Page 97 of Exposed

“Sure thing,” Matt said. “And when the paperwork is signed we’ll handle everything from there. But I have to go right now. I have anotherveryimportant meeting.”

I turned around and smiled at him.

He winked at me. “Talk to you then, Simon,” he said and hung up the phone. He smiled at me. “Hey.” He closed the distance between us. “You’re sure everything is alright? Jacob had me a little worried.”

“Well, apparently he just wanted you to come home because he thinks I’m happiest when you’re there.”

“And is that true?” He raised he eyebrow at me.

“You know it is. And we actually had a long talk about that. We both decided it would probably be best if you moved in.”

“Yeah?”

“If you still want to. Jacob made it very clear though…he doesn’t want to share a room with you. He said I have to.”

Matt laughed. “He strikes a hard bargain.”

“He does.” I pressed my lips together as I stared up at him. “Did you mean what you said earlier? That you love him?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, it just kind of slipped out…”

“He said it back.” I slowly exhaled. “I’m really glad you said it.”

“It didn’t take long for you guys to become the two most important people in my life.” He drew a fraction of an inch closer. “So in this talk you two had…did me kissing you come up?”

“One step at a time.”

“At least I don’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn anymore to sneak out of your room before he sees me.”

“Don’t pretend for a second you didn’t love sneaking around with me. It’s kind of your thing.”

He pretended to look shocked. “Teenage me, maybe. A lot has changed.”

It really had.

Matt reached out and ran his index finger down my empty ring finger. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

I nodded. “I know.” And I wasn’t necessarily ready to be engaged. But the constant pressure of Miller’s rings against my chest made me feel better.

“No one told me my grandson would be here,” Tanner said as he walked into the room. “How are you doing today, Young Jacob?”

“Abuelo look!” Jacob lifted up the paper in front of him. “I drew your castle!”

Tanner laughed. “It’s almost an exact replica, little man.”

I walked over and looked at the drawing. It was indeed a castle. It didn’t look like an apartment at all. “An exact replica, huh?”

“Yes, he’s very talented.” But then Tanner looked at me and cleared his throat. “I mean, it’s an exact replica of his imagination. Matt’s been to my place. And it looks normal.”

“But Abuelo.” Jacob stood up in the chair. “We walked through the secret door and you showed me…”

“Nonsense. We were playing make-believe, remember?”

“No.”

“We were definitely just playing. Keep drawing, little man.”

“The private island?”

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