“What?” He chuckles. “You tell me. That’s how you handle it.”
“That’s what she said, but again, I was too nervous.”
“Nervous about what?”
That I wouldn’t be enough for you. That you’d never give yourself to me and me alone. “About how you might feel. I wasn’t sure we were on the same wavelength, you know?”
“Babe.” He stoops to look me in the eyes. “I think we’ve been on the same wavelength from the very beginning, but never acknowledged it. Even when you were trying to poison me, everything felt so easy. Slipping into bed to fall asleep next to you, it was easy. Making room for each other around the apartment was easy. Transitioning from hate to . . . where we are now, love, it was seamless. You shouldn’t be scared, because we’ve always been thinking the same, even when drunk in Vegas.”
I chuckle and grip his hands tighter. “I guess so.” I pause and then say, “God, I hate that you’re keeping me around. That I wasn’t able to best you by making you think I’m a vile human to be married to.”
“No.” He chuckles. “You just made me fall in love with you instead.”
“Man, I should’ve done the How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days clingy approach. Maybe that would’ve solidified our demise.”
He shakes his head. “No, I would’ve seen right through it, like I did with your pranks, and still fallen in love with you.”
“Well, aren’t you just the ever romantic?” I ask, looping my arms around him.
He pulls me in even closer. “Not really, but you bring it out in me.” He presses his lips to my forehead, and I can confidently say, in this moment, I’m the most content I’ve ever been in my entire life.
No anxieties.
No fears.
No insecurities.
No self-doubt.
Just content, and it’s because of the man wrapping me up in his arms.
“I love you,” he whispers softly. “So damn much.”
Chapter Twenty-One
PIKE
She fucking loves me.
I’m not sure I believe it, but then again, when I look her in the eyes, I see it.
It’s right there.
She loves me.
And I can honestly say I feel like the luckiest bloke in the world.
“What are you thinking about?” Cora asks as our Uber driver takes us to the hotel room I booked.
Cora has no idea that I booked us a room at one of the nicest hotels in Chicago. I wanted to surprise her, something special for after the wedding. Thankfully, I brought a change of clothes, so before we left, I slipped into a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt so I wasn’t parading around in my damask tuxedo made specifically for George Washington.
“Thinking about you,” I say while squeezing her hand.
“Thinking about how beautiful I am in this dress?” she asks, fluffing her hair.
“I’ve been thinking about that all night, but also thinking about how I can’t believe you love me.”
“I can’t believe it either.”
I chuckle. “Snuck up on you, huh?”
“Just a little.” She glances out the window. “Where the hell are we going?”
I bring the back of her hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles. “I thought we could spend the night at the Waldorf Astoria.”
“Wait, seriously?” She perks up as we cross over into the city.
“Yes. We’ll get some room service in the morning, and a couples’ massage tomorrow.”
Cora turns toward me. “Pike, that’s expensive.”
I lightly chuckle. “And I told you, I have money.”
“But I don’t want you thinking you need to spend it on me.”
“Who else would I spend it on?” I ask.
“Yourself?”
“The only thing I need is staring back at me. Anything after that is a bonus.”
“Liar,” she says with a smirk. “You need your tea, as well.”
“Ah, my mistress.”
She laughs and curls against me. “Thank you for thinking of me, of planning a wonderful night.”
“Of course.”
She’s quiet while we drive through the city, and I’m about to ask her what she’s thinking when she says, “You know, I have money too, Pike.”
I awkwardly laugh. “Okay.”
She lifts up to look me in the eyes. “Like, a lot of money. Millions.”
“Okay.” I swallow hard. “Where are you going with this?”
“Do you . . . uh . . . do you have millions?”