Page 75 of Mr. Edwards

“It’s not what you think; I’m just a little stunned. You’re the second person to ever say those words to me,” I mumble into his chest. “Emma was the first.”

He cups my face, tilting it back to his. “Are you serious?”I nod as my eyes well up again. “I find that hard to believe, you’re such an easy person to love, Carlee.”

Emma has said the same thing, but it makes me wonder why my parents were never able to see what they do.

The pads of his thumbs gently brush over my cheeks, wiping away my tears, and I sniffle. “Thank you for saying that.”

“It’s the truth. The best decision I ever made was meeting up with Ashton at the club that night. If I hadn’t, I may never have met you, and that,my love, would’ve been a travesty. You’re everything I never knew I wanted… a gift I’ll treasure forever.”

My love.He’s so goddamn swoony.

“Thank you for wanting me.”

“For wanting you?” He clenches his eyes closed for a brief moment, inhaling a large breath. “That statement alone breaks my damn heart. How could anyone not want you?”

That’s a question I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to answer.

He brushes his lips over mine once more before reaching for my hand. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, come, I have a surprise for you.”

“You do?”

“Uh-huh.” He reaches into his pocket pulling out the control for his garage door as we walk hand in hand down his drive. The first thing I see when it opens is a shiny red car. It must be new.

“What do you think?” he asks as we step closer.

“Very nice, but seriously, did you need another car?”

“It’s not mine, it’s yours.”

My eyes widen. “You bought me a car?”

“A Mustang GT convertible to be precise. Red, just like that sexy fuckable mouth of yours.” I stand there blinking up at him in stunned silence. “The day I saw her, I got an instant boner imagining you sitting behind the wheel.”

“It’s… it’s beautiful, but I can’t accept it.”

“It’s a gift, Carlee.”

“You don’t need to buy me extravagant things, Grayson. That’s not why I’m with you. I’m not used to this kind of thing.”

“Well, get used to it. One day this is all going to be yours too.” He gestures his hand around our surroundings as he speaks. I know he’s referring to us being married. As strong as we are, I still struggle to believe that this will one day be my reality.

“Money isn’t important to me.”

“And that’s just one of the many things I love about you.” My throat clogs up when he mentions theLword again. “I want to give you the world…please let me.”

“You really are the sweetest,” I say, fisting my hands in the front of his shirt. “But, none of that matters to me. Not your bank account, or your ridiculously big house.Just you. I just want you.”

“I just want you too, babe. All the other fluff is just an added bonus, the perks of having too much money. Let me look after you, Carlee. I worry about you driving around late at night in that…thing.”

I gasp. “Thing?” I step back, letting my arms fall by my side. “There’s nothing wrong with the car I have.”

He scrubs his hand over his face in frustration. “I didn’t mean to insult you.”

“Well, you did. Is that what this is all about, you’re embarrassed by your neighbors seeing my car parked outside your place?”

“What? Christ no. That didn’t even cross my mind.I’m not a pretentious snob, Carlee. Like I said, I just thought you’d be safer driving around in a new car. It comes with roadside assistance, and remember the other night when you said you almost froze your ass off when you left work? Well, that’s no longer a problem because your new ride has heated seats.”

Heated seats?I didn’t even realize that was a thing, but I push that thought from my mind. “I’m not accepting the car, Grayson.”