Reed pulls me on top of him, and I rub against his deliciously hard body. Our lips meet, softly and sweetly. His hands creep under the fabric of my shorts to press me tighter against him. We kiss until we’re breathless and then I roll away, because if we keep this up, we’ll be undressing each other in no time. Dinner’s soon, and we’ve all made a conscious effort to start having meals together as a family.
Plus, Gideon’s coming tonight and I have a gift for him.
“How’re you doing with the whole…?” Reed trails off. As usual, he doesn’t mention Steve in anything other than vague terms.
“I’m good,” I assure him. “And you shouldn’t be afraid to say Steve’s name in front of me. Just don’t call him my father, because he’s not. He never was.”
“No,” Reed agrees. “He was never your dad. There’s not much of him in you.”
“I hope not.”
Except, as much as I want to deny it, Steve is my dad, and that trust fund Reed referenced earlier? It’s all of Steve’s money that he signed over to me, with Callum serving as the trustee. I’ve already reduced that trust by about half, but it was for a good cause.
I think Gideon is going to be very, very happy tonight when he finds out about the deal I made with Dinah. In exchange for half of Steve’s money, she burned all the blackmail evidence she had against him and Savannah. I know it’s gone for good, because I stood at the fireplace with her while she lit the match and torched the USB drive, the printed photos, and the legal papers which she haughtily informed me would never have been filed.
It was the same fireplace where Brooke and her baby died, but I try not to think about that too much. Brooke is gone. So is Callum’s unborn child. Nothing is going to bring them back, though, and all we can do now is put the whole tragic ordeal behind us.
I reach out to hold Reed’s hand. “Are you okay? Are you feeling better about everything?”
“Yeah,” he admits. “I’m definitely relieved that I’m not going to prison, but I’m still pissed at your—at Steve. And I’m angry at my mother, too. But…I’m trying to let it go.”
I completely understand. “What about Easton? Does he seem weird to you lately?” Easton has been strangely subdued this past week.
“I don’t know. I think he might be all twisted up over a girl.”
I flip over on my side. “Seriously?”
The side of Reed’s mouth quirks up. “Seriously.”
“Wow.” I shake my head in astonishment. “Hell’s frozen over.”
“Yup.”
Before I have a chance to grill him more, Callum yells from the foyer. “Dinner’s ready.”
Reed pulls me to my feet. “C’mon, let’s go downstairs. The family’s waiting.”
I love that word, and I love the boy who’s taking my hand and leading me out the door so we can join our family.
My family.
Acknowledgments
When we started writing Paper Princess in the fall of 2015, we wrote it for each other. We traded the chapters back and forth via email. The words flew onto the page.
As much as we loved the project, however, we never imagined it would resonate with so many readers all over the world. We’re so very thankful for how you readers have embraced these stories. You’ve given these characters life.
We also need to thank Margo, who sat and listened to our outline and gave us early feedback.
Early readers Jessica Clare, Michelle Kannan, Meljean Brook, and Jennifer L. Armentrout, who gave invaluable critique.
Our publicist Nina, for handling all the publicity for this project. We know it’s been a mountain of work!
We’d be lost without Natasha and Nicole, our assistants, who help make sure we’re on task every day.
And of course, we are forever indebted to all the bloggers, reviewers and readers who took the time to read, review and rave over this book. Your support and feedback makes this whole process worthwhile!