Page 49 of Light It Up Red

“You seem really on edge, babe. What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry. I just… I’m not used to being alone,” I tell him.

“You’re not alone. I’m here.” He waits for me to slide into the booth before lowering himself down opposite me.

“I know that. Sorry. It’s just going to take a second to get used to.” I smile at him.

“Take all the time you need,” he says.

I pick up the menu and start reading the contents. “What do you feel like having?”

“What I want isn’t on this menu.” Travis smirks, and I feel the blush rise up my chest.

“How about we save that for dessert? Back at the cottage…”

“Or I could lay you across this table, spread your thighs apart, and have your body writhing within seconds of my tongue worshiping that pussy of ours.”

“Ours? When did my body parts become ours?” I laugh while my thighs squeeze together, trying to ease some of the ache the picture he’s painted is causing.

“Since you became mine.”

The waitress comes over to the table, interrupting Travis’s dirty talk. And we both order burgers, fries, and a couple of Cokes.

“So, I got a call from my agent today,” he says.

“What’d he say?”

“I got an offer, a really good one.”

“From?”

“Vancouver.”

My eyes widen and my lips split into a grin. I really am so proud of him. “Travis, that’s fantastic. Why didn’t you tell me sooner? This is what you’ve been waiting for.”

“I haven’t accepted it yet.” He shrugs.

“Why the hell not?”

“Because I wanted to talk to you about it first. This doesn’t just affect me, Lili. I’m not going without you. So if you tell me you can’t leave New York, then that’s where I’ll be staying.”

“Travis, Vancouver is your dream. You are not giving up your dream for me.”

“You are my new dream,” he says.

“We’re going to Vancouver. Call your agent, right now, and tell him you’re accepting that offer.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Or I’m calling Mr. Monroe and telling him myself.”

“Are you sure? You’re really going to come with me?”

I can hear the hope in his voice. I nod. “Yes.”

Travis leans over the table. His hand wraps around the back of my neck as he pulls me closer before his lips slam down on mine. “I fucking love you.”

“I love you too,” I say as excitement over what the future holds for us runs through me.

By the time we return to the cottage, I’m more relaxed. It might have had something to do with the text message I got from Alessandro. He snapped a picture of Travis and me at the diner and sent it through. I honestly thought that coming away without any of my family being around would be easier. I didn’t expect the anxiety it would create. I haven’t told Travis that I called my dad. And I didn’t tell him that my brother and uncle are now in town. I’m hoping that they follow my father’s orders and stay out of sight.

“You wanna jump in the hot tub?” Travis asks me.