Page 96 of Bitter Arrangement

I pick up a magazine calledInterior Designs. My eyebrows raise. “Explain, please.”

“My place is pretty much finished.” He gestures above us. I’m pretty sure we’re somewhere below the living room at the moment. “The house is in good shape and doesn’t really need any major updates. But the one space that hasn’t been changed much is the basement.”

“You’re saying you want me to do some home renovations?”

“No, I want you to make the basement your own.”

I frown skeptically. “I’m not sure I’m following.”

“Think about it. You can do whatever you want down here. You want to make it a gym? Great, go for it. You want to make it a home theater? A place to do your hobbies? A fancy bar? Anything you want. I’ll give you any resources you need to make this your own.”

I put down the magazine and turn a low circle. The basement is rough, but it’s tidy and it’s a good size. We don’t get water down here, and there aren’t any pest problems as far as I know. I mean, it’s a pretty typical city basement, but it’s in very nice shape.

And with the right vision, it could be all mine.

“That’s really nice,” I say after a long pause. Emotion wells up in my chest. I don’t know the last time anyone ever did something like this for me. I definitely didn’t expect it when I first moved in here with him. It always seemed like this would be his house first and my house second, but now this is my chance to make it reallyours.

“I want you to understand how important you are to me,” he says, coming around the table. He tugs me against him. “This is just a room. This is just a gesture. But it’s what the room and the gesturemean. You’re here permanently. I want you here forever. I want you to be my wife, Riley, not just temporarily, not just for some deal our families struck, but because I want you.”

I blink back tears. I’m suddenly so overwhelmed I can barely think. I push myself against him and hug him tightly, and he wraps his big arms around my body, hugging me back. I let out one sudden sob, and that finally breaks the whole dam.

I cry into his chest. I don’t even know why. He must think I’m absolutely insane. I mean, the guy does this super nice thing for me and basically tells me that I’m the most important person in the world to him, and all I can do is cry like a little baby.

Years of repressed emotions spill out. I feel more wanted than I’ve ever felt in my life. I’ve been rejected, belittled, and embarrassed by my father for so long that I never really expected to feel anything else. Now suddenly Alexan is giving me pieces of himself, all because he really cares.

It’s too much. And it feels so good.

“I’m okay,” I say after I finally manage to calm down. “I bet that wasn’t the reaction you wanted.”

“No, it wasn’t, but that doesn’t matter.”

“I just want to say that this is the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me. I mean it, I really love this.”

“Good.” He wipes my tears away and kisses me. “That means you’ll do it?”

He means more than just that I’ll finish the basement. He means I’ll stay here with him as his wife, and it hits me all at once what that really means.

Living together. Starting a family. Having babies.

Falling in love.

The idea doesn’t seem so insane anymore.

Actually, it seems really, really good.

“Absolutely,” I whisper, fighting tears again. I kiss him to keep myself from sobbing for a second time.

Understanding rushes over me. This is what I’ve been waiting for. This moment, right here. I feel all those emotions suddenly click into place. The world clarifies and has meaning again. At the center of all that is Alexan, my husband, my rock, my protector. He’ll do anything for me, and I have to do anything for him.

I kiss him harder, this time letting lust take me over. I slip my tongue into his mouth, then tug him behind me, desperate to get out of this dirty basement. I drag him all the way up into the bedroom and pull him down into the bed.

“Nowthisis the reaction I wanted,” he says, grinning a little.

I roll my eyes and pull his hair, dragging his mouth to mine. “Listen to me,” I say softly, kissing him hungrily. “Don’t talk, okay? Just nod.”

He nods slowly, saying nothing.

“Good. Okay.” I breathe in through my nose and blow it out. “I want you to do something for me.”

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