The Deal (London Suits 0.50)
She smiled against my lips. “It’s the ice cream.” Unwinding her arms from around me, she lay back, resting her head against the arm of the sofa. “Go on, I know you’re dying to do it.”
“How did you know?” I sat up and leaned over the edge of the sofa to pick up the tub from the floor, carefully placing it on the coffee table.
“Because I know you.” She lay still for a moment, just staring up at me with a smile on her face, before propping herself up on her elbows and reaching across to the coffee table. She grabbed the tub and dug the spoon into the melting ice cream.
“Open wide.” I opened my mouth, and she placed the spoonful of creamy goodness on my tongue. Putting the tub back down, she crawled into my lap, grasping my face and kissing me, sliding her tongue into my mouth. She moaned and kissed me harder.
“You taste amazing.”
“It’s the ice cream.” I repeated her earlier words.
“Want some more?”
“Yes.”
We finished the entire tub.
Later that night, as she lay wrapped in my arms, fast asleep, I looked around my room, illuminated by the soft glow of the city lights, at her clothes strewn over various surfaces, her shoes piled in a heap by the door, the bedside table on her side of the bed piled with books and theatre programs. I smiled to myself as I stroked my fingers through her hair, my eyes drifting shut. My world had been turned upside down by this woman, and I didn’t regret a thing. She’d changed me for the better, and now? I couldn’t imagine a life without Avery in it.
Epilogue
AVERY
Two months later…
I cuddled up to Ethan in the back of the yellow taxi cab, watching the Manhattan skyline out of the window. “I can’t believe we’re really here.”
He pulled me closer. “Believe it.”
“You’re amazing. I can’t believe you arranged all this.”
Back when Ethan had surprised me with the envelope in his office, I’d been blown away by his generosity in booking this trip—and the fact he’d told me it came with no strings attached. There was no one else I’d rather share this experience with, though, and I couldn’t wait to immerse myself in the sights and sounds of New York City with the man that I’d fallen for.
“I wanted you to know how much you mean to me.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. “I honestly have no words.”
“Seeing how happy you are is enough for me.”
How did I get so lucky?
The day continued to get better and better. Once we’d checked into our boutique hotel, I perched on the edge of the bed as I described to Ethan all the things I wanted to see. His face grew decidedly more amused as I talked and talked, and when I paused for breath, he held up a finger.
“Hang on for one minute.”
I gave him a sheepish grin. “Sorry, I’m just excited.”
“I know you are. Come here.” I crossed the room and stepped into his arms, and he kissed me. “Listen, I have an itinerary here. This is what we’re going to do.”
“An itinerary? Really?” I raised a brow at him. “Won’t that take the fun out of it?”
“I don’t think it will. Have a look.”
He handed me his phone, and I scrolled down the neatly typed list, then turned to him in shock.
“This is everything I’ve just been talking about.”
“I know,” he smirked, gently extracting his phone from my hand. “I thought to myself, what would Avery like to do, here in New York? And I took the liberty of putting together a list, so I could make sure we didn’t miss anything.”