Page 84 of The Heiress's First Date

I’ve fought hard for every single bit, and I’m not about to stop now.

“Come on,” I nod toward the other side of the apartment, ignoring my fatigue. “You’re really going to like Legolas in this one.”

He actually reminds me a lot of the light-footed elf. They both possess an unearthly grace. And he might have been born with a highly polished silver spoon in his mouth, but it’s obvious that he’s willing to fight for what he wants.

Which is Katherine.

I need to remember that.

On the way down the wide hall, he pauses in front of the collage wall.

“They’re just snapshots from my travels.” I’m not a great photographer, but when I saw this expanse of wall, I knew I wanted to see mementos from my trips. All the places I’ve gone. There’s plenty of space left for all the places I’ll go in the future.

“Impressive.”

“I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“Oh yeah?” He steps away from the picture wall and follows me past the theater room.

I second-guess myself every step of the way. Is this too forward? Will he think I’m weird?

Shrugging off the doubt, I reach for the doorknob.

“You don’t have a life-sized cardboard cutout of Aragorn, do you?” King teases.

“You wish.”

“I mean...” He shrugs, lips curling up.

“I could wait until Katherine returns, but I don’t want you thinking... I know I had a bit of a freak out after our run.”

“When you went radio silent?” he inserts.

“Yeah.” Unease creeps over my shoulders. “That’s over now. I mean, mostly?—”

“Open the door, Gabriel.”

A spike of pure lust shoots through my veins, followed by an immediate acquiescence. What the actual fuck? When did his voice get so deep and... dominant?

I shove the door open, revealing the mini-makeover I had my team complete this afternoon. A yoga mat. A small sectional sofa. A side table by the window where his little succulent sits.

“You can do whatever you want in here. Decorate or whatever. I just wanted you to have a space of your own.”

He shoulders past me, striding to the middle of the room, then turns in a full circle. “Seriously?”

Is that a good seriously or a ‘what the fuck’ seriously? I lean against the doorframe, trying to act cool and casual, but there’s a riot raging in me.

He walks over to the table, bends, and inspects the plant. “This is amazing. When? How?”

“This afternoon. It’s incredible what money can do.”

He makes a sound somewhere between a sigh and a scoff, flicking his attention to me.

“You just have a spare room lying around?”

“A few, actually. This used to be two penthouses.”

“And Alex has his own room?”