Page 137 of Betrayed

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah." He coughed as he recovered. "I didn't realize how many millions you have."

"A lot of it is in investments, but you'll never hurt for cash," Jocelyn said.

After the meeting, I accepted the collect call from my father. He wished me a happy birthday, then apologized again for getting me involved. He still hadn’t accepted responsibility for his choices or crimes, instead choosing to play the victim. It was the same conversation every time. I wanted to be there for him, but he wasn’t making it easy.

Not wanting to ruin my birthday, I put it out of my mind.

Later in the evening, my heart sped up when AJ came out of the bathroom, dressed in a suit and tie for dinner. If I’d known how to whistle, I would have.

Unlike me, AJ could whistle perfectly, and did as his eyes roamed over every inch of me. I didn’t think I looked particularly good in my floor-length gown, but he made me feel sexy like only he could.

And AJ looked so incredibly panty-dropping sexy, I insisted we detour to the bedroom. I asked AJ to leave the pink pinstripe tie on while I showed him how much I loved him.

We ended up missing dinner, so we ordered a pizza and wings.

It was the best birthday every.

All because of AJ.

When we’re alone, Andrew.

My Andrew.

Before bed, he surprised me with another gift.

He asked me to move in with him. Which was insane—I’d been staying at his house, sleeping in his bed, since the rescue.

But he wanted to make it official. Since I already had keys, he gave me a new pink heart-shaped keychain.

I had to wipe away my tears before I could say yes.

Chapter 63

Blake

“Istill can’t believe the Sheppards invited me to Easter dinner,” I said as I finished getting ready. “They barely know me.” Mary invited me when I stopped by Grannie’s, my new favorite place, to do schoolwork.

“I can,” AJ said. “You almost done in the bathroom?”

We were still adjusting to sharing his small space, not an easy task, with only one bathroom. The only thing I missed from my father’s house—my private bath. It was three times the size of AJ’s, and I’d never had to share it.

Not for the first time, I wondered how attached AJ was to this house. I could easily buy us something bigger.Or have one built for us.I doubted he’d let me do that, which was equal parts endearing and annoying. I could buy us a nice modest house without even noticing the withdrawal from my bank account.

“I can finish in the bedroom.” I grabbed my makeup bag and scooted past him. A hint of warm leather, a scent I would forever associate with AJ, filled my nose.

Not wanting to be late to dinner, I refused to give in to the desire that pooled in my belly.

Jack greeted us at his parents’ house. After hugging me, he turned to AJ and said, “It’s about damn time.”

“Are we late?” I asked.

“That was for AJ; he knows why,” Jack explained.

Apparently, this was the first time he’d accepted an invitation to a holiday dinner. When I asked what changed, he said, “You. You helped me see past my fears, and how much they’d cost me.”

Mary had insisted we didn’t need to bring anything, but I felt weird going empty-handed. Instead of food, we picked up a bouquet of pink carnations with white lilies, and a bottle of wine.

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