Page 142 of The Playboy

It was caused by the way he looked at me.

The way he made me feel—that no other woman could ever compare. That everything he wanted, everything he needed, was me.

Before Macon, I hadn’t known that existed. That someone could actually feel that way. Now that I had it, I couldn’t imagine losing it.

Because he had become everything I wanted and everything I needed.

As I approached the underpass, he gazed at me like he hadn’t seen me in months. And when I reached him, the hunger in his arms was equally as intense as they wrapped around me, hauling me up against his body.

His mouth instantly found mine, not giving me a chance to speak; it just parted my lips, his tongue sliding through, causing my body to turn weak. A weakness that then forced my balance to go off-kilter, which made him hold me even tighter, making sure I didn’t fall.

“Macon,” I exhaled after we finally pulled away, getting the chance to really take in his eyes, “this is the most gorgeous hotel I’ve ever seen.” Heat was moving across my face, my expression beaming with pride. “Congratulations. I’m completely in awe of you, and I’m so, so proud of you.”

“Thank you.” He held my face with both hands, his lips hovering above mine. “You look fucking breathtaking tonight.”

I was in a dress that he’d bought me, one that I knew he hadn’t gotten for the interview because there was no way something this sexy could be worn to work. And when I’d stepped into it and had Jesse zip me up and peeked at my reflection in our mirror, I’d had a feeling he was going to go wild.

As his hands left my face, traveling down my back to squeeze my ass, I knew my feeling was right.

“Before you get any other ideas in your head”—I laughed—“I want a tour. I want to see every inch of this hotel, and don’t leave anything out.” I leaned back a few inches and lifted my hand, showing him the bag I was holding. “But first, this is for you.”

He eyed the present. “You got me a gift?”

“Admittedly, it’s impossible to get something for someone who has everything—and I can say that. I’ve been to your house, you literally haveeverything. So, I went a different route.” I set the bag on his fingers as he held them toward me.

His other hand left my butt to stroke my face. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“This is a huge moment for you, which makes it a huge moment for me, and sometimes, words just aren’t enough.” I wrapped my arm around his waist. “Open it.”

He reached inside the bag and pulled out the picture frame. Within the two rectangles of acrylic, where I’d removed the magnets that held them together and glued them instead, I’d inserted four photos of us. One from inside the sushi restaurant in Honolulu, another from his bed at the hotel I worked at, the third from the steak house at the other end of the island, and the final from his house in LA.

“Let me explain this,” I said, staring at his profile while he looked at the photos. “My sister Clementine is the oldest, and a project that she and my mom started when Clem was just a kid was saving things from each place we ever lived. We moved so much, so we couldn’t have a ton of things, but the box where she keeps it all is something Clem has always held on to. Anyway, the thing she kept from Honolulu was sand from a beach in Waikiki, so that’s what I put here.” I traced above our sushi picture, where I’d glued sand around the photo. “And this sand here”—my finger moved to the two pics of us on Kauai—“is from the beach right by my place, and here”—I slipped down to the LA one—“is sand I ordered off the internet, directly from Santa Monica Beach, which Google says is the closest beach to LA.”

His eyes slowly met mine.

“Hawaii is always going to be a special place for you because you built your dream hotel here, but knowing you’re leaving soon, I wanted you to have something to take with you. Something you’ll be able to have forever. And our sand, well”—I smiled—“in my opinion, there’s nothing quite like it.” I placed my hand on his chest. “But at the same time, I want this to serve as our beginning with hopes that we’ll add many more photos and much more sand in our future.”

He scanned my eyes, his stare reaching right through me, going straight past my skin and into my heart. “Brooklyn, I love it.” He kissed me. “By far, this is the best gift anyone has ever given me and certainly the most thoughtful.”

I blushed. “Stop.”

“No, I’m serious.” He placed the frame back in the bag and slipped the handles up his arm to free his hand so he could hold my face. “No one has ever made me anything before. It means a lot that the first handmade gift is from you.” He rubbed his nose over mine. “It’s going in my office.”

“Perfect spot for it.” I nuzzled my cheek into his hand. “I’ll see it every time I walk through your front door since I pass it on the way to the living room.”

“Not that office. The one at Spade Hotel headquarters.”

“You’re kidding?”

“Since I’ll be back in LA soon, I’m about to be spending much more time there. When I’m home, I’ll be with you. And when I’m at work, I can look at the pictures whenever I need you.”

“Or you can go down several floors, where I’ll probably be glued to some cubicle.”

He swiped his thumb over my lips. “That too.” He grinned. “We’re going to have the best life together.”

My eyes closed. “I don’t deserve you.”

Just as I began to open my eyelids, he kissed me. And as he pulled away, I placed my hand on his.

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