I swallow back tears. Fuck, this man. He’s a walking tearjerker.
“Snapdragon. Like the one on your elbow that you open and close when no one is looking.” He half-smiles. “Strength . . . so you can deal with my life. The traveling, the constant attention, the crazy online keyboard warriors out to get you.”
I can’t help but smile, but I feel a little sick as he touches the red rose, bigger and brighter than the others, right in the middle.
“And a red rose . . .” he trails off, finger drifting right around the rose. “Love. Because somewhere along the way, I got lost in our lie. I got so far into the maze we created that I lost track of what was real and what wasn’t. Then, when I found the way out, I realized you were real all along. And the crazy red-haired, tattooed, take-no-shit, attitude-filled chick who refused to put up with my shit was making me fall in love with her. I’m pretty sure I passed through every level of hell on the way down, but I fell.” He pauses. “So the red rose is the way I love you. Vibrantly, brightly, but covered with more thorns than you deserve.”
I slide forward and cover his hands with mine so we’re both holding the flowers. Holy shit.
“There’s a song there somewhere,” I whisper, meeting his eyes over the flowers.
“Probably,” he agrees hoarsely.
I take the flowers from him and set them down gently next to me, then replace the emptiness between his fingers with my own. “I like your thorns,” I say quietly, seeing the orange hue of the sunset fall across the trees behind him. “If you look closely, there are thorns under my rose, because you can’t have a rose without thorns. You can’t have love without imperfections. So if I’m a rose and you’re my thorn, then I’m your thorn, too, because I’m certain I love you the very same way you love me. Vibrantly, brightly, and covered with more thorns than you deserve.”
He lets go of my hands and brings his up to the sides of my face. “Most beautiful thorn ever,” he murmurs, the words skating over my mouth with his breath for the merest second.
Then he kisses me.
Long and slow, his lips move against mine, and my greatest lie becomes my most beautiful truth.
Aidan
TWO WEEKS LATER
I sign the paper with a flourish and hand it, with the pen, to the Realtor. Call me crazy, but that signature just sealed the deal on a rented three-bedroom house just minutes away from my parents’ place.
Renting isn’t the ideal situation, but the Realtor informs me just before she leaves that, for the right price, the landlord would sell.
This place needs some updating, although it’s beautiful, and I’d bet I could offer the landlord an even righter price for this.
The large bay window in the living room faces the beach, and so does the one in the master bedroom upstairs. The back faces the very same forest Sofie and Conner once snuck out to, the same one where I took Jessie for our second first date.
She had a point when she reminded us that we were still living at home despite being the highest-grossing boy band in the country last year. It’s fucking insane, but I guess we all needed home. Still—the bigger we get, the more control we have over our downtime, and I sure as hell don’t want to be shuttling between hotels and our houses whenever Jessie and I want to spend the night together like we have been.
I want to have a place where we can hang out then go to bed and explore each other until the tiny hours of the morning. I want a place where we can wake up hours later and I can come downstairs and find her dancing in the kitchen wearing nothing but one of my tour T-shirts. I want somewhere I can lift her onto the edge of the counter and make love to her, still in the T-shirt, without worrying if someone will walk in on us.
I want somewhere that she’ll eventually want to call home, too. And this just might be it.
Three knocks echo at the front door, and I walk through the airy, open-plan living area to answer it.
“Who was that?” Jessie cocks her thumb over her shoulder. “And what is this?”
“Come in.” I laugh, holding the door wide open.
“What?”
“That was the Realtor.” I hold up the keys. “And this is home.”
“What?” she gasps.
“I’m movin’ out,” I murmur, closing the door and pulling her close. “Want somewhere I can love you properly.”
“Holy shit,” she breathes. “This place is yours?”
“Rented. But hopefully, soon. The landlord would be open to an offer.”
“Holy shit!” She breaks away from me, leaving her purse on the island in the middle of the kitchen. She looks around, from the white kitchen cupboards to the open fireplace in the main room. I laugh as she darts past me and up the stairs, stomping as she runs up to explore the three big bedrooms and two bathrooms.
I wait at the bottom of the stairs, smirking as she powers around upstairs.
“Holy shit!” she repeats, stopping at the top of the stairs. “This place is amazing!”
“Sure is.”
She runs down and back into the middle of the living area. “That view is amazing. And the deck! And the yard out the back! Well played, rocker boy,” she acknowledges. “Just need some furniture.”
“Wanna help me? I have . . . nothing.”
She grins. “Sure. But the first thing you’re buyin’ is a huge-ass bed I can starfish in. And that you can sleep in, too, I guess.”
“And a His & Hers bedsheet that marks ‘Hers’ as three-quarters of the bed.” I sweep her close to me and smile against her mouth.
She throws her head back and laughs. “Oh, he learns quickly!”
“He does.” I brush my lips across hers, spin her, and walk her backward. “He’s also learned that beds aren’t necessary.” I perch her on the edge of the marble-topped island. “And that this house needs christening, and that should happen fucking immediately.”
Jessie wraps her arms around my neck, her hair tickling my face, and moves in to kiss me.
As my fingers dive into her hair and we gradually remove each other’s clothing and I slide into her, I know I couldn’t love this girl any harder than I already do.
Sometimes lies are made to last.
Make sure to check out the rest of the banging Burke Brothers series by Emma Hart!
Conner Burke, member of Dirty B, is confronted by the girl who broke his heart, who returns with a secret.
Dirty Secret
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Ladies' man Tate Burke hires a personal assistant with secrets of her own, but things get complicated when someone from her past turns up . . .
Dirty Past
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The banging fourth book in the Burke Brothers series starring the sexiest, most mysterious Burke brother of all—Kye.
Dirty Tricks
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What happens when the girl who has it all suddenly finds herself orange-jumpsuit bound?
A college senior takes Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” a bit too literally in this smart, snappy new adult debut, and finds herself sentenced to community service—where she meets a bad boy who might just be exactly what she needs.
Right Where You Are
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