Mr. Fiancé(75)

“Huh?” I comment, reading the sign again and again. It still doesn’t make any sense. “Oliver, what—”

Shock rolls through me as my brain finally kicks into gear, and I put my hand over my mouth, speechless. Oliver leads me over to one of the stools that still line the big counter, sitting down next to me. “I’d asked my assistant to look for a few places where I could base my security business. She had this place on the list, mainly because of the location, and, well . . .”

Oliver takes a deep breath and puts the key to the place on the counter. “It’s yours. You own the place outright, Mindy. I told Martha I’m splitting my money in half. One half is to be used by her for real estate deals, other investments, whatever. She’s going to run it out of the office upstairs, close enough that I can help her out if she needs it.”

“What are you going to do?” I ask, feeling the teeth of the key. “And what about the Den? Gavin and Brianna are my friends. I can’t just abandon them.”

“Who do you think told me about the unicorn frappe?” Oliver asks quietly. “As for me, well, I don’t know a lot about running a restaurant, but I do know business, and if you don’t need a business manager . . . I can be Johnny on the spot wherever you need me, boss.”

I hold up my hand, concerned. “Oliver, before we go any further, why are you doing this?”

“Mindy, I’ve spent every minute since I walked out of the Wentworth mansion regretting one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Not being honest about how I feel about you. Sure, I started this as a way to get out of a debt, but from the moment I first saw your picture, I was drawn to you. When you challenged me—”

“I challenged you?” I ask, amused. “I seem to remember you sitting there like a living sex god, telling me that you weren’t going to do a damn thing I said. And you proceeded to do just that.”

“I think we sort of liked toying with each other,” Oliver says with a chuckle before growing serious again. “But I’m not joking now. I need you. I need you in my life, and when I told you I loved you that first time, I meant it. So I regret not staying, not doing my best to take care of you.”

I swallow, emotion choking my words for a moment before I can answer. “And if I still say I don’t want you in my life?”

“Then the building is still yours,” he says softly, “but you’d be lying. I can see it in your eyes, and well . . . let’s just say I’ve gotten a little bit of inside help.”

Gavin and Brianna. I look at the open raw emotion in his face, and I know that he’s telling the truth. There’s only one answer I can give him.

“So I get to be the boss, huh?” I ask, smiling as I look at him. “And if I tell my new bus boy to kiss me, will he do as he’s told?”

Oliver pretends to think for a minute, then he stands up, pulling me into his arms and lowering his lips to mine. “I’ll have to demand at least minimum wage,” he teases, and then he’s kissing me, his strong hands pulling me against him, our bodies hungry for each other. I moan into his mouth as his tongue finds mine, his hands stroking my hair before running down to cup my ass. Our lips part, and he looks into my eyes again, touching his forehead to mine. “I love you, Mindy.”

“I love you too,” I moan in reply. “Oliver, can we start over?”

He shakes his head, giving me a smile. “No, but we can move forward.”

“Then let’s move forward.”

Oliver smiles and picks me up, setting me on one of the empty tables, dust puffing up as he does. “Hmm, we’re going to have to clean that,” he jokes as he pulls my shirt out of the waistband of my pants. He kisses my neck until I’m trembling before kissing back to my earlobe, licking it before whispering in my ear. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” I moan in happiness as I reach for the buttons on his shirt, undoing them quickly and peeling his shirt off, swinging it around my head like a lasso for a moment before flinging it across the room. I laugh, joy in my heart. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”

“You’ll get to do anything you want from now on,” Oliver reassures me, his voice catching as I pull him close and bite his neck. Our night of rough passion has taught me a few things, and one of them is that I like it a little rougher with Oli than I did with other partners. “Mmmhmm.”

“Anything, huh?,” I growl playfully as he reaches for my pants and yanks them down along with my panties. “Well then, first things first—no more condoms.”