Hooked (Never After, #1)(73)

“Romantic.”

I spin at the voice, Smee waltzing into the room.

“Yes, well, I guess you could say I’m turning over a new leaf.” I give him a tight smile.

His eyes spark as he steps toward me, his head tilting as he takes me in. “You really care for her, don’t you?”

My chest twinges, but I nod. I’m not one to speak of emotions plainly, but I imagine it’s rather obvious the way I feel, especially when we’re here, in my home. There’s no sense in trying to deny it. “She has come to be paramount to my happiness.”

“Hmm.” Smee stops in front of the bouquet, leaning in to smell the roses. “Well,” he sighs, straightening. “I’ve been waiting a long time for you to bring someone here.”

My brows lift. “Oh?”

He grins. “To see you happy, I mean.”

Unbuttoning my suit jacket, I slip it off, setting it on the back of one of the kitchen barstools. “To be honest, I don’t quite know what to do with myself.” I run a hand through my hair. “We didn’t necessarily get off on the best foot.”

Smee chuckles. “Sometimes, boss man, you just have to be patient and let everything play out.”

I rub the scruff of my jaw, nodding at his words.

“Is she here?” I ask.

He angles his head toward the bedroom. “I don’t think she’s left all day.”

The urge to see her is too strong to resist, so I rise, pausing before I hit the hallway. “Smee,” I say.

“Yes, sir?”

“You’re a good man. And I appreciate everything you do. I’m sure I don’t tell you enough.”

He inclines his head, and I make my way to the woman who’s become the center of my universe.





41





Wendy





I chickened out and didn’t go The Vanilla Bean, not wanting to come face-to-face with an angry, outspoken Angie. If her text messages are any indication, she’s not exactly happy with me, assuming that I no-showed and dipped, deciding I didn’t need the money. So, I took the coward’s way out and sent her a text instead. She hasn’t replied.

Not that I blame her, from her perspective, it seems like I’m a flake, a temporary fixture, leaving them all high and dry. And maybe it’s for the best that I allow them to remember me that way. I’m not sure I can come up with an excuse as to why I disappeared, other than the truth. Somehow, I don’t think showing up and telling them that I was held hostage, but it’s okay because I think I’m in love with the kidnapper would go over well.

I scoff, rolling my eyes and leaning back on James’s bed, laughing as I remember one of the first conversations we had here. Joking about Stockholm syndrome, of all things. Talk about the irony.

A giggle bursts out of me just as the door opens and James walks in, his eyes hollow and haunted.

“What’s so funny, pretty girl?” he asks, coming to sit next to me on the bed. His hand reaches out, brushing underneath my eyes, and my insides melt like butter from his words and his touch.

I grin. “I’m just thinking about the first time I woke up in here, do you remember?”

He leans in, brushing his lips against mine. “I remember every single moment between us, darling.”

“Well… isn’t it kind of funny that we talked about nice kidnappers, and then you went all Hook on me and did it?”

His brow lifts.

I laugh again. “I’m just saying.” My hand flies up. “It’s funny when you think about it.”

He tilts his head. “Are you alright?”

Sighing, I lean against the pillows. “I’m fine. Just trying to find some humor from our less-than-ideal start. What a story for the grandkids, huh?”

His eyes flare and I realize what I just said, my chest pulling. “Not that I think we’re going to have kids, or that they’ll have kids. It’s just a phrase, really. I know we’re still super new, even though I mean we are technically living together, aren’t we?”

A smile grows on his face and he stands, stripping out of his suit and climbing in the bed, hovering over me. “I’m not sure I’ve ever heard you ramble before, darling.”

I lean back, his body weight settling on top of mine.

“For the record.” He dips his head down, the tips of his hair tickling my neck as he presses kisses to my skin. “I would give you the world. You simply have to ask. You want kids? Done.” He presses his lips to my jaw. My stomach tightens. “You want to stay here and never work again?” Another kiss, this time just beneath my ear. “Done.”

My core flutters, heat spreading through me.

“You want to watch the world burn?”

“Let me guess, you’ll set it on fire?” I ask.

He chuckles, the sound vibrating through me and settling into my bones. “No, darling. I’ll hand you the match, and stand at your back, watching you become queen of the ashes.”

My breath stalls at his words. At what he’s really saying. And that, as morbid as it seems, hits me in the center of my chest, making warmth spread with every beat of my heart.

Because James sees me as his equal. As someone worthy to stand at his side.