I take a minute to process his words. “This is how this is going to go,” I tell him. He raises his eyebrows but doesn’t speak, waiting to see what I’m going to say next. “I want exclusivity. No other women. Just me.”
“Done.”
“I want lots of your hugs and all of your kisses.”
“Done and done.” A slow smile crosses his face.
“I want communication. We can’t do this… I can’t do this, live in your world of fame without it. No matter what it is, if it happens, I need to know about it. I don’t care if you think it’s going to hurt me or upset me. I need to know about it.”
“Done.”
“Good. Now, eat up. I have to get back to work.” I remove my hands from his and pick up my sandwich. I take a bite but can feel his eyes on mine. “What?” I ask once I’ve swallowed.
“You’re mine, Samantha Wilson.”
I’m not much for the caveman mantra of “you’re mine.” I am my own person, but when he says it, I want the words to be true. “You’re mine, Jase Andrews,” I give his words right back to him.
“Damn right,” he says, picking up his sandwich and taking a huge bite.
We finish lunch in record time, and precisely fifty-five minutes later, I’m back at my desk. “Thanks for lunch,” I tell him, setting my purse on my desk.
“Can I see you tonight?”
“Yes.”
His shoulders relax. “After so long of hearing no, that one simple word is music to my ears.”
“I get off at five. I can have dinner ready by six.”
“I can bring dinner.”
“You need more home-cooked meals. I’ll see you at my place at six.”
“Can’t wait.” He leans in for a kiss.
“Get a room,” Conrad says, interrupting our moment.
“See you tonight, baby.” Jase kisses me one more time. He slaps Conrad on the shoulder and walks away.
“You’ve bewitched him.” Conrad laughs.
“Maybe. I’m not so sure he hasn’t bewitched me,” I say honestly.
“As long as you’re happy, Sam. Jase is a good guy. We all know Royce doesn’t like change. He’ll get used to the idea. Just give him some time.”
“I hope so,” I tell him. What I don’t say is that Royce needs to be on board because today, at a small deli in Downtown Nashville, I gave Jase Andrews my heart.
Chapter 5
Jase
“Spend the weekend with me,” I blurt, just as she’s taking a drink of her sweet tea. It’s Friday, and we’re having lunch together. This time at the pizza place around the corner. I’ve shown up at her office every day this week to take her to lunch. Royce has grumbled about me stealing his assistant every day, and if it were not for the fact that I crave time with her, I would probably be taking her to lunch just to get a rise out of him.
Tapping her chest, she coughs. “I don’t know. I’d have to cancel my plans with Javier.”
“Who the fuck is Javier?” I ask, louder than necessary. My outburst gains me a few stares, but I ignore them.
“He’s my hairdresser. I have an appointment tomorrow at ten.”
I take in a slow breath and exhale just as slow. “You did that on purpose.”
“Maybe.” She shrugs.
“I’ll drive you to see Javier. Any other plans with any other men I should know about?” I’m only half teasing. My heart dropped when she’d uttered his name.
“No, player. Just you.”
“Damn right.” I stand and lean over the booth we’re sitting in and press my lips to hers—only me.
“I’m off at five,” she tells me, which is the only confirmation that I need.
“I’ll be at your place when you get there. Pack a bag, and we can go to dinner.”
“What if we got takeout instead? Maybe Chinese?” she suggests.
“Done.”
“It’s been a long week. I’m just ready to chill. Oh, and I have to go grocery shopping and do laundry for next week, so I’ll have to head home early Sunday afternoon.”
“I’ll take you shopping, and we can hang out at your place, and I’ll help with laundry and whatever else you need to do. You agreed to all weekend, and I plan to collect.”
“Sunday is the end of the weekend.”
“No, Monday ends the weekend. We can stay at your place Sunday night if you want.” She’s stunned if the look on her face is any indication, but that’s fine. She’ll get used to my need for her soon enough.
“You continue to surprise me.”
“How so?” I ask, adding another slice of pizza to my plate.
“I didn’t expect you to be so… attentive, among other things.”
“Because I’m not. Not usually. I’ve only ever been this way with you. I never cared enough before to try to put in any effort.” It sounds harsh, but it’s the facts, and I promised her communication and honesty.
“I always thought you were just being a flirt. All those times you would ask me out, I thought it was a game. I turn you down, and you chase me. You catch me, seduce me, and kick me to the curb.”
“I was flirting, I wanted to catch you, and I plan to seduce you.” Her eyes smolder at my words. “However, there will be no kicking to the curb. More like tying you to my bed to keep you with me.”
Her eyes widen. “You tie a lot of women to your bed?”
“Not to keep them, and never in my bed. Never. The only person who has ever slept in my bed is me. In fact, the only women who have been in my house are my family and extended family. My sister’s best friends, Stacy, Lauren, and Cassidy are like sisters to me.”
“I bet family functions are full of chaos and good music.” She laughs.
“You have no idea. They all keep having kids, and our brood just keeps growing. My mom has adopted all of them. Her list of kids and grandkids is long as hell,” I say fondly.
“I always wanted a big family.”
“Yeah? How many kids?” I ask her. I’ll give her as many as she wants. I’m hoping for a high number. My nieces and nephews have been good training for when I have my own.
“At least two, maybe more. Kids are expensive, so I want to be able to provide for them.” She shrugs.
I’ve got that covered, baby. “We can start with two.” For the second time today, she chokes when taking a drink.
“We?”
“You heard me, Samantha.” I wink at her.
She tilts her head to the side, studying me. I don’t know what she’s looking for, but she must find it because a slow smile pulls at her lips. “We can start with two,” she agrees.
I want to beat on my chest and shout to the world that this beautiful woman is mine and agreed to give me two babies, but I refrain. Instead, I slide a slice of pizza on her plate. “Eat up, baby. Royce will be shitting bricks if I bring you back late again.” I say again because we were two minutes late yesterday. Even though my girl came to work an hour early to work on a project, his broody CEO self was still standing next to her desk, arms crossed over his chest, toe tapping against the tile floor when we got back. I took my time kissing my girl goodbye before blowing a kiss to my best friend. He thinks he’s the master of hiding his emotions, but no way could he hide the humor in his eyes.