Page 18 of The Bargain (Dalton Family #2)
Chapter Eighteen
Sofia
T he driver drops us at the door of my favorite Italian restaurant, but the wait is ridiculously long, and I know from my conversations with Ethan today that he left New York at five in the morning.
He needs rest, and I find myself waving off the woman adding us to the waitlist and motioning Ethan outside.
Once we’re on the sidewalk, we step toward the wall, out of the way of foot traffic. “Do you want to try someplace else?”
I have a fleeting moment of worry over my humble home versus his luxurious lifestyle, but I push past it, hard and fast. I love my little place, and I earned it myself.
I’m not going to allow myself to be intimidated by his wealth.
“My place is a few blocks away,” I say. “Let’s order pizza. It’s been a long day.”
His eyes sharpen, and his hand slides to my back and molds me closer. “I was worried I wasn’t getting that invitation.”
“Why would you think that?”
“I could feel your awkwardness over what comes next.”
“It’s not the elite hotel room you’re used to staying at, Ethan.”
“It has you in it. That makes it perfect. And I want to see your home.”
“It’s not—”
“Don’t say what you’re about to say again. Your house is a part of you, and you are what matters to me. You interest me, Sofia. In every possible way.”
His voice is raw and rough but somehow manages to be possessive and tender at the same time.
This man really is here for me, and it blows my mind and heats my body.
I melt into him, my hand pressing beneath his jacket to the warmth seeping through his shirt.
I don’t know what this is between us, but every warning I issue to myself crashes to the ground and shatters.
I’m incapable of protecting myself with him.
I can only live in the moment. I give up any other plan.
“I’m really happy you’re here,” I confess.
He cups my face and tilts my gaze to his. “Are you?”
“Oh yes. Too much. I have no doubt before this is over you will crush my heart into tiny pieces.”
“I could say the same of you.”
“Impossible. You are—”
“Obsessed with you, Sofia. If you were anyone else, I’d be telling you I don’t do relationships, but I’m not saying that. I’m not thinking that. So, when you say I’ll break your heart, and I say you may break mine, what if we don’t? What if this is that good?”
A horn honks and I jolt, gripping the lapels of his jacket. “We should get out of here,” he says.
“Yes,” I agree.
“I’ll have Paul drop my bags at the door.”
I nod and release him as he reaches in his jacket and shoots a text to Paul before he slides his arm around my shoulder and fits me snugly against him, our bodies aligned.
And in that moment, he’s the shelter I didn’t know I needed, and it feels fairly wonderful.
I direct him straight and to the right, but I can’t stop thinking about him saying he’s obsessed with me.
And the relationship thing has my mind chasing the definition of who we are together.
Does he want to be in a relationship with me?
I mean, he said we’re not a fling. I guess that means we’re in a relationship.
Or just dating? Isn’t that a relationship?
And doesn’t that mean I need to talk to my father? And the board? The board…
Now, only a block from my house, I halt and step in front of him, my hands on his chest. “What happens if we end up in a relationship and—”
His hands come down on my arms. “I don’t want anyone else. I do not want you with anyone else. Do you want anyone else?”
“No. Of course not. How could anyone else compete with you, Ethan?”
His eyes are fire, and I’m burning alive despite the deep dive of the sun along the horizon. “Then we’re in a relationship,” he says.
I let that sink in a moment before I say, “All right, then. We’re in a relationship. What about when the board finds out about us? Will they think you did all of this for me?”
“Stop overanalyzing, and since I already know you well enough to know you won’t do that, I’ll answer more specifically.
The sign of true success is writing your own story.
I don’t give two fucks what they think, and you’re too talented to let them think for you or dictate your actions.
They need you. And they know this. They’re excited about the Zoey brand.
If they make money, they wouldn’t care if we were fucking on live TV.
” He tugs me closer. “Which wouldn’t happen, since, as stated, I want you all to myself. ”
“You have a way of making everything sound easy.”
“Wanting you is easier than anything I’ve ever done. Waiting on the pizza is another story. Take me home and feed me.” He rotates us forward, and his arm is back around my shoulders, and I give up the battle.
“You’re stubborn,” I accuse as we pass a small gallery and apothecary.
“There are so many ways that can work in your favor,” he says as we cross into the neighborhood.
“I could say so many things about that, but we’re here.” I halt in front of my driveway and house and turn to face him. “It’s small. And basic. But it’s mine, and—”
He cups my face and kisses me before capturing my hand and then leading me to the sidewalk, and as we walk side by side to the front door, there’s no backing out.
Ethan is going inside. He’s here, and he came for me.
That’s insanely hot and romantic. And the truth is, I’m done denying him or myself.