Page 96 of Where We Bloom

“Whatever you want. Sell it. Rent it. Use it as storage. I don’t care, angel.”

She tips her head to the side. “You’re serious.”

“As fuck.”

“I’m not an easy person to live with, you know.” Panic starts to creep into her beautiful eyes, and I brush my thumbs over her temples, trying to soothe her. “I’m moody when I’m on my period, and I can be a brat, and sometimes I play my music too loud.”

“None of those things scare me.” I kiss her softly, sinking into her. “You’re not going to talk me out of this.”

“What if you change your mind?” The question is a whisper, and there’s so much vulnerability in her words that it makes my heart ache.

Quickly, I sit up and pull this incredible woman ontomy lap, covering us both with the blankets. She’s staring at my chest, so I lift her chin.

“I’m not going to change my mind.”

“I know you believe thatnow, but?—”

“Stop,mo rúnsearc.” I kiss her lips again and feel her soften against me. “Have I given you a reason to think I’ll change my mind?”

She lifts an eyebrow. “Were you privy to the first eight months or so that we knew each other?”

“Since we’ve been seeing each other. Since our day in the Jeep and every bloody night we’ve spent together since.”

“No.” She takes a deep breath and cups my cheek. “No, you haven’t.”

“Good. It’s decided. You’re moving in. But it’ll have to happen when we get back.”

“Back from where?” She frowns up at me, but I’m reconsidering.

“You know what? I’ll hire movers, so it can still happen tomorrow.”

“Connor. Where are we going?”

“Oh, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I have to be in New York by Friday morning. We’ll leave Thursday on the jet, and we won’t be back here for about ten days.”

Her mouth drops open, and then she slowly shakes her head.

“Ten days in New York sounds incredible, but?—”

“Three.” She blinks at me. “Three days in New York, seven in Ireland.”

That has her blinking fast as if she’s fighting tears.

“Okay, that sounds … I can’t even find the words, but I just hired new people, and I can’t leave them yet.”

“Hey.” I kiss her forehead and drag my hand down her back. “This isn’t supposed to upset you, angel. You already said that you promoted Emily and Tiffany. You’ll have four full days with your new hires, and then Emily and Tiffany can take over. You said yourself that you can work from anywhere.”

She nibbles on her bottom lip, and I tug it free with my thumb, then smooth it over.

“You’ll work from my plane, from my penthouse, from my house on the cliffs.”

“You have a lot of houses,” she whispers, and I simply smile at her.

“I’m not willing to go without you,” I add. “I won’t be away from you for that long. So we’ll figure this out. Because you’ll be on that plane with me on Thursday afternoon.”

“Do I have a choice?”

I tilt my head. Am I reading her wrong? Would she rather stay home than travel with me?

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