Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Valiant Trilogy: Kabanata 91 - Kabanata 100

All places on my wish list.My shoulders perk up and I look away from the tower for a second, staring into his brilliant honey-colored eyes. "Ireland?" I ask hopefully. I don't want to give in to the game of making promises we're not sure we can keep, but after Paris it's the second location on my list.He places his forehead against mine, blocking my view of the tower. "For you I'd spend time in the green hills with the Irish sheep.""And kiss the Blarney Stone?" I ask, listing off the number one thing I need to do if I ever make it Ireland.He pulls away, his face crinkled. "Fuck no. People piss on that thing."I laugh and it's a light sound, one I haven't made since Vincent and I were at odds with one another."They do not." That is entirely an urban legend. There's so much security on the rock now it's perfectly clean. As long as you consider kissing a rock which hundreds of other people kiss that day perfectly clean. I would wipe it off first. To be safe.There are s

Vincent's fingers intertwine with mine and we stroll Champs-Élysées together in the morning. Tourists pack the famous high-end street known for its shopping. Every part of Paris is packed with tourists. Even as a piece of my heart longs for privacy with Vincent like we had the night before on the boat, I marvel at the shops. I never thought this trip would be possible. At least not at this point in my life. I expected to save for years to make the journey, but here I am in my twenties experiencing it.Expensive stores line either side of the street. Everything you could need from a top-of-the-line fashion store is here. I can't afford to shop in any of them. Just strolling along the sidewalk and among the others is enough for me.Vincent squeezes my fingers as we walk past the Louis Vuitton store and my mouth falls open, looking at the beautiful purses in the window. Even with my ridiculous income as Vincent's assistant, I can't afford to set foot in the store."Thanks for making

"I have not."That damn eyebrow tics higher. "Yes, you have."I drop the sleeping e-reader on the coffee table next to my drink. "I'm not bored. I'm thinking."Vincent takes a large breath as if he's gathering strength for dealing with me and then closes the lid to his laptop, pushing it to the side. "About your desire to join the mile-high club? Because if so, I can make that a reality."I laugh, my eyes flitting back of the bedroom. Maybe. "No.""Then what?""Where do people think we've been? What happens we get back to the states? What about your… Tiffany?" I don't want to use the word wife to describe her. It's a complete cop out on my part but a constant reminder of the trouble facing us. Sometimes in a woman's life, she needs to take the cop out and hold on to it like her favorite childhood stuffed animal. "What about us?"Vincent smirks and leans back in his chair. "That all?"That all? That's everything."It's a start," I say lifting a shoulder.He stands an

Mainly a nosy roommate who wanted to know every single thing about my trip and who texted me incessantly until I returned home to fill her in—on most of it—in person. When I asked Davis to drop me off at my apartment after we left the small Lansing airport, I worried Vincent might think the worst. But my head was still wrapping itself around the fresh developments, and I reassured him while also promising myself everything would be okay.We stare at one another with a million words to say. Apologies and questions about the future, but we're at work now and I promised myself, and Vincent, I would be an excellent assistant. Those things have to wait.My phone vibrates in my back pocket. I'm waiting on a call from Vincent's dry cleaner so I don't waste a second pulling it free.HENRY: How is your dad?I roll my eyes and slip the phone back in my pocket without answering."What?" Vincent asks, studying me carefully.I swoosh a hand in front of my body like I can wave away Henry

I have tears in my eyes as I lower the phone and look to him, the first sign something is amiss.Slowly as if I'm precious and he doesn't want to damage me, Vincent takes my chin in his hands. "Mackenzie, what's wrong? Tell me."I sniffle and wipe across one eye. Doesn't he see? "I'm sad because I'm losing my job and now I need to find a new one. My boss can be a real ass, but he's grown on me."Vincent appears startled as if I've lost my mind. He even chuckles despite my sorrow. How can it be one week ago I was so mad I wanted him to fire me, but now faced with not getting to spend my days with Vincent has me ready to blubber like a small child? How much changed in a short time?He takes my phone and tosses it lower on the bed. "Go shower," he says placing a kiss on my chin, his hand running lower and squeezing one of my breasts. "You're not losing your job. It's just moving the marketing. I already told you this."It's the second time he's agreed to maintain our original ba