Rating the Book Boyfriend (Book Boyfriend Builders)

27. Riggs

CHAPTER 27

Riggs

“ W here’s your new girlfriend?” my mother asks. She’s dressed in a green dress that looks lovely with her dark hair. “Nana said she really likes her.”

Checking my phone again, I see Libby is around thirty minutes late. The Christmas Eve party is in full swing, and I tug at the collar of my burgundy button-down.

“I texted her, and she said she’d be a few minutes late,” I reply.

“She’ll be along,” Mom says, soothing me with a hand on my arm. “Your father and I can’t wait to meet her.”

I hear a car door slam outside, and my head jerks toward the front of the mansion like Ace when he hears a cat in the yard. “Maybe that’s her.” Making my way out to the expansive front porch, a sense of joy infuses me when Libby emerges from her car.

Holy fucking hell. She is stunning. Her blonde hair is styled in long, loose waves, pulled up with a sparkly clip on one side. My eyes run down her body, and all the saliva in my mouth dries up. Libby is wearing a red pantsuit that makes her look like a Christmas siren.

I’m not sure what kind of bra she’s wearing, but goddamn , that cleavage. The pants fit her slender legs like a glove, and high glittery heels catch the last rays of the sun.

She’s wearing more makeup than I’ve ever seen her wear, with winged eyeliner and glossy red lips. I grin as my girl strides toward me with a… frown?

“Baby, you look gorgeous,” I say, trying to take her hand as she stomps up the steps, but she shakes me off.

“You have some nerve, Riggs Romero.” She gives me a poke in the chest with a red-painted fingernail.

“I, uh, what?” I ask, confused by her aggression.

“I know,” she hisses, her eyes tapering to slits.

“Know what?” I ask, my hand automatically going to the small box in the front pocket of my black gabardine pants. Her gaze zeros in on that movement, and her eyes are so squinty, I can’t even see a hint of hazel iris.

“That!” She looks back up at me, and I almost shiver from the furious pinch of her mouth.

Shit, she knows about her Christmas present and is pissed. But why? Because she thinks they’re too expensive? Probably. Well, she’s just going to have to fucking get used to it. I have money, and I plan to spoil her rotten.

“If we’re going to be together, you’re just going to have to deal with it, Libby. I?—”

Her eyes go saucer-round, and she cuts me off with another jab against my chest. “Deal with it? Oh, noooo, Mr. Romero. I will certainly not deal with it . Do you think you’re going to marry her and still see me on the side? I’m nobody’s side piece.”

Okay, I’m completely perplexed at this point. “Marry who?”

Libby throws her hands up in exasperation. “Lucinda! I know all about your little holiday proposal ,” she grits out. “I found the ring box in your underwear drawer.”

Ahhh, things start to clear up in my mind, and I fight a smile at her gross misconception.

“So you were snooping.”

“I was not,” she snaps indignantly. “I was checking your underwear size for… something. It’s not important right now. The point is that I know you don’t want to marry Lucinda. You don’t even like her. You like me. And I like you, even when you’re being an idiot.”

“An idiot? Seems you have poor taste in men, Liberty,” I say, biting the inside of my cheek to control my face.

“It seems I do, but you’ve grown on me. Like a wart,” she snarks, and I cover my snort with a fake cough. “If you’re being pressured to marry Lucinda, I’m here to stand by your side and help you resist the pressure. I know it can be hard standing up to people you love, but I plan to be here to support you.”

My heart melts into the consistency of warm oatmeal. I mean, she’s completely off base, but she’s offering to be something I’ve never had: a true partner.

Then those pretty eyes narrow again, and she grips my jaw. “But if you still think you’re going to propose to Lucinda tonight, you’re going to have to do it in front of me. You’re going to have to get down on one knee before her, knowing you’re breaking my heart in the process. And that’s not the kind of man I know you to be, Riggs Romero.”

Then she nods with finality, pats my cheek a bit harder than necessary, and marches into the house.

I watch the door close behind her and finally allow my smile to break free. The fucking balls on this woman. The strength and loyalty.

God. Damn. Is it weird that I’m fully hard right now?

After giving my penis a moment to calm down, I follow Libby into the house, only to find her standing with Nana Viv. Their clasped hands are between them, and the grin on my grandmother’s face smacks me right in the chest.

How did I ever mistake the tolerant smile she used to have when she saw me and Lucinda together for this… this… purely joyous one?

I’m happy Nana approves, but like she told me, it’s no one else’s business who I decide to love. And I’m utterly, head-over-heels in love with the sassy woman in the red pantsuit.

The one who adores me. The one who plays peek-a-boo with my dog. The one who can write a sex scene so hot it makes my neck sweat. The one who can bring those scenes to life in my arms.

Heading to the corner of the living room, I motion for the deejay to turn down the Christmas tune he’s playing, and I take the microphone. Tapping on it twice, I step onto the small, raised platform and say, “Everyone, can I have your attention please?”

All the furniture has been removed for the party, and the enormous space is filled with almost a hundred people, a mixture of friends and business colleagues. Their chatter dies down as every eye turns toward me. Including Libby’s.

Getting through all the formalities, the whole thank you for coming, we’re so grateful, happy holidays spiel , I allow my eyes to skitter across Libby as I look around the room. She stands with her arms crossed defensively over her chest at the front of the crowd, and her eyes are hazel fire.

Oh, my sweet Libby.

“I have something special I’d like to share with you all tonight,” I say, and I can feel the sharpness of her gaze, like she’s shooting actual daggers at me. Then I turn to look at her, reveling in the shock on her face when I hold out my hand. “Libby, can you join me, please?”

When she doesn’t move, I walk to her and take her hand. “What are you doing, Riggs?” she whispers but allows me to lead her onto the low stage.

“You’ll see,” I say in a low voice. “Just smile and listen.”

Libby bares her teeth, but instead of looking like a smile, it looks more like she may bite off any part of my anatomy I get too close to her mouth.

Speaking into the microphone again, I hold tightly to her hand. “I want to introduce all of you the beautiful Libby Hill.” I smile reassuringly down at her and get lost in her eyes. “She’s my girlfriend, and I’m absolutely crazy about her.”

A series of awww noises come from the crowd, and her face softens. I kiss the tip of her nose and manage to pull my gaze away to once again address the guests. “Libby is fairly new to the area, so everyone please make her feel welcome because she’s very important to me.” Releasing her hand, I wrap my arm around her waist, claiming her as mine. “Except for you, Phillips; you keep your distance.”

I look pointedly at Andy Phillips, one of Mercato’s food suppliers and a known playboy, as the room lets out a collective chuckle. He lifts his champagne glass in a silent salute of surrender.

“Everyone enjoy the food and drinks, and if you’ll excuse me, I need to speak with my girl privately for a moment.”

“Really, Romero? I didn’t realize you could speak with your d— owww !”

Penn’s charming remark is cut short when Nana cuffs him upside the head. “Penn Salazar! Where are your manners?”

“Sorry, Nana,” he mutters, though he tosses me a wink.

“Come on, sweetheart,” I say in a low voice to Libby, guiding her to a door behind us. We make our way through the next room, out into the hallway, and up the curved staircase to the second floor. Once there, I push open the door to an upstairs parlor and open the glass door to the balcony.

Libby and I step out onto the flagstone, and I turn to face her. “Is this okay, or is it too cold?” The temperature this evening is in the fifties.

“I’m fine. Did you bring me up here so you could toss me over the balcony for being an asshat?”

Laughing, I pull her to me. “Never. I just thought we needed a private place to talk. You seemed to have some… misconceptions.”

Even in the moonlight, I can see the blush coloring her high cheekbones. “Is that your way of saying I’m a raging bitch who jumped to conclusions?”

“You did jump to conclusions, but you’re the farthest thing from a bitch, Libby. You showed up here ready to fight for me, and it was about the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.” I kiss the spot between her eyebrows. “For the record, I never intended on proposing to Lucinda. She stuck that ring in my pocket at Thanksgiving, along with fucking directions on how she wanted the proposal to go. We argued about it and that’s when we broke up.”

Libby glances down and squinches her eyes shut. “Oh. Well, I feel like a complete idiot.”

“Lucinda isn’t even here tonight. I called her today as a courtesy to let her know that I’m seeing someone. I didn’t want to blindside her. She said she wasn’t planning to come anyway. She’s dating someone as well, and she’s spending the evening with his family.”

Libby looks up at me and smiles. “Hopefully he’s better suited to her.”

I bark out a laugh. “She’s going out with the guy who owns the jewelry store where she picked out the engagement ring that wasn’t to be. I’m sure he’s pretty perfect for her. For the record, the only reason I kept that ring is because I’m trying to figure out what to do with it. I’ll probably sell it and donate the money.”

Her head tilts in thought. “So what’s that box in your pocket?”

I smile. “That’s your Christmas present. I wasn’t sure what you’d be wearing, so I brought it just in case it would look good with your outfit. Which is smokin’, by the way.” My eyes roam down and hang up on her rounded cleavage. “I want to fucking motorboat your tits right now.”

She giggles and swats my chest. “Stop it, Riggs.” Her teeth sink into her bottom lip. “Can I see my present?”

“Of course. I think they’ll look gorgeous with what you’re wearing.” I pull out the box that’s wrapped with yellow paper—Libby’s favorite color—and has a tiny, festive green bow on top.

When Libby unwraps the gift and opens the lid of the pale-blue box, the sparkle in her eyes tells me I made a good choice. “Riggs, these are… oh my god, I love them!” she squeals. “They match my shoes!”

“Do you want to put them on?” She nods happily and reaches for the silver studs in her earlobes. I remove one of the new earrings from the box and hold it up, letting the moonlight gleam off the shimmering strands of tiny diamonds that dangle down like streamers.

After she has both of her studs removed, I lean in and kiss each bare earlobe and whisper, “Can I put them on you?” She nods, and I feed one post through the hole and secure it before doing the same to the other. The simple act seems so intimate, and I resist the urge to blurt out that I love her.

But no. I have plans for that revelation.

Libby shakes her head from side to side, making the earrings dance as a smile takes over her lips. “I love these so much, Riggs. Thank you. Rhinestones are my favorite.”

“Are they?” I ask with an amused grin, and she picks up on it.

“What are you—Oh my shit! These aren’t real diamonds, are they?”

“They are,” I reluctantly inform her. When she reaches for one of them, I grip her wrists and stop her.

“Stop it, Riggs.”

“Do you like them?”

“They’re too expensive.”

I tug her closer to me and kiss her forehead. “That’s not what I asked, Libby-girl. Do. You. Like. Them?”

“Of course I like them. They’re stunning, but?—”

“But nothing. If you like them, wear them. It’s simple.”

“I bought you underwear,” she wails. “I mean, I got you some other stuff too, but nothing like diamond earrings.”

“It’s not a competition, baby. I got you some other stuff too, and not everything is expensive. In fact, my favorite is a four-dollar magnet of the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. It’s the first place where…” I pause and adjust my words. “It's the first place where I realized how perfect we are together.”

Her eyes well up and her voice crackles. “You got me a magnet?”

God, I love this woman so fucking much. She tears up at a damn magnet that costs one-thousand times less than the earrings she’s currently wearing.

“I did, because it holds a special memory for us. And these earrings… I immediately thought of you when I saw them. They move like they’re full of vibrance and energy, just like you.”

“Riggs,” she chokes out, throwing her arms around my neck. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, baby. Now sit down.” I guide her to a rattan chair and kneel in front of her. “I’m about to prove to you that you’re the only woman for me.”

Her eyebrows lift. “Oh really?”

I nod, running my hands beneath her suit jacket to search for the button of her pants. “Where the hell…”

“There’s a zipper on the side,” she says with a smirk, and my fingers immediately locate it.

Locking my eyes with hers in the dim blue moonlight, I say, “Prepare to be claimed, Liberty.”

Twenty minutes later, I have three of my woman’s orgasms still vibrating against my tongue as I guide her down the steps and back to the party.

“You’re looking awfully smug,” she comments, holding my hand.

“I’m feeling awfully smug,” I admit. “How does it feel to know I’m about to introduce you to my parents with the taste of your sweet cunt in my mouth?”

Her lips curl up into a wicked smile. “You’re a pervert, Cobra McSnugglebuns.”

“And I’ve met my match in the very spicy Libby Cocks.”