Axel (Carolina Reapers 1)

Not so agonizing.

No.

These past few weeks had been some of the best in my life. The job was fantastic, and me and the girls had made fast friends with Echo, and there was just something so damn wonderful about being surrounded by strong, supportive women.

Plus, the home I had sneered at on day-one had now become this warm sanctuary I was eager to return to after a hard day’s work. Even if the furthest I got with Axel was in my hottest dreams. Still, having him in the bed next to me, his scent enveloping me, his warmth radiating beside me…it had filled those hollow places inside me so much I rarely noticed them anymore.

“I’m so confused,” Faith said, shooting a glance to Axel before returning her attention to me. “It…doesn’t make sense.”

Harper nodded her agreement, but Echo…Echo rolled her eyes.

“What was that?” I asked, draining my drink.

She shook her head.

“Out with it.” I leaned my elbows on the bar, giving her my full attention.

She mimicked my movement, so close only me and the girls could hear her. “I just had a wild idea.”

My brows shot up. “Listening.”

“Now, this may sound crazy, but why don’t you date him?” She laughed softly, never breaking our gaze.

“What?” I tilted my head.

She sighed. “Langley, you know I adore your control-freak, lady-boss ass, but try to take a step outside this contracted business arrangement for a second.”

I tapped my empty glass but motioned for her to continue. She gave me a light pour and continued.

“He asked you to marry him because you said you were done dating. You told him all you wanted was to be married because you were so exhausted from the idea of dating again. So, he gave you what you wanted.”

“And?” I took a sip, totally clueless.

“Have you given him what he wants?”

I sank slightly in the barstool while Harper and Faith pressed their lips together and found the other side of the bar incredibly interesting.

“Fucking hell,” I said, sighing. “I’m a complete bitch.”

Echo reached across the bar, laying her hand over my forearm. “Hey,” she said. “I’m the honorary holder of that title here.”

I laughed.

“Seriously,” she said. “You’re not a bitch. You’re a businesswoman treating this marriage like a business. It’s natural for you. But, Axel? It seems like he’s looking for more than a surface level plan. He wants to go deeper. Which means you need to meet him there for you both to get what you want.”

I sucked my teeth. “When he asked me…I thought it was a ploy to have guilt-free sex for six months straight. I honestly never thought he’d actually want to get to know me.”

Faith snorted, and Echo cocked a brow at me. “I can see that,” she said, flashing me a smirk as she took her hand back. “Why would anyone want to get to know a Harry Potter-loving, career-driven, intelligent, sexy AF woman with a killer sense of humor?”

My throat tightened, and I swallowed hard.

“You’re incredibly perceptive,” Harper said. “Do you have degrees in psychology?”

Echo cleared her throat, shaking her head. “The only degree I have is in mixology. Tell me another person who makes your coveted appletinis as well as me?”

“No such person exists,” Harper said, cheersing Echo with said appletini.

“You’re a good egg,” Faith said, smiling at Echo, who shrugged and focused on me.

“So?” she asked. “What are you going to do?”

A smile shaped my lips, and I fished my cell from my bag. “I’m going to date my husb—omigod!!” I jolted out of my barstool as I read the text on the screen.

“What is it? What’s happening?” Echo asked, her eyes scanning me as I gaped at my phone, happy tears filling my eyes.

“Langley?” Axel’s voice sounded behind me, his hand on my back.

I smiled up at him, turning the cell so he could see the text. “My lawyer,” I said. “They’ve ruled that I have full rights and official custody of Hufflepuff!”

The girls clapped and cheered, and before I knew what I was doing, I threw my arms around Axel’s neck, so damn happy to know that the next time I went to Seattle, I could legally obtain my beloved tabby.

Axel held me to him, my feet off the floor. “That’s wonderful, min enda kärlek,” he said before returning me to my feet. Faith’s eyebrows rose, recognition clicking in her eyes, and I made a mental note to ask her what those damn words meant. I’m sure Lukas had taught her a few Swedish terms and Axel had been calling me that since our first trip in Sweden.

“Drinks on me!” I hollered, the Reapers clapping at my declaration. Axel just laughed, and Echo gave me a pointed look.

Right.

The idea I’d had before I’d gotten sidetracked. Something special. Something that would be solely for Axel.

I turned to him, placing a hand on his chest. Butterflies flapped in my stomach, and I almost laughed at my coiling nerves. I’d slept in the same bed as this man for seven weeks, how could I be shy now?