I’m insane.
“Don’t let her disappointment get in the way of your life. You do what you want, what makes you happy. She’s always trying to boss you around, and it’s ridiculous, Susanna! You’re a grown-ass woman. Be a boss bitch and tell her to mind her own business,” Evie says.
“Have you been reading BuzzFeed articles again?” Whenever she says grown ass woman and boss bitch, I figure she’s been reading up on the internet.
“They are my favorite articles to read when I’m feeling down! We all need a pick-me-up, and today, I am your pick-me-up. Cancel the dinner plans. Do your own thing. Enjoy your time with that delicious man before he hops onto a plane and flies back to California, never to be seen again. You need to savor him, my friend.”
We end the call and I immediately look up the article online. Not much is said, and the photo looks like it was snapped as we left the restaurant last night. I am beaming up at him and he is looking down at me like he definitely wants to eat me up.
Yet Evie’s words stay with me after our call is finished. Soon Cannon will be hopping on a plane and flying back to California, leaving me all alone for days. Weeks. Months.
Forever.
I can hardly bear the thought.
Feeling depressed, I open the bathroom door to find Cannon sitting up in bed, looking bloody magnificent with the sheets pooled around his waist, his bare chest on blatant display. He’s scratching the back of his head, his golden-brown hair messy, his biceps bulging like always, his skin dark against the white bedding.
He’s like my every secret fantasy come to life. He’s just so…unbelievably beautiful. And kind. And sexy. And giving. And thoughtful. And amazing.
Oh, I’ve got it sooooo bad.
“What’s going on?” he asks, his voice low and raspy, making me shiver. His hand drops from his head while I continue to stand in the doorway. “Sus? You all right?”
I think of my mother’s demand, how she wants us to come to dinner tonight, and I know she’ll ruin everything. I think of the photo in the newspaper, and wonder what other papers and online sources might have said about us.
“When do you fly back home?” I ask.
He frowns. “Tomorrow afternoon.”
My heart sinks. One more day. That’s all I have left. Do I really want to waste these last hours with Cannon by going to dinner at my parents’ estate and watching my mother interrogate him until he flees the house running and screaming like a maniac?
I think not.
“We have to make the most of today,” I tell him as I start to approach the bed.
His gaze falls, landing on my chest, and I know he’s staring at my breasts. “I’d rather stay in.”
“Really?” I mock pout as I join him on the bed, scooting closer so I can climb into his lap, straddling him. The sheet is gathered between us as a sort of barrier, but I can still feel his erection beneath the fabric. “Don’t you want to go out and see the sights?”
He grabs my breasts in both hands and presses them together. “This is all the sight I need to see.” He bends his head and licks at my cleavage, making me giggle.
“Cannon, no. Don’t you want to ride the London Eye? Go to Buckingham Palace? Check out the Tower of London? Cruise the River Thames?” I can hardly think, what with the way he keeps massaging and kneading my breasts. I feel like I’ve become his personal playground and he never wants recess to end.
“If that’s what you want to do, I’m game. But if you want to stay in this room all day and mess around, I’m game for that too. Wherever you are is where I want to be.” He slips his fingers beneath my chin and tilts my head up so our gazes meet. His eyes are sincere, and full of a sort of longing too. “It seems like all we do is mess around, but I want you to know that I see beyond the sex stuff.”
“The sex stuff?” I sort of want to laugh at what he’s saying, he’s so cute.
“Yeah. I see you.” He drops a quick kiss on the tip of my nose. “And I like you. You’re sweet and you’re funny and you’re…genuine. That’s what I like best about you. There’s nothing fake here. What I see is what I get.”
“I’m a mess,” I confess, suddenly embarrassed. My cheeks are hot at his thoughtful words. I guess I don’t take compliments very easily. “I look terrible after last night’s…escapades.”
“You look beautiful. You are beautiful, inside and out.” This time he kisses me on the lips, a slow, lingering kiss that steals my breath. “You’re right. Let’s go out and see the sights for a little bit. Like that London Eye thing.”
My head is swimming at all of the sweet things he just said to me, and I try to focus.
“I’ve never been on it,” I confess.
“Really?” He sounds surprised.