spent nearly enough time there lately.I’m going to teach you to sail. And there’s a room overlooking the sand that will be perfect for writing. And I have a library.”
The library.
“I saw your library featured in a magazine.”
“Well, now you can see it in real life. My brother bought your book and you have another deadline pressing down on you. A whole career ahead.”
A horrible thought sneaked into her head. “Did you tell him to buy it?”
“No, and once you know my brother, which you soon will given all the Thanksgiving, Christmas and Fourth of July celebrations that stretch ahead of us, you’ll know it wouldn’t have made a difference if I had. He’s as stubborn as I am.”
“So he really did like my book.”
“He loved your book, and he wants more books, so while I’m working during the day, you can write, then we’ll meet up and do exciting things to each other. And if you want to pretend to be your heroine from time to time to practice different positions, that’s fine with me. How does that sound?”
It sounded like a fairy tale.
“You sent it to him. You made my dream come true—”
“You did that.” He kissed her gently. “You did it yourself.”
She eased away just enough to speak. “That apartment you took me to—you told me you were just staying there for a while—”
“That was true. Before now I’ve never spent long enough in a place to be able to call it home.”
“But you
do
own it.”
“If you’re worried, don’t be. We can sell it. In fact, we probably should sell it. We’re going to need a family house.”
“We are?” She felt faint. “Why?”
“Because we’re a family. Eventually we might have babies. Lots of long-legged kids who are going to grow up learning to sail.”
Her eyes filled. “Chase—”
“Don’t cry.” He swept his thumb over her cheek. “I don’t ever want to see you cry. I am going to put bubble wrap on all the sharp edges in our home so you can’t damage yourself.”
She gave a choked laugh. “I’d trip over it.”
“We’ll use cushioned flooring.”
She buried her face in his shoulder. “Chase—”
“Shh—”
She felt his hand on her hair, unbelievably gentle. “I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe it’s real.”
“Why not? This is New York City,” he murmured, “and anything can happen here. You were the one who told me that. Exciting things. So if you say yes to me we can go and live a life of daring and adventure, but the wild affair you wanted will be with each other. How does that sound?”
“It sounds like a dream come true.” She wrapped her arms round his neck. “When does our new life start?”
“Right now, when we walk through that door into Tiffany’s.”
Read on for an extract from SLEEPLESS IN MANHATTAN by Sarah Morgan
“I owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“For misreading the situation the other night. For making things awkward between us. I was—” She hesitated, trying to find the right words. “I was looking for things that weren’t there. I was close to panic and you were trying to distract me. I understand that now. I don’t want you feeling that you have to avoid me, or be careful around me. I’d never wanted that—I—”
“Don’t. Don’t apologize.” He gripped the railing and she noticed his knuckles were white.
“I wanted to clear it up, that’s all. It was a kiss. Didn’t mean anything. Two people trapped in an elevator, one of whom was feeling vulnerable.”
Shut up right now, Paige.
“I know I’m not your type. I know you don’t have those feelings. I’m like your little sister. I get that, so—”
“Oh for—
seriously
?” He interrupted her with a low growl and finally turned to face her. “After what happened the other night you really think I see you as a little sister? You think I could kiss you that way if I felt like that about you?”
She stared at him, her heart drumming a rhythm against her chest. “I
Fae Sutherland, Marguerite Labbe