32. Rae
32
RAE
“H arrison?” I call into the house.
There’s no answer, but Barney peers through the railing upstairs.
I hung out with my friends over lunch before they had to fly back, pretending the man I love more than anything didn’t walk out on us and take my heart with him.
When I return to the villa, I’m resolved.
I want Harrison. The rest we’ll figure out.
I step out of my sandals and head across the room, taking the stairs in bare feet. I pause at the top.
There’s movement in Harrison’s room, a shadow falling across the open doorway.
“I know I sprung the Vegas thing on you, but I want a future. And I want it with…”
When I step inside, he’s waiting.
My attention drifts to the matching set of Louis Vuitton luggage on the bed. I reach for one and open it, finding it full of my belongings. “What is this?”
“Proper bags. For more than a handful of items. You said you wanted to settle down. Doesn’t mean you won’t travel occasionally, but this will get you started.”
His thoughtfulness slices through the knot in my stomach.
“This is a lot of luggage. What could possibly be in…” I unzip the second bag, and the silver appliance glints up at me. “The espresso machine?” My jaw drops.
“I bought it for you,” he murmurs from behind me.
“You’re insane.”
“Only since I met you. You’re impossible to please.”
“That’s because there’s nothing you could give me that would make me happy.”
Because what I want is you.
He frowns, nodding to the next suitcase. “Look anyway.”
I roll my eyes but open the top.
The contents have my hand dropping to my side.
Rows of folded, pressed dress shirts stare up at me. Neatly looped belts. Folded slacks.
The window is open, but there’s not enough air in the room. My throat works for a moment before I can make a sound.
“Your things?” I force my gaze to meet his, and when I do, it’s full of so much emotion I’m tingling everywhere.
“Consider me newly acquired baggage. I love you. You’re not going anywhere without me.”
Hope surges through me. I want to so badly. I know he usually leaves Ibiza at the end of the season, but for London. The last time he was in the US, it was for Kings, which is a pile of rubble. I can’t quite believe this man would drop everything to follow me.
“Even Vegas?”
He nods. “I made a call. We have a penthouse at the Wynn.”
My slow smile won’t stop. “God, you’re arrogant. I haven’t even invited you.”
Harrison drags me against him, his hard body warm through our clothes. “You owe me one favor?—“
“Keep it,” I interrupt, breathless. “This time, you’re doing me one.”
His eyes warm with love and desire, and he drags me up to his lips. My hands fall to his chest as he kisses me. In this moment, I have everything—a home, a family, someone I adore who loves me back, when I want him to and when I don’t.
“What will you even do in Vegas?” I pant, pulling away an inch.
He brushes his thumb across my lips. “It’s close to LA. I can run my business from there.”
“And La Mer?”
He shrugs. “I’ll put in an offer when it comes up. Leni would love to take it on and find the right person to run it.”
I shake my head, disbelieving. “I can’t believe this.”
“Worked out well for me too.” His quick grin is sexy as hell. “This way, you still owe me a favor.”
“There’s an expiry date on those.”
“No such thing.”
Harrison lifts me into his arms, and my legs go around him.
He tastes like sun and sand and man, and when he claims my mouth, my arms wind around his neck without permission.
I kiss him back, with relief and love and the kind of hope I never thought I’d feel.
Barney barks, and we reluctantly part. I frown, reaching for his collar. It matches the luggage.
“Barney’s coming?” I demand.
“Charter leaves tomorrow. If you’d rather avoid a man you hate, you can fly commercial.”
I grin. “How terrible.”
He kisses me again, pushing me back toward the bed, and we find a spot between the luggage. I kick at one of the bags, and there’s a loud bang as it crashes to the floor.
The espresso maker.
I look guiltily up at Harrison.
“Oh, you’re in trouble now,” he murmurs before his mouth descends.