“I’m almost never home. It wouldn’t be fair.”
“You choose to live this way. Almost everything you’re going to do for the next ten days to two weeks, you could do from New York. The planning, running the prints, projections. A shitload of computer work. And if you can do it from New York, you can do it from Maine. Oh wait…kind of like you’ve been doing for the last six weeks?”
“I should have fired you five years ago when you had the flu and forgot to call in sick.”
Scott snorted. “You missed your chance, buddy. And speaking of working from home, since I’ve wrapped up everything that can only be done on-site for the time being, I’m catching an early flight in the morning so I can spend the next two weeks with my wife and kids. You know, like normal married people whose work involves travel do.”
“Screw you.”
“Good to have you back, boss.” Scott stood and reached out to shake his hand.
“Thanks for not sinking the company.”
Once Scott was gone, Mitch poured himself another scotch and walked over to the window. He didn’t have much of a view, but it was something to look at, at least, while he turned the problem of Paige Sullivan over and over in his mind.
It wasn’t Paige who was the problem. It was him. She’d been living a wonderful life doing what she wanted, where she wanted. He’d blown into town, swept her off her feet—and been swept off his by her—and then he was gone.
And here he was in Chicago, doing what he loved and sleeping in a bed big enough for four people, and all he could think about was Paige. How he wanted to wake up with her in that bed. Every time he took a shower in the spacious bathroom, he thought of her. Everything made him think of her. And miss her painfully.
He’d thought it would ease up after the first day or two, but every time his phone rang and he hoped it was her or he thought of something he wanted to tell her, losing her hit him like a wrecking ball all over again. He had the feeling it would be a long time before he got over that. If ever.
The question was what he was going to do about it.
* * *
Paige heard the quiet purr of a car’s engine and the crunch of its tires on the gravel at the same time headlights cut through the darkness of her bedroom.
There was no reason for a vehicle to be in the lot between the diner and her trailer at almost midnight, so she pulled her phone off the charger and slid out of bed, her thumb hovering over the nine.
By the time she got to the window, the engine had stopped and she heard a car door slam. Not trying to be quiet, then. With her heart pounding, she peeked out through a crack in the curtains, careful not to disturb the fabric, ready to dial for help if she didn’t recognize the driver.
She recognized him, though, which did nothing to calm her racing pulse. It was Mitch, standing in the parking lot with his hands shoved in his pockets, staring at her door.
The seconds felt like long minutes as she watched him, neither of them moving. He looked tired. And, even though he’d shown up in the middle of the night, she got the impression he wasn’t totally happy about being there. She knew she should open the door, but she was afraid if she left the window—if she lost sight of him—he might change his mind about whatever had brought him there, and leave.
It wasn’t until his shoulders lifted and fell on a deep breath and he took a few steps toward the trailer that she moved. There wasn’t much she could do about the fact she was wearing a T-shirt that should already be a few years into its second life as a dust rag, but she tried to smooth down her hair. Then she flipped on the light and pulled open the door as she heard his footfalls on the steps.
He stopped when the light washed over him and simply looked at her. She drank in the sight of him, forced to finally admit to herself she’d been terrified of never seeing him again. “Hi.”
“I don’t know what to do, Paige.”
“About what?”
“Us. I don’t know what to do about us. I can’t walk away from Northern Star Demolition. I have obligations. I have dozens of people—and their families—depending on me for work. I have to travel. And I built that company from nothing. I’m not walking away from it.”
He was going to ask her to go with him. Paige tried to brace herself, but the shock of the choice she was about to face almost stole her breath. She could have Mitch. All she had to do was give up her home. Her business. Her friends. And that meant she was about to get her heart broken all over again, because she couldn’t do it. Wouldn’t do it.
“But I can’t ask you to walk away from this,” he said, and she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “You bought this trailer and you’ve brought that old diner back to life. You’ve made Whitford your home. So I don’t know what to do.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
He gave her a small smile, rocking back on his heels. “I was hoping you’d know what to do.”
She desperately wished she did. “What is it you want?”
“You. I want you and I don’t want to be a luxury. I want you to need me. I want you to not be able to concentrate because you’re thinking about me. I want you to reach for your phone because you thought of something you have to share with me. I want you to not even be able to breathe at the thought of never seeing me again, because that’s how I feel about you, Paige. I want to be a necessity.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. “I do need you, because I love you and you make me happy. I can live my life just fine on my own, but it will be so much better if I live it with you.”
“I love you. And we can make this work. I’ll try to cut back on my traveling and delegate a little better, which I’m willing to do if it means more time at home with you. As long as you’re waiting for me.”
“Always.” He kissed her until she could barely breathe, then held her for a long moment. “The women in this town are going to be so disappointed you’re off the market.”
“There are other women in this town besides you?”
“Nice one.”
“I’m trying to soften you up for the big question.” His face grew serious and he took one of her hands in his. “Do you think we can get a bigger bed?”
Laughing, she pulled her hand away. “There goes all that lovely floor space.”
“All three square feet of it. And maybe a TV?”
She tilted her head and smiled. “There you go trying to change everything.”
“And maybe if I have to make a quick trip just to check on something and you can get somebody to cover your shifts, you could go with me so we can have sex in the hotel shower.”
“We’ll have to put your computer on the stove and live off microwave meals.” This time, she was the one who turned serious. “Or, we could find a house together. One with a giant bathroom so we don’t have to have sex in hotel showers. I’d like to stay close enough to town so I can walk everywhere, but there are a few to choose from.”
“I know how much this home means to you, Paige.”
“And I’ll keep it. Rent it out. But the house we pick together will mean even more to me.”
“I want you to marry me. I want to have your ring on my finger so I can feel it when I’m away from home. I want to tell people, ‘I’m going home to see my wife,’ when I’m waiting to board my plane. And someday I’ll tell them, ‘I’m going home to see my wife and kids.’”
She threw her arms around his neck and said “yes” over and over, punctuating each time with a kiss.
“How about we go inside before somebody calls the cops on us.”
“Are you kidding? They’re taking notes—maybe even video—so they can get all the details right over coffee tomorrow.”
He took her hand and led her into the trailer, where he kissed her long and slow. “The sooner we go to bed, the sooner I get the pleasure of waking up next to you. Or, you know, kind of under you, since we don’t really fit side by side.”
Laughing, she pulled him into the bedroom. “It’s going
to be fun, being your wife.”
As he lowered her slowly to the bed, he kissed her and then said, “And I’m going to love being your husband.”
* * * * *
“Shannon Stacey’s books are a unique celebration of romance…drop everything and read Shannon Stacey.”
—Sarah Wendell of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
For more delicious contemporary romance, check out the first three titles in Shannon Stacey’s The Kowalskis series. Available wherever ebooks are sold!
Exclusively Yours
When Keri Daniels’s boss finds out she has previous carnal knowledge of reclusive bestselling author Joe Kowalski, she gives Keri a choice: get an interview or get a new job. Joe’s never forgotten the first girl to break his heart, so he’s intrigued to hear Keri’s back in town—and looking for him…
Undeniably Yours
Bar owner Kevin Kowalski is used to women throwing their phone numbers at him. Even if lately he’s been more interested in finding Mrs. Right than Miss Right Now. Enter Beth Hansen. Kevin and Beth may have started out all wrong, with an impromptu passionate encounter at a wedding. Yet Kevin knows there’s more to their relationship than a one-night stand…
New York Times Bestseller—Yours to Keep
Sean Kowalski no sooner leaves the army than he’s recruited by Emma Shaw to be her fake fiancé. Emma needs a husband-to-be for her grandmother’s upcoming visit and Sean could use the landscaping job she’s offering. Despite his attraction to Emma, there’s no chance Sean will fall for a woman with deep roots in a town he’s not planning to call home…
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About the Author
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Shannon Stacey lives with her husband and two sons in New England, where her two favorite activities are writing stories of happily ever after and riding her four-wheeler. From May to November, the Stacey family spends their weekends on their ATVs, making loads of muddy laundry to keep Shannon busy when she’s not at her computer. She prefers writing to laundry, however, and considers herself lucky she got to be an author when she grew up.
You can contact Shannon through her website, www.shannonstacey.com, where she maintains an almost daily blog, or visit her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/shannonstacey, her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/shannonstacey.authorpage, or email her at [email protected].
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ISBN: 978-14268-9433-6
Copyright © 2012 by Shannon Stacey
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