“You talked,” Simon replies with a smile. “And I listened.”
Eli sighs. “He makes it hard for me to not like him.”
“It wasn’t so bad,” I say later that evening when we return to my house. “Once the girls finished asking me about our sex life, and my brothers were done intimidating you in the backyard—”
“They tried.”
“—it went pretty well, actually.”
“Your mother is an excellent cook.”
“She was pleased that you thought so. She likes you.”
“The feeling is mutual,” he says and reaches for his phone when it pings with a text. “It’s good that I’m going home next week.”
My stomach sinks at the thought of him leaving. I don’t want him to go.
“I’m sorry. I know I’m keeping you here away from work.”
“You’re not forcing me to be here,” he says as he types out a response. “I am not complaining. But I do have some work that needs my personal attention.”
“I completely understand.”
I open the dishwasher and begin unloading it, trying to keep my hands busy. I’ve never been the girl who pined away for a guy, wanting to spend every minute of every day with him. Then again, I’ve never known anyone like Simon.
And that scares me a little.
Or a lot.
A lottle?
I smirk and rinse out a wine glass, then place it in the dishwasher.
“What’s so funny?” Simon asks as he joins me, hugging me from behind the way he did at my mom’s. He tucks his face in my neck and gives it a bite, making me squirm.
“I’m just thinking silly things,” I reply and set the glass aside. I turn and hug him tightly. “These past few weeks have gone by so quickly.”
“I know.” He kisses my head. “Come with me to London.”
I pull back and stare up at him in surprise. “What?”
“I know it’s asking a lot, and if you can’t, or won’t, I understand. But I’d love for you to come back with me.”
My mouth opens and closes but no noise comes out. He’s flummoxed me.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.”
“No.” I shake my head and hug him again, then pace the kitchen. “That’s not it. Thank you for inviting me. I guess I’m just surprised.”
“I can’t see why, love. In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t like being away from you. I would love to show you around London, to take you to my favorite restaurants, show you where I grew up.”
I would love that. I am dying to see the house he grew up in, to meet his parents, to see where he lives now. I’m curious about all of it, and I want to jump at his offer.
“I have a business,” I say, biting my lip.
“You were gone for a few weeks not long ago,” he reminds me gently. “Nothing fell apart then, did it?”
“No, they did well, actually.” I stop pacing and turn to him with a wide smile.
“I hope that means yes because I’m not ready to be apart from you, Charlotte. I don’t like being away from you.”
How in the hell can I say no to that?
He folds me in his arms and hugs me close. “Yes?”
“Yes.”
Chapter Eighteen
~Charly~
We’re leaving for London tomorrow. The past week has flown by as I prepared to be away from the shop for two whole weeks and Simon worked more and more remotely. I know he’s ready to be home, and I couldn’t be happier to have the opportunity to see him in his own space.
I’m still reeling a bit that he asked me to go.
“Did you sleep at all?” he asks as he rolls over and wraps an arm around my waist, tugging me closer to him.
“No,” I admit with a smile and push my fingers through his hair. His face is soft from sleep, stubble sprinkled over his cheeks. I kiss his forehead. “I kept going over all of my lists.”
“You can sleep on the plane,” he says and kisses the ball of my shoulder. He scoots even closer to me, turning me on my side and tucking my ass against his hard cock. “I love waking up to you.”
“Mm.” I can’t say anything else. My mouth won’t work. He cups my breast, pinching my nipple into a hard bud.
“You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen,” he whispers into my ear. “I want you to close your eyes, and just feel, Charlotte.”
I’m a step ahead of you. I can’t do anything but feel him. His hands, his hardness, the rasp of light hair on his thighs against mine. His stubble rubbing against my shoulder as he places wet kisses all over my back.
And then he’s inside me, and I’m lost in the rhythm of his hips and touch. I don’t know where I end and he begins.