Page 130 of Tangled Kisses
“Shit.”
“I’ll cancel,” I blurt. “Tell her I can’t make it. I just figured the money would be helpful, but it’s not worth your worrying for one second.”
She turns her gaze to her coffee as her teeth worry her lower lip. “You know, I have to ask—and tell me if I’m being too personal—but how much do you get paid for being a piece of arm candy?”
“Seven-fifty for four hours,” I admit.
Her brows lift. “That’s a ton of money for one night. More than some people make in a week.” She hesitates, voice softer. “Is it really that bad for her, being around those people?”
I shrug. “She claims it is. How did you like Vander’s friends?”
A small shudder ripples through her frame. “Fair point. It was awful. All that money and no one was happy. It’s like a twisted sickness of the ultra-elite. Actually, I’m going to be at that fundraiser, too.”
“Then I’m definitely not going with Lauren. Case closed.”
A hint of mischief crosses Reese’s face. “Or you earn $750 for a few hours while sampling gourmet food and drooling over me in my new cocktail dress.”
“No way I’ll be able to keep my hands off you. I’ll be useless as Lauren’s bodyguard.”
Reese shakes a finger at me, grinning. “You’ll be ravenous, too. It has a slit that goes up to here.” She motions to her upper thigh and shoots me a wink.
“You do not play fair.”
“Of course not.” She takes another sip of her coffee, feigning innocence. “The money is too good to pass up. Go protect your friend. Just make sure she knows you come home to me.”
I cover her hand with mine. “Reese, you are my home.”
Her eyes glisten at my words. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing that.”
“You think you can stand me for the rest of your life?” I murmur, my lips brushing hers.
Her fingers glide up, the back of her hand brushing along my cheek. “I think I can manage it.”
The kiss starts soft, but it doesn’t stay there. Heat claws in under the sweetness, and suddenly I can’t get enough.
Reese pulls back just enough to whisper, “Careful. The toddler at the next table is staring at us, and I don’t think his parents are ready for the birds-and-bees talk.”
I chuckle, glancing over my shoulder at the wide-eyed kid. “Then how are we going to explain it to our toddler? Because I plan on kissing you awholehell of a lot.”
She leans in, her lips curling in a grin. “Is this the first, second, or third kid we’re talking about?”
“First, second, third, or fourth, you mean.”
Her laugh is low and wicked. “Well, after last night, I could see four being a possibility.”
And in that moment, I see it—my entire future. The life I always wanted but never believed I’d get. A home. A family. Happiness.
Her.Alwaysher.
I rest my forehead against hers, smiling against her lips. “Beautiful, with you, everything’s a possibility.”
We’ve been meanderingdown Main Street for over an hour, ducking into shops as the late afternoon light spills across the storefront windows.
One stop stands out more than the rest. At the jewelry store, Reese slowed at the window, her gaze snagging on a delicate band crowned with a stone the color of a summer sunset—pink and orange fire.
“That’s the most beautiful stone I’ve ever seen. It looks like a sunset trapped in gold. I’ve never seen anything like it.” She didn’t say anything more. Didn’t drag me inside or drop hints about that ring in her future.
Reese would never do that.
