Page 42 of The Forever Promise

Bryce eyed me appreciatively when he came back and climbed into bed.Hmm.I hustled into the bathroom, brushing my teeth and scrubbing the makeup from my face, wondering whether Bryce would want to make love yet again.

But when I returned to the bedroom, he was already fast asleep. I almost laughed as I climbed in next to him. I snuggled up to his broad chest, and he sighed, sounding happy. He wrapped his arm around me. Then, with my face pressed against my husband, surrounded by his warmth, muscles and scent, I fell into a deep sleep.

Eight hours later, I woke up in his arms.

Bryce was, of all things, still asleep. I stared at his handsome face. He was relaxed, completely adrift. I glanced at the clock: eight a.m. Had he ever slept this late in his whole life?

He opened one eye and stared at me. “What?”

“It’s eight. What time was the dog trainer coming?”

Bryce grimaced as he glared at the clock. Even with only one eye open, he was an expert glare-r. “Eight-thirty. Ugh, I can’t remember the last time I slept this late. You ruined me yesterday.” He sat up, wincing a little. “I’msore. What the hell did you do to me, Chloe?”

I laughed, but it hurt—which only made me laugh more. “I’m sore, too.”

“Stay on your side of the bed tonight, dammit.” He leaned over and kissed me. “I don’t mean that, by the way.”

“Ha.” I pulled back. “Stay on your side for now—and I do mean that. We need coffee, not more sex.”

He waggled his eyebrows. “Wealwaysneed more sex—”

Both of our phones beeped, and he cursed. “Two guesses who that is. The first is Olivia Jensen, and the second is a pain in my ass. Oh wait, they’re exactly the same.”

I stared at him.

“Is there something on my face?” He scrubbed a hand across it.

“No. It’s just that… You made ajoke.”

“I do that from time to time.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Really.” Bryce snatched his phone and glared at it. “She wants us in the kitchen ASAP. I think maybe my father’s paying her extra to be demanding and difficult. Come on, let’s get this over with.”

He threw on sweats and a T-shirt, so I did the same. We walked down to the kitchen hand in hand. Something had changed between us; probably it was just all the sex, but the idea of walking next to him and not touching him seemed nearly impossible. Bryce must have felt the same way. As a maid prepared our coffee in the kitchen, he tucked me beside him, his hand around my waist.

Unf.We’d said no more sex, but as he palmed my hip, I lit up inside…

“There you are!” Olivia Jensen hustled in, holding an extra-large, half-empty iced coffee. She wore a teal dress that hugged her curves, her red hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail, and she was already in full makeup. Unlike Bryce and I—un-showered and in our sweats—she appeared fully caffeinated and accomplished, as though she’d already checked several items off her to-do list.

“Well, well, well.” She eyed us as the maid slid two enormous lattes across the counter. “Aren’t you two looking all…reunited.”

Bryce cleared his throat. “What did you want to see us about, Olivia? We have an appointment.”

“Then I’ll get right to it.” She took out her phone and rapid-clicked through several screens, her fingertips flying. “Here we are—the shots from last night. Fab. You. Less. I can’t even tell you how happy I am with these! Look at them in order, so you see the progression.”

We took the phone and scrolled through the pictures. The first was Bryce and I climbing onto the boat, hand in hand. Then there were shots of us onboard—me on his lap, smiling down at him. Bryce’s arms were around me, and the way he was looking at me? Hoo boy, it was like he was going to havemefor dinner!

There was more. Us disembarking at the dock, his arm around my waist. The maritime policeman interrogating the other group of photographers. When we reached those shots, Olivia jabbed a finger toward her phone. “I talked to the police this morning. They know thatourteam is authorized to follow you but that these other guys are pests. I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up getting arrested. They had too many people on that boat last night—they got a ticket.”

“I hope they give up and go home, but I doubt it.” Bryce frowned until he reached the next set of pictures. They were of us having dinner at the restaurant. In each shot, we were either laughing, kissing, or smiling. It was weird to see myself captured in the photographs. Even though I’d known we were being watched, I’d forgotten about it. To see myself laughing and smiling—not to mention looking at Bryce like I was head over heels in love with him—was strange. If I didn’t know myself, I’d guess that the Chloe Windsor in these pictures was secure, happy, and in love. But none of those things were actually true. Well, almost none of them.

Olivia beamed at us. “The ones from the restaurant are the Crown Jewels. I cannotwaitto release them. Who doesn’t want to be young and in love, huh? Who doesn’t want to have a romantic, candlelit dinner overlooking the ocean? Especially with a hot billionaire?”

At that, Bryce smirked a little. I couldn’t help but laugh.

But once we kept scrolling, my cheerful mood dissipated. Felicia Jones had entered the picture, and how she looked at my husband made me downrightpissed. Of course, she looked gorgeous in the photos. I hadn’t even noticed what she’d been wearing last night, but it was a short white dress that showed off her toned body and light tan. The photographers had taken a burst of photos of her—one right after the other. They formed a mini-movie of her expressions. Felicia looking shocked and hurt to see her ex and his new wife. Felicia, staring at Bryce with longing. Felicia, completely ignoring me. Felicia, only having eyes for Bryce.

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