Page 70 of Enemies, Lovers & A Valentine's Baby

“Fair enough. Come with me. I’ll show you.”

I take her hand, leading her up the stairs with me. She steps into my room cautiously, taking in the dark decor while I head straight to my nightstand to take out the album. I hand it to her, leaning against the wall while she starts to flip through the pages.

“It has some of my more recent photos too. I’ve been meaning to organize it, but I haven’t had the time.”

She finds the picture she was looking for. “Okay fine, I’ll admit you were a cute baby, but”—She pauses when a picture slips out of the album and flutters to the ground. She leans down to pick it up, her eyes instantly narrowing at whatever she sees on it.

“What is this?” she asks, setting the album down and handing me the photo. It’s a recent one of Greg and me, standing in front of a building as we both hold the shears to cut the ribbon in front of the door. At the top of the five-story building is crested SG Realtors.

Shit. She wasn’t supposed to see this. It’s going to ruin the surprise.

“It’s a photo of Greg and me,” I shrug, handing the photo back to her.

“I can see that. I’ve passed by this building while there were renovations going on. Why are you and Greg there?” she asks, eyebrows raised quizzically.

“It’s nothing you need to worry ab—”

“Cole,” she says sternly.

I sigh loudly. There’s no way out of this now.

“It was supposed to be a surprise. You can’t tell Sue yet.”

“Can’t tell Sue what?” She asks, brows furrowed deeply.

“Greg has been working on this for months now. It was going to be this big surprise for Sue,” I explain.

“Surprise? I—I don’t understand. What do you mean?” she asks impatiently.

“Well, you know how busy they are with real estate. They’re always traveling and never have as much time as they would like to have for themselves. Sue’s been hinting for years that she’d love for them to have their own real estate firm—something where they could step back, let others handle the day-to-day, and focus more on each other. Now that they’ve been seriously trying to have a baby, Greg finally decided to make it happen and asked me to help as an investor,” I explain.

“Six months ago, I connected him with Julie, a woman in Denver, who specializes in setting up businesses like this. Greg was determined to keep it a surprise for Sue until everything was finished. Julie handled everything, setting up the company, purchasing the property—and Greg sent her payments whenever they were needed. Now, SG Realtors is finally a reality. That photo,” I say, nodding toward the picture, “is from when Greg got the keys to the office last month. He was able to relocate it to be right here in Boston. All five floors of that building belong to Sue and Greg now—SG Realtors.”

I pause, smiling slightly. “Greg wanted to make sure everything was running smoothly before telling Sue. Unfortunately, she had to leave to take care of her mom, but his plan is to reveal it after the Valentine’s ball, take her there, and show her what they’ve built together. You can’t tell Sue yet, Lila. I know she’s your best friend, but it’s really important that you—”

“Oh my God!” Lila shrieks, her eyes going wide as she jumps up and down. “Oh my God! So that’s why he’s been spending all this time in Denver? That’s the woman that he’s been sending money to? The unexplained trips, the—the—oh my God!” she screams, throwing herself at me and wrapping her arms tightly around my neck excitedly. I have no idea what’s happening, butI want it to continue. “I can’t believe that’s what he’s been doing this whole time. Sue is going to be so happy!” she squeals.

“Yeah, well Greg certainly hopes so. The question is why are you so happy?” I ask, eyeing the top of her head as she hugs me.

“I’m just so relieved that—I mean I’m happy to hear this. It explains so much, more than you know. Sue’s going to be so happy,” she says, finally raising her head yet staying right there in my arms.

“I told you; Greg has never loved anyone like he loves Sue. He would do anything for her. There was never any question about it,” I finish.

My hands slip around her waist, and for a moment I completely forget where we are, what we’re doing, or how we even got here. Everything blurs into the background. Everything but her. My eyes trail down to her soft, pink lips, only few inches away from mine.

I’m painfully aware of her breasts pressed into my chest. My heart is thumping violently, blood rushing through me in waves.

She sucks in a sharp breath, her gaze holding mine. The air between us feels static, charged with my desire for her. Would she let me kiss her? Would she let me taste these lips?

“I want you so bad,” I whisper, waiting with bated breath. Tonight has been a rollercoaster of emotions, but this…this, I need her to want just as badly.

Her eyes stare up into mine, seeming to darken with her own desire.

Standing up on tiptoe, she brings my head down to meet her lips. That’s all the answer I needed.

My lips crash down over hers greedily, a passionate yet tender feeling that I may never truly be able to explain tearing through me. Her arms instantly tighten around my neck as I pull her flush against my body, our lips locking in a kiss so intense it threatens to set my entire body on fire. I angle my head to theside as I kiss her deeper, drinking in her moans as I suck on her full lips.

She gasps when I nip her bottom lip slightly, and I quickly take that opportunity to slip my tongue into her mouth. She tastes like grapes from the rich wine, mixed with a distinctive taste that is all her. Her tongue reaches out to tangle with mine, and I suck it deep into my mouth. She moans and I catch her weight as her legs almost give way from the sensations.

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