Page 99 of Bad for Business
We’re perfect.
This summer has been perfect.
I got to keep my family’s legacy and I got my girl.
Yeah, I really like myself again.
I really like this life.
And I really think my mom would be damn proud of me.
EPILOGUE - CAMILLE
The press of lips against my cheek wakes me up from a deep sleep. I smile, reveling in the familiar feeling against my skin.
I stretch underneath the blankets, trying to wake myself up more. We were up late last night for New Year’s Eve. We spent it at a party in Manhattan with our closest friends. I don’t think we got home until around four in the morning.
“Good morning,” Ryker whispers, his words said against my ear.
“Hopefully it’s afternoon with how late we were up,” I respond, opening my eyes to meet his.
He’s perfect. I’ll never get tired of waking up to him. It’s been six months since we were sent to the Hamptons together and I still have moments where I can’t believe he’s mine.
“I want to show you something,” Ryker tells me, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.
“What is it?”
“Come to the living room and you’ll find out,” he responds, a sexy smirk on his lips.
I love waking up to him every single morning. Since the moment we confessed our feelings, we’ve lived together. We’ve had to spend a handful of nights away from each other becauseof our busy schedules, but we try to keep it to a minimum. I hate being away from him. He’s become my home. My safe place. I never want to be anywhere else.
“Cami,” Ryker says, pulling me from my thoughts. He presses a kiss against my shoulder, giving me goosebumps.
I smile but push the top half of my body off the mattress. I look around, remembering just last year when I looked around this space and he was nowhere to be found. I thought I’d never see him again, something that broke me in ways I didn’t even want to admit.
Now, I have him staring at me with so much love in his eyes that I can’t help but lean in and kiss him.
One thing I’ve never had to do is question this man’s love for me. He’s constantly shown up for me, every single day. He’s proven over and over again that I’m not hard to love and has made me the luckiest girl in the world.
I’m so happy that this year on New Year’s Day, he’s mine.
“You know it was just Christmas. Why do I have a surprise today?”
Ryker smiles. He holds out his hand for me to take, and I gladly place my hand in his and let him lead me to the living room. “Because I wanted to give you this surprisetoday.”
I give him a curious look as he leads me out of the hallway and into the living room. On the coffee table is a plate filled with donuts.
“The donuts,” I whisper, remembering the tradition he had with his mom.
He gives me a smile and nods. “This year is a raspberry rosemary old-fashioned donut. Not the most outrageous one they’ve done, but I think it’ll be good.”
I step closer to him and wrap my arms around his middle. I know how important the tradition with his mom was to him.“You should’ve woken me up,” I tell him, feeling terrible he had to go out alone. “I would’ve gone with you.”
He smiles. “I was fine going alone. It was kind of like I could feel her, as weird as that sounds. All I needed was to know that you’d still be in my bed when I got back.”
“I wouldn't dream of being anywhere else.”
I’m about to sit down and grab a donut before Ryker stops me. He holds my hand, but lightly. I swear his hand might be shaking, but I could also be making it up.
