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