Page 110 of The Bachelor

“No. This one is all on me.” His thumb swiped his lip even though there was nothing on it. “Next Friday, after work, I’m going to pick you up. I need you to pack an overnight bag.”

“To stay at your condo?”

“We won’t be sleeping at my place. But that’s the only detail I’m giving you.”

TWENTY-TWO

Camden

“I’m dying to know where we’re going,” Oaklyn said from the passenger seat of my car minutes after I picked her up from her place.

She’d asked the same question every time I saw her this past week—when she popped over to my place for a quick dinner, during the lunch we had at her apartment when I was able to sneak away from work, even when we talked on the phone.

From the moment she’d gotten into my car, I’d kept her hand locked underneath mine, resting on the gearshift. But now, I lifted it toward my mouth, kissing the back of her knuckles.

Even her fingers smelled like tangerine and blueberry.

God, this fucking woman.

It was taking every ounce of strength I had not to skip right to lesson five and finally get the chance to be inside her. Once I reached that point, I could be with her whenever I wanted.

She certainly wouldn’t mind if we fast-forwarded things.

Hell, she’d all but fucking begged for it during lesson three.

But, damn it, I couldn’t.

I wanted things with Oaklyn to be different.

And I didn’t just want to tell her that she’d changed me, that she had made me realize she was everything I wanted, that there was no way I could imagine my life without her.

Those were things I wanted to show her.

Completing lesson four and slowly moving to five was one of the ways I could do that.

Along with everything that I had planned for tonight.

Still keeping her hand near my mouth, I quickly glanced at her. “I think you’re going to like it. No, fuck that. I know you’re going to like it.”

“I already do.”

I turned at the light, moving our hands back to the gearshift. “You know, Hannah came into my office today and mentioned that she’d invited you out with the girls and you couldn’t make it. It’s funny; she always used to bring you up, and most of the time, I didn’t pay attention. Now, I’m on full fucking alert.”

She laughed. “I told her I was going out with Mystery Man.”

I gave her another quick peek. “She’s still letting you get away with calling him that? And hasn’t demanded a name? I’m shocked.”

“I think she knows I’m not ready to name him. That would make things more serious, and she thinks things are just super low-key between him and me. If I tell her we’ve progressed, the questions will come fast and hard.” She squeezed the side of my hand with her thumb. “I hate lying.”

“I know, baby.” I sighed. “It’s only for a little longer.”

“Did she ask you what you’re doing tonight?”

“Of course.” I slowed at the light. “She wanted to know why I wasn’t hanging out with Declan and our cousins.”

Her brows rose. “What did you tell her?”

I chuckled. “Well, if I told you that, it would ruin tonight’s surprise, so ask me that question in a little while.”

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