Page 142 of By His Vow

“Hop on, baby.”

I move on instinct and grab his shoulders before jumping.

“Oh my god.” I squeal as he takes off running with me clinging to him for dear life.

I’m pretty sure I was ten the last time someone gave me a piggyback. And that someone was Miles, and he tripped and sent us both flying.

I banged my head so hard, I saw stars for days. Or at least, that’s what I told him to make him feel bad.

“You’re fucking crazy.” I squeal when he doesn’t so much as slow down.

“Takes one to know one,” he counters as he climbs the final slope toward the edge of the ‘mountain.’

“Wow,” we both breathe simultaneously as the valley below appears.

Lake Michigan sparkles away in the sun. It looks beyond inviting.

“Do you think it’s cold?”

“You’re shitting me," he pants, finally putting me back on my feet. “It’s spring. It’ll be fucking freezing.”

“I guess. It looks so calm and?—”

“Cold?” he finishes for me.

I laugh. “Yeah, I guess,” I muse before shuffling closer.

“What are you doing?” Kingston asks in a panic as his hand wraps around my forearm, stopping me from getting closer to the edge.

“Well, I was considering throwing myself off and seeing how I fare,” I deadpan before shaking him off and lowering myself to my ass, my legs dangling over the edge.

“Crazy fucking woman,” he mutters before dropping down beside me.

The wind blows around us. It’s not cold, but that doesn’t stop me from shivering.

Without missing a beat, Kingston wraps his arm around me and tugs me closer.

I nestle into his side as the scent of fresh air, nature and him mingle in my nose.

I like it a lot more than I should.

Neither of us says anything as we stare out at his passion project in the distance. The sun is glinting in the windows on the left-hand side of the building, but the rest is hiding in the shadows. A little like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

“I don’t think you need to worry about your father being right. This place is incredible. It’s going to be an asset to your portfolio,” I say confidently.

His grip on me tightens, but he doesn’t say anything for the longest time.

“We’ll see what the future holds.”

“How very modest of you,” I tease.

“Can’t always be full of confidence,” he muses.

“You mean arrogance,” I correct.

“Same thing.”

I laugh. “If you say so.”