For three days after the press conference, Emily and Alexander existed in a bubble of their own making. The world outside exploded with coverage of Alexander's grand gesture—think pieces about modern romance, business analyses of the hotel purchase, tabloid speculation about their relationship. But inside the penthouse, none of it touched them.
Alexander was different after his public declaration. More relaxed, more openly affectionate, as if claiming Emily in front of the entire world had satisfied something deep and primal in him. He spent hours just watching her, his hand always finding hers, his body gravitating toward her like she was magnetic north.
"What are you thinking?" Emily asked one evening, catching him staring at her again while she read.
"That I've never been this happy," Alexander replied simply. "That buying that hotel was the sanest thing I've ever done. That you're real and mine and I don't have to hide it anymore."
