Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 59954 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59954 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
I started the car and put it in drive, my eyes on her the whole time. My windows were tinted, but it seemed almost as though she could feel my gaze because she kept looking my way since her eyes met mine every time. It took everything in me to finally drive away. With every mile, it became clearer that I’d just made the biggest mistake of my life.
By the time I reached my destination, I’d realized what a huge fucking mistake I’d made. I called my secretary and had her make my apologies to my associates as I squealed tires and drove like a bat out of hell back to the fruit stand.
It took me a couple of days to convince her father to let me spend some time with her. If he’d pushed back even for one more day, I would have simply taken her. But it was clear that my girl loved her family, and I didn’t want to cause a rift. Still, for those two days, I was never far from her. I couldn’t stand it. I’d even found a back road onto their land and had spent a good portion of every night lurking near her window. Watching her sleep, knowing she was safe and peaceful, was the only thing that gave me any comfort.
When I was finally allowed to take her on a date, I’d pulled out all the stops, flying her back to NYC in a helicopter. I took her shopping for a dress, then we attended the ballet—since she had ballet slippers hanging in her room and ballerinas on her bedspread—and ended the night with dinner at The Rainbow Room. Throughout the night, she’d had a look of wonder on her sweet face as she chattered constantly. It was adorable and made me confident that my plan was working. I wanted to impress her, to sweep her off her feet and make her fall in love with me. If this was the life she wanted, I would give it to her. She could have anything she wanted, and I made sure she knew it. I also gave her light, teasing touches all night to get her used to me. From the shivers some of them elicited, I knew she felt the burn between us.
Her sweet innocence and genuine reactions had been refreshing and a huge turn on. But the more I’d gotten to know her, I found myself intrigued by her quick wit and intelligence. She was my little country bumpkin, and I hoped she’d never change.
When we returned to her town, I’d driven towards her home but pulled over a few miles from the house. Unable to stand it even another minute, I’d unbuckled her belt and dragged her onto my lap. A simple touch of our lips was all it took to have my body engulfed in flames. I wanted more—so much more—I wanted it all. But, not like that. I decided right then that our first time would be on our wedding night.
The next day, I had a talk with her parents. I told them I wanted their blessing but that either way, I was going to marry Hazel. I promised to take care of her, to love her, to give her everything her heart desired. Apparently, my passionate plea convinced them. Then her mother told me that our story wasn‘t so different from their own.
They called my girl into the room, and I got down on one knee to propose. Her whole face lit up, and she threw herself into my arms with a shout of “Jamison! Yes! Yes!” I laughed and stood, spinning her around.
I gave her a chaste kiss, mindful of the parental eyes watching us. Then I took the round, five-carat, peach sapphire on a rose gold band covered in tiny diamonds and slipped it on her delicate finger. Hazel had gasped, her face awash with shock. After a moment, her expression turned troubled.
“You don’t like it?” I asked.
“It’s lovely,” she responded, her tone genuine. But it didn’t erase the look on her face.
“You don’t have to keep it, Hazel,” I assured her. “You can have whatever you want. This just reminded me of you, peaches.”
Hazel’s expression had brightened, and she sent a soft look my way before shrugging sheepishly. “It’s so big and expensive. What if I lose it?”
I couldn’t help it; I threw my head back and laughed so hard that a tear leaked from the side of one eye. When I finally got ahold of myself, Hazel was watching me with an annoyed glint in her eye and her hands on her hips.
“I’m sorry, peaches. I guess we haven’t really talked about it, but you are officially a billionaire, sweetheart. If you lose it, we’ll just buy you another one.”
Her jaw had dropped, and it was so adorable I had to sweep her up into my arms and kiss her until her father cleared his throat and tapped me on the shoulder.