I furrow my brow. “Nonsense. Stop that. That’s not true.”
She presses her hand to my chest. “No, I want to say this. I can be foolish and silly sometimes.”
“Silly in a good way,” I insist.
Her lips quirk. “Thanks, but silly in a bad way, too. I know that. That’s just…part of who I am. Sometimes I’m going to make embarrassing mistakes or have it less together than I’d like. And I will probably never be as cool as you are.”
I start to scoff again, but she continues, “I hope that’s okay. I want to be open and honest with you. I just want to be…me. And for you to be you. And to know we’ll forgive each other when we fall short and maybe even love each other more for it.”
My heart soars. I came to New York determined to keep my dating life casual and uncomplicated. But that determination is long gone. I want complicated. I want happy and sad, rain and shine, good and bad with this woman.
“I want all of those things, with you and only with you. Always with you.” I run my knuckles along her cheek. “And I think you’re the cool one.”
She huffs. “Yeah?”
“The fucking coolest.” I tuck her hair behind her ear. “You’re wonderful, even when you’re messy.”
Her smile looks like she’s starting over, learning to let go. “Thank you. I’m going to do a better job of that—being okay with a little mess. I hear it makes you a better, happier person.” She arches a playful brow. “Not to mention girlfriend.”
I lean in and press a soft kiss to those lips I love. “You’re already the best girlfriend, but I love this plan. And I love you. All of you. I didn’t just fall in love with the outside, you know. I’m mad for that fierce, brave, and loyal heart of yours. And I’m going to keep it safe, Gigi. I promise.”
“Good.” Her breath hitches and her eyes shine. “Because it’s yours, West. It’s all yours.”
I cup her cheeks, drawing her in close for a kiss as night falls across my adopted city.
Neither of us won the day, but as I kiss the woman I adore, I know I’m taking home the biggest prize of all.
Once we reach my place, we fall together onto the couch.
Her dress comes off. Her bra. Her knickers. My trousers. All our clothes vanish.
Then my Gigi straddles me and drops down on top of me deliciously. I fill her in one hot thrust, savoring the tightness, feeling like I’ve come home. I run my hands up her back, loving the soft slide of her skin. I make love to her and do all the things we like best.
I smack her arse, pull her hair, and kiss her madly. I glide a hand between her legs, touching her where she wants me most.
Like I did the first night. Like I intend to every night.
It’s a gift when the woman you love shows you all the pieces of herself, and I mean to treasure every part of Gigi.
To treasure her.
To give her love and a ridiculous number of orgasms.
After number five or six, I take her hand, clasping it as I catch my breath with my cock still buried inside her. “You are my favorite thing about New York. Aside from that T-shirt we won on our first date, of course.”
She nods seriously. “Understandable. That’s a sweet shirt.”
“Not as sweet as you are.” I kiss her neck and murmur against her warm skin, “Is it okay that I can’t get enough of you?”
“No,” she teases. “I demand to be sent home right away. No more orgasms, no strip Scrabble in the library, no champagne in the claw-foot tub.”
I pull back to gaze down at her with a wicked grin. “I’m going to destroy you at strip Scrabble.”
“Not if I destroy you first,” she says, her eyes glittering.
“You’re a very bad woman. You know that?”
She cups my face. “How can I help it, when you make it feel so good? Now, get dressed and take me to your library, you sexy beast, and let’s see how fast I can get you naked again.”
We do just that.
And it’s very bad.
And oh-so-good.
And something I hope lasts for a very long time, indeed.
31
Gigi
Four months later…
* * *
“No. I refuse to cave under your interrogation tactics!” Abby crosses her arms and sits on the wooden stool in the corner of the courtyard behind Tea and Empathy, shivering in the evening breeze. “West will have my head if I tell you anything except that he’ll be here by seven.”
“No, he won’t,” I say. “He’ll have your head if he finds out you and Eduardo are still having sex in the basement before he gets here every morning.”
Her eyes go wide. “You wouldn’t.”
“Of course I wouldn’t.” I bat my lashes. “As long as you tell me what West was up to this morning.”