Page 32 of Blurred Lines

“If I did, I wouldn’t have said it.” Shrug. “I know how I feel.”

“I do as well.”

“So, when do you want to have the marriage-and-kids talk?”

Was he joking? He was smiling, but I couldn’t be sure whether he was serious or not. There was still so much we needed to learn about each other.

“Maybe we should leave that until next week?”

“I’ll make a note on my calendar.”

“Macie, this is Cristian.”

She stared at him for a long moment. More specifically, she stared at the scar on his right cheek, and her eyes widened.

“Ohmigosh. It’s him? The man from your story?”

Although she’d met Cristian once before when she made him a meatball sub, her bang on the head meant she’d forgotten most of that morning. And I hadn’t publicised my new relationship. The only people I’d told so far were Vi, Dawson, and Brax.

Cristian gave her an easy smile. Those seemed to be coming more often now. “My surname isn’t Hotly. It’s Garza.”

“But you’re really together?”

“Yeah.”

“So you sell bathrooms, huh? Because I have a problem with my shower. I dropped the sprayer thingy and it split, and I need to fix it before my landlord notices. If I send you a picture, could you help me to order a new one?”

I was about to explain the situation, but Cristian just shrugged and said, “Sure.”

“He’s definitely a keeper,” Macie told me.

“I know.”

“So, what can I get for you folks?”

“OJ and a quinoa salad for me.”

Cristian’s arm tightened around my waist. “I’ll have a meatball sub and sparkling water.”

My whole crew of digital workers was in today, laptops set up and coffee on hand, and I introduced Cristian to Markus, Brayden, and Samantha. Then Joey brought over our food, and Cristian shook hands with him too. This was all so new, but it felt so right. I wanted my friends to like Cristian, and I breathed a sigh of relief when Samantha gave me a thumbs-up and a grin while he was studying the menu board.

With one exception, life was good. The words were coming, and I had the perfect partner to test out the feasibility of my sex scenes. Hell, Mr. Hotly had even made a few suggestions of his own, and if he kept it up—pun very much intended—I might have to give him a co-writing credit.

As Cristian worked quietly on his iPad beside me, I dared to hope that I might have found my unicorn at last. My prince. All I’d wanted was the fairy tale, and Cristian Garza had swept me off my feet. Screw glass slippers and poison apples—a lost wallet was definitely the way to go, and pumpkin coaches were so last century.

Of course, there was still the small matter of a villain on the loose, but I had a superhero.

Not even Mario could ruin my happily ever after.

“Freaking heck, you look amazing.” The next day, Vi squeezed the breath out of me and crushed several ribs for good measure. Then she looked over my shoulder. “And so does he. Holy crap, you traded a beat-up old compact for a Ferrari.”

“Theo turned out to be more of a bicycle.”

I’d thought riding him was good for me, but when I fell off, it hurt like hell. Thankfully, Cristian had been there to pick me up.

“Don’t turn around,” Vi whispered, “but he’s looking at you in that ridiculously overprotective way that Dawson looks at me. Like he’s gonna kill anyone who gets too close. I’m a little scared.”

“He won’t leave my side at the moment, not until Mario’s caught.”

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