Page 58 of Seductive Scoundrel

Dean: I like spoiling you. And these presents are different.

Mia: No more diamonds?

Dean: Do you want diamonds?

Mia: I told you, I’d be happy with pizza and a movie. I’ll even buy the pizza.

I have to swallow over a hard, aching lump in my throat. As small as it may seem, a woman has never bought me dinner whether it was pizza or caviar. Once they learn how much money I have, they expect to get everything for nothing.

Jesus. This girl. She’s going to undo me.

Dean: We’ll have a movie night when we’re back in the city, okay? Now, seriously, I’m not answering you anymore because you have to go to sleep.

Mia: Aren’t you going to bed, too?

Dean: I still have work to do, so I’m skipping sleep tonight.

Mia: Ha! I knew you’d answer me.

Dean: Stop being a brat. You know I can’t resist you.

Mia: You can’t?

Dean: Goodnight, Mia.

Mia: Night, Mr. Big.

I hope she likes what I have planned for the week. It suddenly feels a lot more important to get it right and make her smile.

I just hope it isn’t too much or else she’ll be the one running.

Chapter Sixteen

Mia

The framed pictureof me and Wally is what really got to me.

All the other gifts – the platinum heart necklace with my birthstone in the center, a diamond-encrusted Montblanc pen set engraved with our first date, the leather-bound journal encouraging me to dream big, and the plane ticket to visit my family in Kansas were amazingly thoughtful – and not even close to what I expected based on Dean’s previous gestures.

But the picture he took in the park when we went for that fateful walk broke me. I didn’t even realize he’d taken any pictures. It’s a black and white close-up of me talking to Wally as we sat by the fountain when Dean went to buy us something to eat.

It’s amazing.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that picture tells me I’m much more than just a fuck buddy or plus one to Dean. There’s an intimate quality about it, and the fact that he took a picture of me at all blows my mind.

And now I’m sitting on a plane that’s taking me to spend the weekend with him in Palm Beach. Very lucky me. Although I’d never admitted it out loud, I’ve missed him – a lot. Talking with him every night this week only amplified that feeling.

I’m going to have to watch myself. The last thing I want is to get too attached, even if he is being sweeter than I ever expected. Mr. Big and I both know exactly what this arrangement is – temporary.

And getting my heart broken isn’t part of the deal.

“Thank you for flying United. Enjoy the rest of your day,” the perky girl manning the door says as I exit the plane. She’s everything that I imagine an airline attendant to be – smiley, young, eager, and too pleasant to be real. She made my flight utterly bearable, which was no small feat. I’ve been revved up ever since Dean mentioned meeting him in Florida.

“Thank you,” I reply. “Have an amazing rest of your Friday, too.”

I glance at my phone as I make my way through the airport. Only traveling with a carry-on is something I’ve been doing for years. It makes everything easier and, in this case, gets me to Dean even sooner.

Dean: Let me know when you land. I’m waiting outside the middle exit door, south of the baggage claim.

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