Reckless In Love (The Maverick Billionaires #2)(74)
“In the limo?” Oh God...just thinking of the things he could do with his hands and mouth made her want to drag him off to the limo, pro football players and their commissions be damned.
“Why do you think I brought the stretch instead of the helicopter? That way I don’t have to wait until we’re home to put my hands all over you.”
She truly did love everything about him—the way he smelled, the way he tasted, the way his mind worked. Which was why she made herself put her feet down and slip the shoes back on. “Okay, let’s do it. But only because you’ve promised me a very sexy reward when we’re done.”
He raised a wicked eyebrow and whispered to her, sending a delicious shiver through her. “Oh baby, it’s going to be the best damned reward you’ve ever had.”
He was her reward. Not just his touches or his kisses, but simply being with him.
She would keep going, for him, because he wanted so many good things for her. And maybe there would come a day when they wouldn’t have to hustle, when they wouldn’t have to worry about hoarding every dime for her mother, when she could create for herself instead of for everyone else.
They stood and she looped her arm through his. She’d get through this last introduction. Then he was all hers. Until the next party, at least.
There was no doubt in her mind and heart that she loved him.
Loved him so much that somehow, some way, she’d figure out how to endure his glittering celebrity world.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Charlie’s scent filled the truck. Sebastian would never get enough of her. “I’m glad you could carve out some time away from your work to help out today.”
Glad was the world’s biggest understatement as they pulled into a San Jose neighborhood at seven o’clock on Wednesday morning. The community had planned the group home for teens transitioning out of the foster care system to provide a clean, safe, temporary environment while they looked for jobs and permanent housing. Unfortunately, the bond measure to raise the building funds hadn’t passed, so Daniel had stepped in. Anyone working at his Bay Area stores was encouraged to lend a hand, and he’d volunteered the Mavericks too. He’d even flown Susan and Bob out from Chicago because they wanted to be involved. Their flight had been delayed, getting in extremely late last night, so they would arrive a little later.
Sebastian had looked forward to working on the community project. But it was all a million times better knowing that he could look up to find Charlie smiling across the room, that she was just a step away, a touch away.
It meant everything to him that she kept giving him the chance to get things right. Every stumble with her killed him—yet he’d done it again when he’d sounded as if he was questioning her judgment about her mother’s new nursing home. What the hell was wrong with him? He knew Charlie needed him to believe in more than just her art. She needed him to trust both her choices and her financial independence. He didn’t want to take over. He simply wanted the best for Francine. But wasn’t he the one who preached to thousands of people that while it was important to support someone, it was equally important to know when to let them be free and be true to themselves? Which meant he had to stop circumventing her decisions when it came to her mother.
If he didn’t want to lose Charlie, he had to let her be free to be herself.
And he wanted Charlie’s love more than anything in his entire life. So he’d worked extra hard the past couple of weeks to let her do things her way and hadn’t stepped in to fix everything for her the way he so badly wanted to.
“I’m excited about helping out.” She squeezed his hand as he parked outside the big white shell of a house. The street was packed with work trucks and panel vans. “Even better,” she added with a quirk of her lips, “working here today means we won’t have time for another big party tonight.” She climbed out, smiling as she closed the truck door.
She may have been teasing him, but he also heard the thread of truth in it. Since the benefit at the Opera House, they’d been to four galas in three evenings. Things with her career were progressing beyond his expectations—so well, in fact, that he’d started to worry Charlie was pushing herself too hard. He’d told her people would wait, but it was as if she feared the projects would dry up if she didn’t complete them as quickly as possible.
But Charlie was as independent a spirit as he’d ever come across, and he’d sworn not to get in her way, letting her make her own choices. He would not screw up with her again.
Still, it was getting harder to keep his mouth shut, especially this morning, when he’d noticed the dark shadows beneath her eyes after they’d made love. Fear had hit him like a knife to the rib cage, fear that she was sick, that she was hurting, that she was burning herself out. He couldn’t stand the thought of anything or anyone hurting Charlie. It was why he’d been hustling up so much business for her—if she wouldn’t take his money, he had to do something to ease her financial concerns. But was he going about things the wrong way?
Could he be the one hurting her?
The thought that he might be toxic to Charlie had hit him harder than the mere slice of a knife. He felt completely gutted by the possibility.
For the past hour, he’d mulled over ways to broach his concerns without freaking her out—hell, he knew he had issues, and odds were his fears were nothing more than shadows popping up in the dark—but for a guy who talked for a living, it was pathetic to realize he had no clue how to phrase his thoughts. Just as his sketches were never quite right, now he couldn’t find the perfect words to make sure his behavior didn’t destroy the person he’d come to love most in the world.