She sighed. “Thank God.”
“Love that you love my family, baby girl,” he told her. “Love it even more that they love you. Think they might love you more than me.”
She had to giggle at that. “At least we don’t have to worry about how to pay for the house thanks to all the money I inherited from Spencer.”
That money made her feel uneasy. Like she somehow didn’t deserve it. She’d been shocked to learn she was the only beneficiary in his will. She’d been even more surprised to learn that her parents had set up a trust for her that she’d been supposed to come into when she was twenty-one. However, Spencer had been left in charge of the trust and had kept it from her all this time.
West tensed, scowling at her. “We’re not using that money to build our house.”
“Well, why not?”
“Because I provide for this family.” He sat up.
She sighed and sat, facing him. “West, that’s horribly old-fashioned.”
“Don’t care. I’m paying for the house. You need something, I will get it for you. No arguments.”
“Just because you say that doesn’t mean I won’t argue.”
“You’re wasting your breath if you do.”
She huffed out a breath. “Well, what do you expect me to do with all that money?”
“Don’t know. Don’t care.”
Lord help her.
“Do you think I can’t support you, sunshine?” he asked in a low voice.
Jeez, the male ego was a fragile thing.
“I know you can. This isn’t about your ability to support me. And I’d like to point out that I can support myself. With or without the money I inherited.” Not that she’d actually held a job for more than a few weeks before, but she was smart and a hard worker.
“I know you can. But you don’t have to. I have plenty of money, sunshine. We don’t need your brother’s.”
“But—”
“Keep pushing me, and you’ll go back over my knee,” he growled.
“You are so infuriating sometimes!”
“Just sometimes?” he teased.
“Fine. Okay. I guess I’ll figure out something else to do with it. Maybe I can set up a charity for abused women.”
That wasn’t a bad thought. It would be a good way to put that money to use.
He grabbed hold of her, pressing her onto her back on the bed and lying next to her on his side. “That’s my girl. You’ll think of something.” He kissed her lightly. “You are so beautiful. So sexy. Damn, baby, I’ve got myself the sweet life. Men would die to get it and to keep it. And I intend never to do anything to fuck it up. Gonna spend my life making you happy, loving on you, and spanking you when you need it. You will never live in fear so long as I’m breathing. I promise you that.”
The sweet life.
She could live with that.
Acknowledgments
None of this could happen without a lot of help! Thank you so much to everyone who helps take care of miss five so I can get time to write. I’d be lost without you all.
Big thank you to my editor, Eve and the awesome Kim, Jess and Angela for catching all the mistakes I missed.