“The hell you will. You keep your hands to yourself.”
I pinched his arm very gently, and he rolled his eyes. “I promise you’re not dreaming. We’re going to have an amazing time together, and I set up a meeting with an adoption agency for a few days after we get back.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“No, I’m not.”
He grabbed my hand. “We don’t have to move that quickly. We…”
“It’s a preliminary meeting. I want us to be approved so whenever we’re ready for a child that part of the process is done. I want you to know that I’m committed to giving you your dream.”
Corbin sniffed. “I better not ever hear you criticize me for watching sappy movies again.”
I kicked his seat.
When we reached the airport, Corbin drove us right up to where the plane was being prepared for takeoff. He hopped out of the car as soon as he put it in park. “I’ll go and make sure everything is set.”
“Thank you, Corbin,” Henri called.
I was thankful for a moment alone with my fiancé. “You do realize you’re everything to me, right? I knew you were the one almost immediately. I should’ve told you everything from the start instead of fighting it like an idiot.”
“That would likely have scared me in those first days, but none of that matters now. We’re going to get married.”
“And I’m going to give you the house you want and—”
He shook his head. “Your house is the house I want. All I really want is you.”
I kissed him, and he melted against me. I wanted to take him right there in the back of the car, but I could wait. I knew now that we had all the time in the world.
Corbin
While Henri and my brother made out in the back seat, I took their luggage onto the plane and checked the flight manifest. When I left the cockpit, they’d boarded and were looking out at the city. Remington’s arm was around Henri, and they were both laughing. They looked so right together, so relaxed and happy. I wondered if I’d ever feel that way about anyone. My parents loved each other just as deeply, and I’d always admired their relationship, but I wasn’t ready for that. As sweet and warm as it looked, I wasn’t ready to settle down.
At least love had Remington so distracted he hadn’t asked me anything else about how the business at the casino had gone. That was good because I’d driven his precious Ferrari. I’d been begging him to let me take it out on the road for ages. He’d finally given me permission, a sign that maybe he wasn’t going to treat me like a kid forever.
But I’d fucked up. Instead of parking it in an out of the way place like he’d told me to, I’d gotten as close to the boat as I could and enjoyed the looks I got hopping out of the sexy car. While I was inside, making our demands clear to the casino manager, someone had put deep scratches into the side of Remy’s car.
It was obvious the damage was deliberate. It could be random vandalism, but I had a feeling it was retaliation for our tightening control on the casino business. I needed to get ahold of the parking lot surveillance footage to find the culprit, but more importantly, I needed to get Remy’s car fixed. Unfortunately, I only knew one person who could help me: raging asshole, Beaumont LeBlanc.
When I’d taken the souped-up SUV Remington liked to use when his gorgeous car would be far too obvious to Beau, he had treated me like I mattered less than a roach. He refused to do what I said, making me wait and getting me in trouble with Remington, who had blamed me instead of Beau.
Now I needed Beau to do me a favor, and I needed him to keep quiet about it. What price would he exact for that? I was sure it would be steep. Fortunately, I had plenty of my own money.
As I reached the car, my phone rang. When I saw the number, my heart raced, and my hands instantly became sweaty. I nearly dropped the damn phone as I tried to answer. “Corbin Theriot.”
“It’s Beau. I understand you need my assistance.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Ooh. I like you calling me sir. Why don’t you keep that up?”
I bristled. I hadn’t meant to give him the honorific; it had just slipped out. His low voice was demanding. It made me want to do what he said, even if it was against my will.
“I need you to remove some scratches from a sports car.”
“Could you be a little more specific?”
As soon as I said more, he’d know it was Remington’s car. “The situation requires discretion.”
“Did you steal the car?”
That would be a hell of a lot easier to deal with. “Isn’t that what you were in prison for?”