Page 108 of Kiss Me Forever

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Megan

During the Uber ride, I was giddy. I kept smiling to myself. I could already imagine the house Luke and I might live in, and our huge brood.Holy shit!My smile turned into a grin as I realized this was the very first time I’d actually imagined anything like this.

The office building was dark when I arrived; only three floors were lit. My heart was beating so fast, I felt it might leap out of my chest. Excitement coursed through me on the elevator ride up. I blinked several times when the doors opened because I wasn't used to the dimly lit office. As I stepped out, the motion sensors activated, and the lights flashed on.

"Luke, where are you?" I called.

"In the office."

His voice was serious. I tried to detect if he was still tipsy, but I couldn't tell that just from the short reply. In his office, only the lamp in the corner was lit. I stepped inside.

"Close the door," he said, and I did. He was sitting in his armchair behind the table. He’d pushed it far enough away that he was almost pressing against the window. I walked over to him, looking around. There were three glasses on the coffee table in front of the couch and two empty bottles of champagne.

I stopped right next to him. He’d undone the top button of his shirt. He looked incredibly sexy.

"On a scale from one to ten, how drunk are you?" I asked softly.

"Why?"

"I want to know if you can have a serious conversation."

He reached out to me and pulled me onto his lap. I nearly lost my balance, but he caught me, putting a hand at the small of my back.

“I’malmostsober, babe. Let's talk this out." He looked at me intently, moving his thumb underneath my lips. "How was your dinner?"

"I don't want to talk about dinner. I want to talk about us."

"We have time for that."

I fidgeted in his lap. “Are you stalling?”

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“Why?”

“I don’t know if I want to hear it.”

I got off his lap because I was slightly uncomfortable, then parted my legs, sitting so my thighs were on the outside of his.

"I’ve decided I’ll call Jenkins tomorrow and politely tell him I’m honored to be the winner of the first prize. I want to collect my prize money, but I will not be taking the internship in Shanghai, and I would be thrilled if he offered it to one of the other winners."

He was very still for a moment. Unnaturally so, like he wasn't even breathing. Then he exhaled in a long breath. "Meg, are you sure?"

"Yes, I am."

"Fuck, I'm only going to ask you once more." He cupped my face again and put a possessive hand on my nape. "Are. You. Sure?"

"Yes. Yes, I know what you asked." I put my hands on his chest. His heart was beating wildly. "But I can't think as I would have a few months ago. I'm not the same person."

"You’re fucking amazing, babe." He kissed my jaw and then went up to my ear. "And I fucking love you."

“And I love you.” I was fighting to keep my voice even because he was already pushing his hand up my dress. "Luke, let's be serious for thirty seconds, and then you can start with your delicious ministrations. Otherwise, I won't finish my thoughts." He stopped in the act of touching my thigh but kept his hand firmly under my dress. He straightened, looking at me. "I wanted to win the competition, and I did. I proved to myself that I could.”

“You said that after the internship you wouldn’t mind working outside Chicago and widening your horizons. Has that changed?”

“I wanted to learn. And I didn’t know at that time that you’d be offering me a job. I can't imagine learning from anyone better than the amazing man sitting here in front of me—well, under me—who might or might not be slightly inebriated."

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