Page 165 of Hot for Hostage

Sadie had lain back on the blanket and was admiring her ring from different angles in the sunlight, but she’d kept her feet propped in my lap.

Unable to wait any longer, I pulled an envelope out of my inside jacket pocket and held it out to Sadie. “There’s one more thing.”

“More?” she echoed, sitting up. She eyed the envelope before hesitantly taking it. “What is it?”

“An engagement present.”

Her lips parted. “You got me a present? But I didn’t know you were doing this! I didn’t get you anything?—”

“Open the envelope, Sadie.”

She glared half-heartedly, before cautiously opening it and skimming the contents with a furrowed brow. “I don’t understand. It’s a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo.”

“It’s a deed,” I explained, fighting back a smirk. “For the property next to Bruno’s.”

Her head snapped up, mouth dropping open. “What?”

“You graduate next month, and you said your dream was to open a dog treat bakery.” I nodded at the paper. “I’m bankrolling it.”

She blinked back at me. “You— I— What? You remember that?”

It was something she’d told me the day we’d met, and I’d never forget it. “I remember everything from that day, Sadie. It’s seared into my memory.”

She swallowed hard. “Dav, this is… This is too much. And it wouldn’t be right! Bruno wants to use that space to expand?—”

I cut in before she could freak out. “I already talked to him ages ago. If you agree, he’d love to have you next door, and we can still tear the wall down. You’d both have your own entrances and sides to the space, but there’d be enough room in the middle for seating—and room outside for a dog-friendly patio.”

The health department was still my biggest hurdle with making Sadie’s dream a reality. They were insistent on no dogs outside service ones being allowed inside Bruno’s shop, and no amount of bribery had swayed them.

Yet.

Sadie was still having trouble forming words, so I continued. “It’s all yours. From design to product to operations, it can be whatever you want it to be. I’ll help however you need me to.”

A tear escaped down her cheek, and she hastily brushed it away.

“You bought me a dog treat bakery,” she whispered in awe, gaze darting between me and the papers. “I have the best boyfriend in the world.”

“Fiancé,” I corrected, unable to help myself.

A grin crept across her face. “I have the bestfiancéin the world.”

She stared down at the deed again, slowly shaking her head. I watched in amusement as her gaze shifted to the pink rock on her finger, then flicked up to mine with a mischievous sparkle I’d come to recognize. “Take off your pants.”

Even after eight months, she still managed to surprise me. “My pants?”

“You heard me.” She carefully set the paper aside and reached underneath her dress. The next thing I knew, she was wiggling on the blanket and pulling her underwear down her legs. “I want to do dirty things to myfiancé.”

My blood ran south. I fought a smile and slid off my jacket before reaching for my belt. “Didn’t you make a promise not to feed the horny demon in public anymore?”

“Shut up.” Her half-hearted scowl was ruined by the blush racing up her face. A second later, she flung her underwear aside—where it landed in a bush. “I never should’ve told you about him.”

“Him?” My fingers froze on my belt buckle. “You didn’t mention your demon was a guy.”

Sadie’s face only turned redder. “Pants off.Now.”

My lips twitched as I worked my belt loose.

But apparently, I wasn’t moving fast enough for Sadie, because she pounced on me with enough momentum to pin me to the ground before taking over.

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