Page 132 of Crossing Lines

“Hell yeah.” She runs her hand over the table in awe. “This is so beautiful.”

I lead her through the house, pointing out all the things I’ve done and why I chose the designs I did. I keep checking her face, looking for any signs that she’s unhappy, but her wide grin tells me she loves it. She gasps and oohs and aahs throughout the entire tour and this moment right here is exactly the reason why I did it.

“You’re so talented,” Stella says when we finish and return to the kitchen. “But you worked so hard on this, I don’t want to take it away from you. You can stay here, take over this house, I can always find another…”

“Hell no, this is all yours. Evren’s house repairs are finally complete anyway, and I’m moving in with him.”

Stella chuckles. “So, it’s serious, then?”

“It’s more than serious. He even demanded that Idecorate it, to make it my own.” When he said that, my heart melted even more. He loves my style and designs and the fact that he wants them in our home means the world to me.

“As he should. When you get famous, I can claim that I have a custom house done by you.”

I wince. “I don’t need fame; I just want to do what I love.”

“Now that, I can understand.”

Kai and Nate come into the kitchen and Stella avoids looking at Kai directly. I guess she’s still embarrassed about him catching her in the act.

“We need to leave now to make your appointment on time,” Nate says to me.

I nod and hug Stella once more. “Hope you enjoy it here.”

“I definitely will,” she says. “Dinner tomorrow at Elodie’s?”

“Of course.”

It’s fun to have her in town. Now we just need Aria to buy a place in Skyrise, and we can all see each other more regularly.

Nate is supposed to drive me to the restaurant Evren made reservations at, but instead of heading into town, he heads to a private airport. Confused, I wait until we pull up to Evren’s jet to ask my questions.

Evren opens the door for me.

“Hi,” I say. “Is your jet now a restaurant?”

“I have a surprise for you.”

“Okay?” I skip up the steps. “Let me guess, you won’t tell me until we get to wherever we’re going.”

“Sounds about right.”

I chuckle and sit on the couch.

“But we do have something to celebrate,” Evren says casually, handing me a glass of champagne. “The reporter broke the story today. Mert and Will are officially fired, my old lawyers no longer have a license to practice, and Harold is now blacklisted within the community. No one wants to associate with him.”

“Seriously? That’s amazing.”

He grins. “It is, and it’s a relief that everyone knows what kind of people they are.”

“Agreed.” I take a sip of my champagne. “So that’s why we’re here? To celebrate the downfall of our enemies?”

“Nope, we’re here because I’m taking you somewhere you’ve always wanted to go.”

“Let me guess? Milan?” I joke. Clearly, we’re not going to Milan in the middle of the workweek. “Ohh, or maybe Miami?”

“You had it right the first time.”

“Milan?” I gasp. “No way. You’re joking, right?”

---