FOUR MONTHS LATER
We are at my parents’ house for their annual Christmas Eve party. The rest of the guests should be here in thirty minutes. Lawson and I flew in after the Renegades game last night. The team is headed for the playoffs and favored to win it all.
Aside from falling in love with Manhattan from the moment I arrived, I love being Crosby’s assistant. He’s way easier to work for than Rosemary.
“I always knew the two of you would end up together,” my mom chirps from the living room.
“Diana and I were so surprised that you and Sloane never dated in high school,” this comes from Lawson’s mom, Maribel.
“They never dated in high school because Tristan put the kibosh on it,” Lawson’s sister, Kate adds.
My mom’s mouth hangs open before she shakes her head and levels a glare at Tristan.
Tristan holds his hands up in mock surrender. “What did I know? I was a stupid high school kid. I thought I was supposed to threaten all my friends and let them know that my little sister was totally off limits.”
Lawson pulls me into him and kisses my temple. “I never told anyone not to date Kate.”
Kate points her tumbler at Lawson. “That’s not true. Tommy Fitzpatrick kissed me at the middle school dance, and you told him to keep his lips off of mine.”
“That’s because Tommy had already kissed the Zimmerman twins earlier that night.”
Ignoring the conversation, my dad continues busying himself in the kitchen talking with Lawson’s dad about the perfect way to make an old fashioned.
“Well, I’m just glad all of you are home for the holidays and that Lawson and Sloane finally found their way to one another,” Maribel says, before taking a drink of wine. “The Drake is booked solid for the next two summers. We should put your names on the wait list just in case.”
Kate rolls her eyes. “Mom, settle down. They’ve only been dating a few months. Pump the brakes.”
Lawson lowers his mouth to my ear. “You want to get married at The Drake in June?”
My cheeks grow immediately warm. “No. I’d rather have something small. I bet Crosby would let us get married at his beach house in East Harbour.”
He takes a step back to look at me. “The Hamptons, huh?”
Since moving to New York, the two of us have spent a lot of time in the city and in the Hamptons. As part of my assistant duties, I get to house sit for Crosby when he’s out of town. And as much as I love the city, East Harbour is my weekend lover.
“Yeah. Don’t you just love it there?”
His green eyes dance with amusement. “I do. So much in fact that,” he pauses and pulls and envelope from the inside of his jacket pocket. “Apparently your Christmas present can’t wait any longer.”
Swallowing hard, I take the envelope from his hands. “What have you done?”
“Open it and find out.”
My fingers pry open the thick ivory paper, and I then I pull out the piece of paper. It’s a listing for a house. A fabulous shingle-style house in East Harbour with four bedrooms, a gourmet kitchen, and a pool.
“Did you buy this?”
“Yep. Do you like it?”
A watery laugh sticks in my throat. “Are you serious?”
“Absolutely. See we’re going to have to do a lot of entertaining,” he tells me, his gaze locked on my face. “I’ve been promoted to Executive Vice President of College Sports Programming at GSN. Stock options. Huge raise. So, what do you say? Will you move to the Hamptons with me?”
I laugh. “But we’re keeping the apartment, right?”
He nods slowly, a big grin stretches across his beautiful face. “Yeah. I can’t do the daily commute.”
“I will absolutely move to the Hamptons with you,” I whisper against his lips.
“And maybe you’ll marry me here someday.” He points to the backyard that overlooks the ocean.
“I’ll think about it.”
His husky laughter echoes in my ears. “That’s all I can ask.”
And he did ask me to marry him that following June. And I said yes.