Lily
I’ve been up for a while, but I refuse to move. I only have a few hours left in LA and I want to cherish
every minute spent with Gage. I sigh, utterly content. I’m the luckiest girl in the world. Not only from last
night’s post-birthday party sex marathon, but also because yesterday will go down in history as the best
birthday ever.
The only thing preventing me from giving into despair at the prospect of returning to New York is the
plan to move to LA as fast as humanly possible.
I could ask Gage or the sisterhood for some help, but I want to do this on my own. And if there isn’t a
future between us, Gage won’t feel trapped. I’d be crushed, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take. I want to
stand on my own two feet and distance myself from my father.
Behind me, something big and hard grinds into my ass. I thrust my hips back, pressing myself against it.
Mmmm. “Morning,” he says in a gravelly voice. “Morning.” Gage wraps me in his strong arms. A wave
of victory courses through me at the idea he hasn’t been this intimate with a woman in years.
Michaela calls it the power of the magic pussy. It was the cure Gage needed to break the dark spell he was
under. She was pretty drunk when she dropped that little nugget of wisdom in my lap last night. Nadine
and I
laughed so hard, we couldn’t breathe. When I recovered, her revelation made me feel ten feet tall.
Could I be as good for Gage as he is for me? “You’re my safe place––” The words fly out of my mouth
without my permission. I blame too many orgasms for causing my mind to short circuit. “I didn’t mean to
say that.”
“I’m hurt,” he says. Oh, shit. I turn in his arms. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” He kisses my
forehead, my nose, and my lips. “I’m messing with you.” “Not cool.” I pout. “It’s not cool when you say
something and take it back.” I pull my lower lip between my teeth. “I might’ve said too much.” “What if
you didn’t?” I search his eyes. “It’s silly of me to say things like that. I’m leaving today.” I hesitate. “How
can you be my safe place when a country s eparates us?”
“Life is a mental game, angel. Even though we’ll be far apart, I can still be your safe place right here.” He
taps my temple.
I lower my lashes. “I like the sound of that.” “It’s settled,” he says. “That’s how we’ll play it out until I
see you again in three weeks.”
Three weeks? I school my expression. “You’ll be gone a long time.” He brushes my messy hair away
from my face. “Traveling alone can’t be fun,” I say. “Who’s going to ke ep you company? Who will you
have dinner with? Who will you hang out with? Who’s going to listen to you at the end of the day when
you need to vent?” Who will warm your bed?
His eyes narrow, a sliver of green peering at me. “You want me to take you with me?”
Yes. I flash him a goofy smile. “Fisher is going to have my balls if you don’t go back to New York.” I
give him a one-shoulder shrug. He’s right.
Not to mention, how am I going to put my plans into action if I follow him?
He taps the tip of my nose. “I wish I could postpone the trip by a few days and fly with you to New York,
but I can’t. I have a string of publicity appearances in Sweden. Then, I fly to South Korea where I have
many meetings booked. Opening a new market is demanding and requires quite a lot of negotiations.”
Bummer. “On the plus side, my extended trip will benefit you.” I frown my confusion. “How?” “When I
see you again in New York, I’ll be so fucking hungry for you.” He grinds his cock against me. “I’ll fuck
you like an animal.”
“I supposed it’s an acc eptable consolation prize,” I say with the upmost seriousness.
“Cheeky Lily.” Gage hasn’t dropped the G word. The promise of seeing him again the second he’s back
stateside is enough for me. Like Nadine said, I shouldn’t get tripped up by the girlfriend label.
He reaches for his phone. “I’m going to have to go soon.” Why can’t he run his empire from my bed? “I
understand.” “Nadine, you, and I are having dinner tonight with Michaela and Phoenix. Don’t forget.”
“I won’t.” “What are you going to do all day today?” “I received so many incredible gifts, Nadine and I
have to go out later so I can buy an extra suitcase to carry them all. Then, we’re going to spend the
afternoon in Santa Monica and at the Pacific Park amusement park.”
“You’ll have fun.” “I’m looking forward to it.” “Before I go, I have one more gift for you.” My eyes
widen. “Gage. No. You spoiled me enough yesterday. No more gifts.”
“I didn’t give you any gifts yesterday.” “Yes, you did. The incredible party. My favorite cake. Flying my
best friend from Paris. My favorite flowers, straight from Paris. All those are gifts.”
“I beg to differ.”
You’re too generous. “You’re impossible.” “Sorry, angel, but the gift I got you is non-refundable. So, you
have to acc ept it.”
“Fine.” “Don’t be that excited.” Who charters a private jet to fly flowers from another country? “You
don’t do anything in half measures.”
“Why would I waste my time?” Spoken like a high achiever. “Can I get a little enthusiasm, please?” I sit
up in bed, pulling the sheets to cover my nakedness. “Oh my God, Gage, a gift? Yay.”
He shakes his head. He gets out of bed and rewards me with an eye-popping view of his fabulous ass.
He’s back in a flash, holding an envelope. He slides into bed next to me and hands it over. I take it from
him and stare at it. “I’m afraid to open it.” He elbows me. “Don’t be a chicken.” I acc ept his dare. With
quick hands, I tear through the white envelope, and pull a white card in heavy stock paper from it.
When I flip the card, I stop breathing. Three black letters inscribed on it have my heart racing. “You
should read the note inside,” he says. My hands are shaking when I open the card. My eyes scan the
words. Holy Jesus. My bewildered gaze finds his. “Is this for real?” “Remember, I’m the guy who doesn’t
do things in half measures.” He borrows my words from earlier.
“This is a dream come true.” “You won’t be in front of the camera, but it’ll still be a hell of an
experience.”
“Are you kidding me? I get to spend a day at the QVC headquarters, shadowing different producers. I’ll
meet the hosts and the spokespeople of
the products that will be featured on the day I’m there. It doesn’t get any better than this. How did you
manage this tour de force?”
“Larkin had the right connections. It’s an open invitation, so you’ll have to coordinate things with a point
person.”
There are no words to describe how thrilled I am about this gift. “You’ll have to thank Larkin on my
behalf.” “Consider it done. If one day, you pursue your dream and produce your signature stainless steel
necklace, you’ll have a foot in the door.”
This man. I open my mouth to thank him, but instead, I burst into tears. Gage shifts on the bed so he’s
facing me. “Hey.” He wipes away my tears with his thumb. “Why are you crying? This gift was supposed
to make you happy.”
“It does.” “If this is your happy face, I don’t want to see your sad face.” “Mama—” I hiccup. I’m so
emotional, I can’t speak for several beats. “Take your time.” “She would’ve lost her mind,” I say. “She
would’ve wanted to hear about every little detail, from the color of the carpet to how many cracks I could
count in the asphalt in the parking lot.” More hiccupping. “I won’t be able to share any of that with her.”
He takes my hand into his, brings it to his lips, and kisses it gently. “I get it. It took me a long time to quell
the urge to call my mom to share milestones after she died.” He pauses. “I don’t know how it works in
heaven, but I’m going to borrow a saying from my sister Sara. She always reminded me Mom was
watching from up above and experiencing my milestone moments through our soul connection. It
sounded woo-woo to me, but I went along with it. It helped me deal with the finality of never seen my
mom again.”
His beautiful words make me cry harder.