Page 96 of Booked on You
A sudden certainty fills me, a rightness that settles deep into my bones. This—Scarlett here, laughing in my kitchen, teasing Millie, fitting perfectly into my life—is what I want.
“Believe me,” she says, holding her gaze, “I know.”
I clear my throat playfully. “I’m still here.”
Scarlett takes another bite of sausage bread and changes the subject. “Did you put a love potion in this one, too?”
Millie bursts into laughter. “Is it working?”
I roll my eyes good-naturedly, happily accepting my fate.
An alarm goes off on my aunt’s phone, and she shakes her head. “I could chat all mornin’ with y’all, but I do have to go open the bakery.”
Millie squeezes Scarlett tight and whispers something in her ear that I can’t hear. Then my aunt wraps me in a tight hug, too. “Enjoy breakfast! Have a good day!”
“Nice to officially meet you!” Scarlett offers.
“Pleasure is mine,” Mille tells her. She eventually leaves us with promises of more pies and threats that we should visit her.
Once she’s gone, the kitchen is much quieter. Scarlett leans against the counter, finishing her slice of sausage bread.
“So…” I can’t take my eyes off her.
“So…” she says, finishing her slice of sausage bread.
“I didn’t expect you to claim me,” I say.
“Why not?” She sets her plate on the counter. “Everything I said is true.”
“I know it is, it’s just that most people aren’t so honest or open.”
“That’s my brand. Millie is one of my readers. It would be a disservice to her and you to be anything other than my true self. It helps nothing to avoid the inevitable. I know that. You know that. I’m not hiding from it.”
I can’t explain the happiness that washes over me. “I want you, Scarlett. Now, and I think forever.”
Her breath catches. “You might change your mind after the newness wears off.”
“No. When you know, you know.” I step closer and slide an arm around her waist, enjoying the effortless way she melts against me.
Scarlett smiles, fingertips lightly brushing the front of my shirt. “I don’t want to rush us. Personally, I want to keep you to myself as long as I can, because eventually, I won’t be able to. AfterHer Foreverpublishes, people will talk, and you’ll be found. It’s easy to say you don’t care about the spotlight until it’s burning you.”
I suck in a deep breath and tuck some hair behind her ears. “I think you should research me online.”
Her head tilts. “Why?”
“Because you talk to me like I don’t understand being in the public eye, when I very much do. Like you, I disappeared for a while, too. But please trust me when I say, I can handle it. I’ve been dealing with cameras shoved in my face since I was a toddler.”
“Really?” she asks.
I grin. “Really. My mother was very well-known in the art world. My father is the lead guitarist for the rock band Midnight Riot.”
Scarlett’s mouth falls open. “Ryder?”
“Yes.”
Her heart rate beats rapidly as she studies me, and I can tell she’s shocked.
“Research me. Then ask me whatever you want. I don’t have anything to hide from you.”
