Page 9 of The Wish List
I googled a little more, looking at the wealthy people he associated with. Faces I recognized from society columns. Newspaper articles. There were even a few pictures of him taken with the BAM group. They were huge in real estate, and their buildings were highly sought after. And although he was smiling in the pictures, I still saw the same distance in his expression. A man alone in a crowd.
I hadn’t expected him to show up at my door tonight.
And I hadn’t expected to feel this passion. Or long for his mouth on mine again.
I shut my eyes and scrubbed my face.
I needed to get a grip. Fast.
* * *
ASHER
She entered the room quietly, her posture saying it all. I stepped closer. “I apologize.”
“You’re sorry you kissed me?”
I ran a hand through my hair. “I should say yes. Assure you I got carried away and it won’t happen again, but I’d be lying. I want to kiss you more, Rosie. Talk to you. Ask you a thousand questions and listen to your answers. Tell you anything you want to know about me.”
She blinked, once again caught off guard.
“I don’t understand.”
I moved in front of her, capturing her hands in mine and lifting them to my mouth, kissing the knuckles. “You’re so shocked someone would be interested in you.”
“Well, that, and it’s so…so—”
I cut her off. “Fast?”
She nodded.
“I know. But it feels right, doesn’t it?”
“We’re so different.”
I frowned, not liking that statement. I knew what she meant. Our lives were polar opposites. Financially, we were yin and yang. Our worlds were two different places. Yet that didn’t matter at all to me. I didn’t want her thinking that way about us. I wanted her seeing the positives.
I wanted to make her laugh and smile, not look sad and pensive.
“You mean the penis thing? That I have one and you don’t? The difference works well in this application, Rosie. Trust me on this.”
Her eyes widened, and then it happened. She began to laugh—the same light, girly sound as earlier. Her frown faded, her tension disappeared, and she was gorgeous. She slapped my chest in pretend outrage.
“You’re awful.”
“Awful good,” I assured her, lifting her hand to my mouth again and kissing it.
We shared some more amusement, and I pulled her into my arms, unable to resist touching her any longer.
“Opposites attract, Rosie. God knows I’m attracted to you.”
“I, ah, looked you up on the internet.”
I chuckled, not surprised. “The world I live in is different, but I’m just me, Rosie. I like that you see that. I get tired of being the center of attention because of my money. Of being sought after for what I could do for someone.”
“I like the man I see, but I’m still worried…” She trailed off.
I shook my head and kissed her sweet mouth. “Baby, earlier you said you were out of my league. I have a feelingyouare the one out ofmyleague. But I want to explore this. Give me a chance. Please.”
