Chapter 474
Chapter 474:
He leaned in and kissed me again.
Then again.
Stockpiling hellos and goodbyes for the next ten days.
By the time he relented, I could hardly breathe.
I shoved his chest away, gasping. “Stop, Christ. Let me go or I’ll miss the bloody flight p>
“It’s still early p>
“No, it isn’t.” I waved my phone in his face. “Look. Boarding starts in less than half an hour p>
He moved.
“The gate’s only a few minutes from here,” he said.
“There’s still security p>
Ashton had become curiously clingy lately.
He’d never sulked or whined—that wasn’t his style.
But these days, he lingered at breakfast, clung to me at night even after everything was over, and watched me when he thought I wasn’t looking.
I could see now, clearly, what a real proposal meant to him.
A fake marriage was a business transaction, a contract.
But this was the real deal—the kind where you trusted someone with your life, the one who would hold the pen on your DNR if it ever came to that.
I couldn’t help but wonder if the pressure of that responsibility was what pushed me to book the Paris flight in the first place.
I peeled him off me, ducked out of the car, and went to grab my suitcase from the boot.
Ashton snatched it from me, holding my hand all the way through the sliding doors.
“You could’ve taken my jet. No need to leave so early p>
gⲁ𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀.𝗰0𝗺, Ⓣ𝓎𝓅𝒆 𝓬𝓱𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒾𝓃 𝓐𝑔𝓮𝗇𝓬𝓎
“We’ve been through this. I can’t stroll into the new office off a private flight, car and all. I haven’t even met the team yet. What would they think p>
“How long will you be gone p>
“No set date,” I said. “Fabrizio’s been back and forth on the phone and over email. He wants me to visit their HQ. When I come home depends on what we sort out, and how fast I can finish the new work p>
“Stay away from him once you’re there. I’ll come find you when I get a chance p>
I glanced at him, amused. “Scared I’ll run off with some handsome Frenchman p>
“Terrified,” Ashton replied, not even trying to pass it off as a joke. “I need to keep a close eye on you p>
“Relax,” I snorted. “Fabrizio’s only interested in business. We’re just colleagues p>
He squeezed my hand tighter. “He’s single and a man. Of course, I’m worried p>
“Don’t you trust me?” I shot back.
“I do, but seriously, watch yourself in France. Don’t overdo it. Call me every day p>
“I know, I know,” I cut him off, rolling my eyes. “You sound like a dad sending his kid off on their first day of school p>
“I’m just worried about you. You should have let me hire you an assistant p>
“I’m working with jewelry designers, not staging a hostile takeover p>
“Now that you mention it…” Ashton’s brow furrowed thoughtfully.