Page 134 of Lush

“No, let me finish,” he said, his grip on my hands firm but tender. “You don’t have to choose between me and your gallery, Laurene. If you want it, it’s yours. But if you walk away from all of it, I’ll still be here, waiting.I love you more than any of this bullshit.”

I wanted this. God, I wanted this.

My breath hitched, my body betraying me, wanting to believe him, to let those words settle deep. But something about the way he was saying it—the way he was looking at me—kept my heart caught in my throat.

It wasn’t just love in his eyes. It was something heavier.Darker.

Like he was bracing for impact.

“Reese…” I murmured, tilting my head, searching his face. “Why do I feel like you’re trying to soften a blow I don’t see coming?”

His fingers twitched against mine. Just a flicker of movement, barely perceptible, but enough.

“Laurene.” He lifted a hand, brushing his thumb across my jaw, and for a moment, I thought he would say it—whatever it was, whatever was hiding beneath the surface of this moment.

But then, just as quickly, he shut it down. His expression smoothed over, the way it always did when he didn’t want me to see too much.

“I just want you to know you have options,” he said, voice quieter now. “That you’re not stuck.”

I couldn’t stop the tears welling in my eyes, and I shook my head. “No. You don’t get to put this all on me like I’m the only one making choices here.”

He looked at me, startled.

“I want my gallery,” I admitted. “I want the inheritance. Iwon’t lie about that. But I don’t want any of it more than I want you.”

I grabbed his collar, like I could keep him from slipping away. “You, Reese. It’s always been you. Paris was hell without you. I could have had the world, and it wouldn’t have mattered because you weren’t in it. I was never perfect Laurene in your eyes, or what people in this town viewed me as—and thank God for that. With you, I can breathe. You have alwaysseenme.”

My voice shook, but I didn’t. “You’re the dream I was too scared to voice. Now I’m not afraid. I don’t care about the strings, the expectations, any of it. This is what I choose. You are who I choose.”

His hands slid around my waist, pulling me closer, his forehead pressing against mine as he exhaled a shaky breath. “Laurene, I?—”

I silenced him with a kiss, pouring everything I couldn’t put into words into that moment. His hands tightened on me, and when we finally pulled apart, his lips curved into a smile that sent my heart racing.

“You’re stuck with me now,” I said breathlessly.

“Good,” he replied, his grin widening. “Because I wasn’t planning on letting you go anyway.”

His hands started to roam down my body and under my skirt. His fingers traced slow, lazy circles along my thigh, his smirk pure sin. I pulled away from the kiss, looking around us.

“Reese, we’re in public,” I hissed, heat rushing to my cheeks.

“We’re alone in here.”

I shook my head as he pressed kisses to my neck, and I was losing my grip on why this was a bad idea. “This is my workplace.”

Suddenly, he stood, reaching over for me, and I instinctively clutched his shoulders as he swept the dishes off the table.

“Reese!”

“I need you.”

I ran my hands firmly up his sides, feeling the heat radiating from him, my heart racing in response.

“Forget everything else,” he murmured, stepping closer, the space between us collapsing. “Just be here with me.”

“But what if?—”

Reese didn’t answer. Instead, his kisses trailed from my lips to my neck, his tongue teasing as he left unapologetic marks along my skin. My fingers gripped his shoulders, desperate for balance as his hands slid to my hips, pulling me closer.

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