Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 25616 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 102(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25616 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 102(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
My cheeks flush, and I try to play it cool, but the truth is—I’m completely in love with this man.
We’ve spent the past two weeks together, not missing one day. His real secretary Cassandra told me he’s taken more time off in the past two weeks than he has in the past decade. I loved hearing that.
But as amazing as it’s been, we both know it’s coming to an end. Willow and Greg return today. In fact, they may be in the city at this very moment.
We haven’t really talked about what’s going to happen next, but I know he wants me to stay.
He’s already made New York feel like home.
His lips are a breath away from mine when there’s a knock at the door.
“Fuck,” he grumbles as I step away, cheeks flushed, pussy aching. “Go away.”
I chuckle as I hurry over to the door and open it.
“Oh my god!” It’s Willow. She’s standing in the doorway with a fresh tan, looking refreshed and more well-rested than I’ve seen her look in a long time. She has a breezy linen jumpsuit on, sunglasses perched on top of her head, and a very startled look on her face.
I jump on her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders.
“What are you doing here?” she whispers in my ear. “Are you in a hostage situation or something?”
I lean back and chuckle as I look at her. “Nothing like that.”
She hasn’t blinked once. She looks at me, then at Logan, and then back to me, not knowing what to think. “What is happening?”
“Logan and I hit it off,” I tell her. “We’re… dating.”
Her mouth drops. “Shut. Up.”
“It’s actually more than that,” Logan says as he comes over and puts his arm around my waist. “We’re in love.”
She’s staring at us in stunned silence. I’m trying not to laugh at the crazed, confused look in her eyes.
“You can close your mouth now,” I whisper to her.
She shuts her mouth, walks over to the chair, and plops down into it, holding her forehead. “Wait. What? Can someone please explain what the hell is going on? You’re dating?”
I sit beside her, take her hand, and tell her everything from the beginning.
“I go away for two weeks and the entire world flips upside down.” She turns to Logan, blinking. “You look… happy.”
“It’s good to see you, Willow,” he says. “You look so relaxed. It suits you well.”
“Thanks,” she says, clearly suspicious. “Hawaii was amazing.”
“I’m glad you had a good time,” he says. “You should take at least one vacation a year. Actually—starting now, I’m making it mandatory.”
She narrows her worried eyes on me. “What did you do to him?” she asks me under her breath.
“I smiled at him once,” I whisper. “He never recovered.”
Willow shakes her head like she’s in some kind of rom-com fever dream. “Okay, well… What else did I miss? Is VANTAGE officially dead?”
“No,” Logan says, leaning against his desk. “I found a solution.”
Willow and I say the same thing at the same time. “You did?”
He turns his attention to me. “You gave me the idea.”
“I did?”
“She did?”
He nods. “Eva isn’t the problem. She just needs to be less robotic. More human. More… fun.”
Willow squints. “So, what? You want to give her a makeover?”
“I want Amber to be her voice,” he says. “Her personality. Her everything.”
I freeze. “Wait—seriously?”
He nods. Wow, I guess I did better on my fake interview than I thought…
Willow studies my face as the wheels in her mind turn. “That’s… actually… a good idea. I can see it.”
“You can?” I say, shocked that I can actually contribute to this giant complicated company in a meaningful way.
“I think it will work,” she says. “I’ll have to ask Greg if she can stay with us—”
“She’ll stay with me,” Logan says like it’s not up for discussion.
Willow looks at me like she still can’t believe it.
But I can.
Logan and I are meant to be together.
We fit so perfectly.
I’m not going back to Vermont. Not now anyway. Not without him.
I’m staying right here as long as this hot, sexy, grumpy CEO will have me.
EPILOGUE
Logan
Twenty-Five Years Later…
It’s the perfect weather for a family weekend.
There’s not a cloud in the sky or a drop of rain in the forecast. The ducks are gliding on the lake, following the two kayakers who are paddling by. I love Vermont. It just feels like home in a way that New York City never did.
I finish adjusting the string lights over the back patio, making sure the last bulb is secure. Amber loves them. She says they make the yard feel like magic. She's always been right about the small touches that make a house feel like home or a moment feel like forever.
She’s inside, humming along to the oldies playlist she’s had on since this morning, probably slicing fruit into a Pinterest-worthy pattern. I can hear her off-key singing drifting through the screen door and it makes me smile. It always does.