Promises Forgotten
Chapter 33

I looked at the woman perched on the top of the chair. I chuckled and brought my phone up, snapping a picture of her. She was leaning over, looking at her phone that was on the table. My shirt was huge on her and it slipped down off her shoulder, her hands disappearing in the long sleeves. Holding up my phone again, I waited until she looked up at me and smiled. Snapping another photo, I put my phone down.

“What do you want to do today?”

She hummed, tapping her finger against her lips. Or she would have, but instead the long sleeve of my shirt swayed slightly as she tapped it to her lips.

“I’m not sure. We could go out to the fountains again. That was fun. If we take a hat, your guitar, and my voice, we could make some money!”

Shaking my head, I leaned back against the headboard and opened my arms to her. She quickly got out of the chair and crawled across the bed, settling in my arms. Burying my face in her shoulder and hair, I shook my head more.

“No people today.”

“It’s such a nice day, though. We could go for a hike in the desert. It would be a drive, but it would be fun. Red Rock Canyon Park is really nice.”

“I’ve got no clothes for hiking.”

She leaned back and laughed. “Mr. Let-Me-Pay-For-Everything won’t buy himself some hiking clothes? Please. That’s ridiculous. A regular f*****g t-shirt and some jeans might do you some good.”

I chuckled and brought her back to me. “I guess.” Sighing, I nuzzled into her neck. “I love you. You know that, right?”

“I do. I love you too, Z.”

I pulled back to look at her, the blush apparent on her face. I f*****g loved this woman. Her reactions especially. Smiling, I peppered her cheek with k****s.

“Marry me, Evie.”

“What?”

I growled. “You heard me, woman. Marry me.”

“Z, be serious.”

I met her gaze and smiled. “I am.”

“What you’ve told me of your family, they would be up in arms so fast I wouldn’t be able to even get out the door before being murdered.” The Evie smirk appeared on her face. “Plus, what self-respecting woman would agree to a marriage proposal with no ring. Who do you take me for?”

Laughing, I kissed her hand, but I don’t let it go. My smile fell a little as I stared at her hand. “I’m afraid you’ll disappear the moment I let you go. The moment I close my eyes, you’ll disappear and I’ll never see you again.”

“Z…”

“My grandfather told me of the love he had for my grandmother. They met and married in four days. I always thought he was nuts. That there was no way a love like that actually existed.” I pressed my lips softly to her hand. “It was a different time and I thought he was just being exaggerative. Until I met you. Until I felt the pull. A magnet to you. Sitting at that park bench at midnight, watching you as you watched the dancers. I felt it snap in place. Everything my grandfather told me. It all made sense. I loved you from that moment.”

I reached up to her face and brushed the tears that had fallen out of her eyes. Touching my forehead to hers, I closed my eyes.

“Whatever it takes, I will always keep you by my side. Even if I have to start at the bottom again. It doesn’t f*****g matter to me. I need you more than I needed anything in this world. For the first time in my life I’m scared. Scared of what I could lose if I let you go.”

“Z…” Evie brought my hand up to her lips and brushed them against the skin before kissing it lightly. “You’ve brought a sense of living back in my life. I’ve been just going through the motions, but you’ve helped me replace love again. I’ve never been so f*****g happy in my entire life. I don’t want to go. I don’t want to leave. But it needs to end. We can’t stay here forever. I have school. You have work. At some point…”

I shook my head and pulled her to me so that she was straddling me. Her face was level with mine. “I refuse. Be mine. Be mine always. I’ll move out to LA with you. I told you. I need you. I won’t lose you. My entire life has been dictated for me. I’ve been groomed and as much I have been fighting against it, I still fall into the billionaires’ playboy son trope. I don’t want it anymore, Evie. Not if it means I can’t have you.”

“You say that now.”

“No!” I grabbed her h**s and pulled her close. “I mean it, Evie. It’s you. My grandfather said that if I ever replace this kind of love, our love, to never let it go. Because it is priceless. I won’t regret it. Not a single day. Even if I work at the cafe you open and you have to teach me how to correctly knead dough. I don’t f*****g care. I can’t afford to lose you.”

A smile graced Evie’s beautiful lips and she brushed my cheek with her thumb. Her fingers climbing their way into my hair.

“You have me, Zachary Anderson. You had me from when you leaned over pretending you were ordering another drink at that bar, and I won’t let you go, either. Don’t worry. No matter what.” Chuckling, she let her hands fall to my shoulders. “I’m still not accepting your proposal. Doing it without a ring is just tacky. I’m a goddess. I deserve better.”

I laughed and kissed her lips. “Yes, my goddess divine. I guess that means I need to…what…go buy jeans? A regular t-shirt?”

“Yes!” In her excitement she got off me and the bed entirely and I g*****d.

“I take it back. We aren’t going. Come back.”

She put her hand on her h*p. “No take backs, Mr. Grumpy. Come on, let’s go.”

Groaning, I rolled out of bed and pulled Evie toward me. She giggled and raised her eyebrows. “I thought I said we were gonna go.”

“You are wearing my shirt, oh goddess divine.”

Biting her l*p, her hands came up and I watched as she slowly unbuttoned each of the buttons and exposed her breasts to me. My breath hitched in my throat, and I could feel my grip tighten on her. My eyes tore away from the sight, and I found her eyes looking at me.

“You will be the death of me.” I sighed out, placing my head on her shoulder.

“I’m glad it’s only me that has the ability to push you to the edge.”

With my eyes closed, I took my shirt from her and started to get dressed. Pulling on my pants, I opened my eyes and Evie had disappeared into the bathroom. At first, I kept cursing that I couldn’t convince her to drop this room at the beginning of our stay and we could go back to the suite I had. But she said she already reserved it for a week, and it would be a waste. Now, we had extended her reservation another three days. The small room started to grow on me. It was cozy and never felt like I needed more room. Sure, it would be nice, but the two of us fit perfectly.

“Z, weren’t you going to call your brother?”

I sighed. “It’s fine. He can wait. All of them can f*****g wait an eternity for all I care.” I grumbled the last sentence, but I heard her laugh.

“You should at least check in. Future CEO going missing in Vegas can make people nervous.”

“He’s nineteen. He can hold onto his Superman underwear and wear his big boy pants. It’s his first year in college. If he’s not black out drunk all day, he’s doing it wrong.”

More laughter and the door opened to the bathroom. My jaw dropped as Evie walked out in a sun dress. It flared out from her waist. She was pulling her hair back into a ponytail. Her eyes found mine. My brows furrowed.

“What? Something wrong?”

“You’re perfect.” I stepped forward and stole a k**s. “How are you supposed to hike in this?”

Smiling, she pulled the dress up. “Look! Shorts! Plus! My combat boots!”

Shaking my head, I let out a breathy laugh before reaching down between her thighs. She slapped my hand away. Whining, she pulled me into a passionate k**s, and I felt myself melt into her. Her body molded itself against me and I m****d.

“Come on, Z. Before we lose the day!” She stepped back and I took a deep breath.

“Alright, alright. I don’t know what you expect wearing that, though. You know my control is minimal at best when it comes to you.” I winked at her and she rolled her eyes.

“The great Mr. Anderson, brought to his knees by a poor orphan. I can see the headlines now.” She laughed.

Turning, I got down on one knee in front of her. “I’m only ever brought to my knees by the goddess before me. Anything else being said is out of jealousy and ignorance.”

In seconds her mouth was on mine, and I pulled her close to me. We broke apart, our breathing heavy. Getting up, I took her hand.

“Come. Before you keep f*****g distracting me.”