She smiles, narrowing her eyes. “Are you going to say something?”
“What is there to say?” I smirk. “You wanted me when you were a kid, but I don’t give a damn about who you were when you were in braces. I’m interested in the woman in front of me. Except I will say I’m so, so damn glad you want me as badly as I want you.”
“I do,” she says fiercely. “Although I am a little shocked…”
I groan. “What did I say about demeaning yourself, Maddie? You’re beautiful, smart, funny, sassy—”
“Thank you. So much. Really. But that’s not what I meant.”
“No?”
“I don’t want to be rude.”
“I like it when you’re rude,” I joke. “Go on. You don’t have to be shy.”
“Ha, ha,” she murmurs. “That would be nice.”
“Go on.”
She pauses, stroking a hand through her wonderfully disobedient hair. “Have you ever had a long-term relationship? Have you ever fallen in love, or come close to it? I guess what I’m asking is, am I your first? I’m not asking if you’re a virgin. I know that’s crazy. But your first…”
Love, she almost says. I can sense it.
But she stops herself at the last second like I did.
“I’ve never had a long-term relationship,” I tell her. “When I was younger, I had a few girlfriends, but it was never anything serious. I never felt what I feel with you… never felt anything even close. And then, once we started making money, there were all these…”
“It’s okay,” she says. “You can say it. There were loads of women throwing themselves at you.”
I nod. “Yeah, there were. But I never wanted them. And even if I did, I knew I’d feel uncomfortable getting into a relationship because I didn’t know if they wanted me or they wanted my money. But like I said, I never wanted them, Maddie. It’s like I was waiting for you my entire life.”
She blinks and I realize she’s about to cry. Her eyes shining.
I stand from my chair and walk around the table, lean down and wrap my arms around her. She falls into the hug and I squeeze tightly, getting as close to her as I possibly can.
She whimpers and lets out a sob.
“I’m sorry. It’s just I’ve never felt anything like this either. I can’t believe it’s happening. And I keep thinking about how amazing it would be if we didn’t have to tell dad. Because, Maxton…”
“What is it?” I lean back, wiping the tears from her cheek with my thumb.
“I’m not sure I can tell him. I know we have to. We can’t live the life we want in secret. But I don’t know if I can.”
My stomach drops when I hear the genuine concern in her voice. She’s telling the truth.
“We don’t have to think about that right now,” I tell her.
“But we have to think about it at some point,” she says.
“I know, Maddie. I know. But… Hell, I wish I had all the answers.”
“Come on. I’m ruining our meal.”
I kiss her cheek, tasting her tears, wishing I could take away all her pain. “Whatever happens, I’m always going to be here for you. You’re never going to have to face any of this alone. I promise.”
“I believe you,” she says softly. “And the same goes for you. I’ll always be here for you.”
I return to my place on the other side of the table. “What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I want to take you somewhere. Somewhere far away, where no one knows us, where we can hold hands and not have to worry about having our picture taken.”
“Is there anywhere people don’t know you?”
I shrug. “We could fly to Paris tonight.”
Her jaw drops. “Are you serious?”
“We could take my private jet and just go. I’m fairly well known in the States, but not in France. Or we could go anywhere. Anywhere at all.”
She bites her lip. “But if we do that, we’re going to… you know, aren’t we?”
I smirk. “I love how you can’t even say it. You’re so adorably shy.”
She laughs, and it’s the best sound in the universe, so much sweeter than her laugh as Gen.
“I’ve got class tomorrow. I’ve got to give a big presentation. I would go with you, Maxton, even if it’s crazy. I would. But…”
“No,” I say quickly. “I know how important your studies are to you.”
We’ve talked countless times about her dream to become a game design programmer. She even mentioned how her friend, Jess, is a writer and they dream of developing video games together.
I think about offering to help, but I know my woman.
She wants to do this on her own as much as possible.
“One day, we’re going to look back on this and find it hard to believe how difficult it all seemed. When it’s me and you and our children, in a house full of warmth and happiness, we’re all going to laugh about it.”