Page 112 of Waiting for Acceptance
“Wanna get out of here?” She nods in agreement and we say our goodbyes and head home.
CHAPTER 57
LAUREN
“Pack your bags, Trouble. We’re going to New York.” I wake up to Fitz kissing my nose and telling me to pack a bag, but when I open my eyes I see that the sun isn’t even up yet. If it weren’t for the fact that I’m traveling with the guy about to own the company I work for, and the way Jack and Barbara don’t care if I take off as long as I get my work done—which miraculously, I’ve been doing—I’d be worried about being jobless.
“Oh my god, this company has a lot of events. No wonder it’s as big as it is.” I groan, pulling my pillow over my head.
“Flight leaves in three hours, better get moving.” He squeezes my ass and the way my heart starts racing wakes me up almost immediately. I pull the pillow off my head and give him a suggestive look and he smirks.
“Fuck it, we can be a little late.” He pulls his shirt over his head and pounces back on the bed, making me scream out in laughter. “Better here than the airport bathroom, right?” He growls into my neck and I push him over, to straddle him.
“Right.”
I look at Fitz and frown when I realize we aren’t at the airport we usually fly into.
“Fitz, what on earth kind of event is out here?” He smirks and his face twists into playful confusion.
“Who said we were attending an event?” My mouth pops open but no words come out because…he’s right. I did just assume we were coming for an event because that’s the only reason we ever do. Maybe there’s another acquisition happening and he’s bringing me along for the job? After driving country roads with little to nothing on them, I start to second-guess my theory. “Here we are.” We pull onto a dirt road and I look over at Fitz in complete confusion and shock. If he brought a tent for us to sleep in and didn’t warn me, so help me…
“Welcome to Shadow Hill Ranch.”
“What is this place?” I ask, just as we come into view of the most beautiful farmhouse I’ve ever seen. It’s not like the modern farmhouses you see these days, though. It’s original, with blue siding and red bricks, worn wood on the porch, and a swing blowing in the summer breeze.
“This…ismychildhood home.” He shifts the car into park and my mouth falls open.
“What?” I almost laugh the question out. I'm completely stunned.
“Time to get to know the last little bit of me, Trouble.” He hops out and rounds the front of the car.
“I have no words,” I mumble to myself just as he pulls the door open. He drapes his arm around my shoulders and when I look up I see the brightest smile on his face.
“You’re going to love Gran and Pops.” My stomach twists as we make our way up the stairs to the porch, and without even knocking, he opens the screen door and walks right inside. I’m about to meet the people who raised him, completely unprepared. Doesn’t he know me well enough by now to understand he can’t do this to me.
“Anybody home?”
“Vincent? Is that you?” I hear a woman’s voice exclaim. He stalks through the house so quickly I barely have time to take it all in. An older woman with gray hair pulled back in a clip and an apron comes around the corner and screams with a smile on her face. “Ahhh! My boy! It’s about time you came back home to see us.” She reaches up and kisses his cheek and he wraps his arms around her, squeezing her tight before letting her go again.
“Gran, this is Lauren. Trouble, this is my Gran. Otherwise known as the greatest woman in the world.”
“Seriously, Fitz, with the Trouble?” I mumble to him as I walk over to Gran.
“Oh, stop it.” Gran swats his arm, opening her arms for me.
I lean in and she wraps her arms around me. “Hi! It’s so nice to meet you.” She smells like homemade bread and flowers and hugs me like she’s got love to spare.
“I am so happy you could come. I’ve been dying to meet you ever since Vincent told me about you.” I love hearing her call him by his real name. I raise a brow at him over my shoulder.
“You told her about me?” He simply winks at me without a word before someone comes stomping through the back of the house.
“Joann? Are you in here?” The gravely tone of voice makes me assume this would be…
“Hey, Pops.” Fitz smiles as the old man’s eyes grow wide.
“You rascal! What are you doing here, boy?” He comes over and bear-hugs Fitz, slapping his back with a thunderous sound that makes my breath stall.
“Well, I missed you guys. Plus, I wanted you guys to meet Lauren and to show her the ranch.” Pops looks over at me and I smile, walking over to give him a hug.
