Status Updates From I Flipping Love You (Shacki...

Pierce- I kiss her through her laughter.
She tastes like love. She feels like my future. Rian is the beginning and the end. She’s the fight I won’t give up. She’s the forever I won’t let go.

“I was banking on a yes. I mean, we’ve been living in sin for a year already, and we co-own a business together. I know chemistry is a big deal, but with the whole two of ten on the compatibility scale, I was a bit worried, yeah.”
She laughs. “God, I love you.”

❤️❤️

I quickly tear open the bag, then slip my hand inside my pocket & find what I’m looking for. I manage to get it into the box of cereal & withdraw a handful of the sugary, cinnamon squares when Rian comes around the corner…
Her brows knit together & her perfect, pouty lips turn down when I stuff the handful of cereal into my mouth. “What’re you doing?” she asks, incredulous.
“I got hungry.”

Ring in box?

Pierce- The past year has been incredible, and I’m hoping to make the rest of the ones ahead of us just as amazing.

Definitely proposing 💍

Rian- That’s a lot of money to spend on my dream.
Pierce- Well, it can be our dream now, can’t it?

Is he proposing?
Does Marley know?

He did it
Quit his job
Left Manhattan
Bought mansion

“So I did something today, and I need you to hear me out before you get mad at me.”

Pierce to Rian
This doesn’t seem like a good start to a conversation.

I stop about fifty yards from the Mansion and stare up at one of the best parts of my past; a place full of love and happiness and good memories. I let the tears fall for the family I lost all those years ago, and take comfort in the fact that all those things still exist inside my heart.

Rian looking at Mission Mansion from the beach

Disappointment settles under my skin and irritates like an unscratchable itch.

Great line

Pierce’s hands rest gently on my shoulders, and he dips down to press a soft kiss against the side of my neck. “I could buy it.”
I drop my head and exhale a breath. It would be too easy to say yes. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking.” He looks so earnest in his offer.

Talking about the Mission Mansion

It’s almost exactly as I remember it, but everything is dated and worn. Even the furniture is mostly the same—a shrine to a lost life. In the interest of selling quickly, my father had opted not to hold a contents estate sale. He sold the Mansion and everything in it. Once the money was transferred into his offshore account, he and my mother disappeared.

Touring Mission Mansion

The following morning I find a brand-new dress that probably costs more than two months of mortgage payments hanging in my closet and a pair of strappy sandals. I almost cry, but manage to rein in the tears.

Pierce bought Rian a new dress for the showing

“I’m one hundred percent in love with you, and there’s absolutely nothing you can do to change that.”

Pierce to Rian

Rian- I drop my head and wish my hair wasn’t in a ponytail, that it could provide a curtain of protection for the pain I can’t hide. I hate that I have to carry this past with me forever. I press my palm to my mouth, fighting back a sob, because even though they’ve disappeared from my life, my parents still manage to ruin all the things I love.

“You’re un-fucking-believable.” I bark out a humorless laugh. “You could’ve walked away instead of trying to make me into the villain.” I turn and head for the door.
She grabs my arm. “Pierce, wait.”
I shake her off. “For what? You to accuse me of something else? For you to decide I’m worth more than just a fuck? No, thanks.”

Noooooooooooooo!

I don’t want them to fight & break up.

Rian sneaks out of Pierce’s condo and leaves Manhattan while he’s sleeping

Is this what they’ve been planning the entire time? To buy up all the property around the Mission Mansion, put enough time and money into renovations to increase property value, and then sell it off to the Millses so they can build a huge hotel?

Rian thinks Pierce is hiding something big

Rian is wandering around Pierce’s condo while he sleeps
Exploring & hearing about him

Chapter 26: UN-KNOW

Interesting chapter title considering that Rian & Pierce have been talking & trying to get to know each other better

He called her his girlfriend ❤️

Pierce thinks Rian’s mental math is sexy 🔥

Piece looks around Rian’s apartment while she gets ready
Photos & pottery

Rian- I had you pegged all wrong.
Pierce- People usually do. What misaligned assumptions did you have?
R- I thought you were a rich, cocky a-hole. Well, you’re cocky, but you can get away with it, considering.
P- Considering what?

Rian- You’re an interesting man.
Pierce- Good interesting or bad interesting?
Rian- The good kind of interesting. You’re kind of a walking, talking oxymoron. You’ve got a background in law, so you could work this supercushy office job, and make great money. But you choose to get your hands dirty instead and dabble in an unstable, sometimes unforgiving market.

“You’re a smart woman, Rian.”
“Only sometimes.”
“All the time.” I kiss her neck.
“I’m a little stupid over you,” she whispers.
“Same.”

“I’m so glad you stopped fighting this.”
“Fighting what?”
“Us.” The tip of his nose brushes mine. “I want in you.”
Panic flares at the possibility that he means it beyond the literal.

The chemistry between us is ever present and undeniable, but this emotional connection scares me because it’s only a matter of time before I can no longer keep them separate from each other.

Rian thinking about Pierce

Pierce- It doesn’t matter if the bourbon is expensive or not, it still makes for one hell of a pounding headache the day after you drink an entire bottle of it.

🥃

if he wants to play pool boy while I play little Suzy Homemaker, I’m game. It makes for interesting foreplay. And Muriel is fun to be around. It’s almost as though she believes she’s playing matchmaker with us.

Pierce & Rian are competing for the same house