“Come stay with me. At least until you figure things out,” I whisper against his lips and he inhales.
“I swear to God, you won’t regret this, Bella, I’m sorry about the shit storm right now, but you know the truth. And soon enough you’ll know all of it.”
I nod against him, wondering what other secrets this man has hidden. My instincts scream at me to ask and demand he tell me, but my mind says to wait and give him time. A door slams causing me to jump.
“Don’t worry, it’s my housekeeper.” He sets me down and kisses the tip of my nose. “I’ll be right back.”
He leaves the bedroom and a lady starts yelling in Spanish at him. He surprises me by speaking back. She starts scraping some things in the trash and he gets a very gentle tone.
“Mia, I’m sorry, she’ll be gone soon. After today, take the rest of the week off paid. You deserve it.”
It’s silent and he walks back into the room looking distant. When his eyes lift to mine, they start to shine with excitement.
“Let’s get out of here, we don’t want to be late.” He moves his luggage and zips the garment bag.
“Sweetie, there’s work to do. I can’t take the rest of the day.”
His face warms at my first term of endearment, but then turns comical. The tips of his lips crease and I get suspicious.
“Babe, Laci and Dana cleared the rest of your day. Let’s go.” He kisses me quickly on the cheek and drags his stuff out of his bedroom. I have no choice but to follow. His housekeeper barely looks up but I see her grin. She shouts something in Spanish again to Max and he laughs at her. Then we head to the elevator.
“What did she say to you?” I ask.
“Don’t fuck up.”
“She didn’t?”
“Oh yeah, she did. And she said she’d see me on Saturday.”
“What’s Saturday?”
“My brother’s birthday dinner. Mia works for my mom and me. She and her family will be at the party this Saturday.”
“That’s so cool. But what about the mess? Will she tell your mother about Erica’s outrage?”
“It doesn’t matter. I will. My mom knows what’s going on with the shit in my life; it’ll be a breath of fresh air for her to meet you. God knows I’ve already talked about you enough.”
His words send shock through me, no way am I meeting his mom. Too soon, too much. We haven’t even slept together yet.
“Babe, you’re getting tense. This Saturday, you’re coming to my mom’s. It’s my middle brother’s birthday. It will be casual and low key. Laci can come if she wants.”
“No, it’s too soon. We aren’t really even dating—” I stop myself because that’s not what I meant to say.
“Excuse me?” he interrupts as the elevator opens. The doors shut as he closes in on me, trapping me against the side railing. He pushes a button and the bell rings then stops. “We aren’t dating? Is that what you said? Because I’m about to move in with you for a few days. I’m fucking crazy about you. You’re going to meet my family this weekend. And very soon I plan to get to know you intimately.”
“Umm,” I squeak, trying to break loose.
“Umm, is not an answer, babe. Yes is the answer. We are dating. And we are dating exclusively. You hear me? Because I swear, you’re the only woman I see when I close my eyes.”
Before I can respond, he pushes the same button and we descend again. I carry his garment bag and he wheels the suitcase looking for a valet.
“I didn’t valet.”
Realization crosses his face. “You were going to leave me?”
“I didn’t know? I had to hear what you had to say,” I say wearily.
“Thank fuck you believe me. It’s bad enough my alternate plan to convince you to give me another chance could have landed me in jail for stalking. I’d hate to fire every valet in this place for letting you get away.”