“And what was the real answer?”
“That you were the one challenge I was too scared to take on. Maybe I just wanted to get enough practice before I decided to tackle it—or you,” he added with that boyish smirk of his.
I stood up and turned to look him in the eyes. I chewed my lip as I idly ran my hands over his tie. “You know you never had anything to be afraid of with me, unless the idea of somebody falling hopelessly for you is a spooky concept.”
“Very spooky,” he said, studying my lips from beneath those long lashes of his. “Because you do things to me I didn’t think were possible. I don’t wake up restless and angry, just waiting for something complex to bash my head against. Now I just want you.”
“How do you want me?” I teased.
“Vertical. Horizontal. In a boat or in a moat.”
“Hmm. I think the moat gets my vote for least desirable.”
Nick’s eyebrows were pulled together as his eyes roamed my face. He put his thumb to my eyebrow and moved it softly as he spoke. “You want spooky? I think I’m falling in love with you.”
Love. Suddenly I thought my knees might actually be made of melted butter, because it felt like I was going to collapse. It was the word that had floated around in my own head and made me feel silly. I’d said it with boyfriends before. Love you too. It was casual, almost. Like a little obligatory catchphrase to signify a relationship had gone from infancy to adulthood. But Nick made me realize how empty those words had been.
“I feel it too,” I said so quietly I wasn’t sure he could hear me. “Maybe that’s what has me so scared. I thought my heart was broken seven years ago, but what happens when I feel like this?”
“What happens is we fight for it. Nobody comes between it, because we can’t live without it. So this shit with Robbie is meaningless. He can try whatever he wants, but it’s not going to matter.”
I nodded. “You know, if this is how snails feel, I think I can finally understand why they spend their whole lives just gooping along at two inches an hour in search of it.”
He chuckled. “Did you really just turn this into a snail conversation again?”
“Maybe,” I said. “You have to admit there are some parallels to be drawn.”
Nick walked over to me and kissed me so tenderly that I thought I might just turn into warm, runny liquid and slide out of the chair. “I love you,” he said.
“I love you too.”
Chapter 28
NICK
My brothers and I were in the middle of our annual fishing trip. It had been a tradition since we were kids, and even the rinky-dink boat with a single engine and rust spots was part of the ritual.
We’d spend most of the day trying to catch whatever we could with cut-up hot dogs as bait, because that was what we’d used as kids. It was a perfect day for being on the water. There were enough clouds for the shade to let us cool off from time to time and not so much wind that our crummy little boat was getting blown all over the lake.
Cade, as usual, was wearing some monstrosity of an outfit, complete with suspenders, pins commemorating his make-believe achievements in fishing, and a floppy hat. He tugged impatiently, shaking his rod around.
“Are you sure there are even fish in here anymore?” Cade asked.
Rich was dressed like a normal human being would dress to go fishing. He tugged his hat a little lower and sighed. “Maybe if you didn’t make it look like your bait was having a seizure, the fish would bite.”
“I don’t see them biting yours,” Cade said.
Rich mumbled something under his breath and stared back out at his line.
In fact, none of us had caught anything all day, but that didn’t bother me.
“Hey,” I said after a while. “How did you guys know with Kira and Iris?”
“Know what?” Cade said. “That we wanted to smash?”
I shook my head in disbelief. “That you loved them.”
“It felt way more intense than anything before it,” Rich said. “The kind of thing that doesn’t even give you a choice, you know? Like it has a gravity all of its own that sucks you both in.”
“For me,” Cade said, “it was the first time I saw her ass in that uniform.” He licked his finger and mimicked touching something sizzling hot.
“Seriously?” I asked.
For once, Cade’s smirk faded, and he looked a little more serious. “I mean, there was the other part too.” He looked down at the splintery wooden bench he sat on and picked at a loose chip of paint. “Normally, I was already looking for the next woman as soon as I’d get with somebody. It was this restless, never-ending kind of thing. Honestly, it was exhausting. Then once things got serious with Iris, that part of me just shut down. The idea of looking for someone else seemed pointless, because I was good with where I was.”
Rich nodded. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Cade said it pretty well. It goes from feeling like you’re looking for something to feeling like you want to protect what you’ve found at all costs.”
“Yeah,” I said. “That’s pretty much how it feels.”
Rich raised his eyebrow. “You think you love her?”
“I do. I said as much the other day, at least.”
Cade punched me on the arm and grinned like an idiot. “Look at our little brother, growing up so fast.”
“Shut up,” I said, but I was smiling. “You know, ever since you talked to her about snails, Miranda won’t stop bringing them up. You poisoned her mind.”
Cade perked up. “Really?”
“Yeah, she even brought it up after we talked about the whole love thing. She said something like she can understand why snails spend their whole lives searching for love if this was how it felt.”
Cade mimicked wiping a tear from his eye. “I’m so proud of how far she has come. I’ve always thought snails were such a perfect metaphor for life. And now I know I’m not the only one who believes it.”
“What if they are just like simple little machines?” Rich asked. “If condition X is met, then behavior Y will be applied. That sort of thing. Who says it has to be about snail love?”
Cade looked at Rich like he had just said something unbelievably stupid. “If you think snails are robots, you’re even dumber than I thought.”
Rich sighed and went back to focusing on his fishing line. “That Max Frost story really did cause a few problems,” he said in an almost bored voice. “The Southpoint deal fell through, and I think it’s due to reputation concerns.”
“Fuck ’em,” Cade said. “That place was going to lose us money anyway.”
“Did you even read the report on it?” I asked him.
“No, but my intuition is almost always right. Most of the time,” he said.
“I really am sorry I brought all this shit down on us,” I said.
Rich waved me off. “We’ll survive it. People are going to pay the most attention to it now, while the story is still fresh in their minds. Give it a few months, and I doubt anyone will really care. Besides, I’ve heard a lot of people actually like the story. They think the idea that all of us moved out here to chase after our high school sweethearts is romantic.”
“Yeah,” Cade said. “Especially if you and Miranda manage to turn Bark Bites around. It looks a whole lot better if the company you bought to score some pussy ends up profiting and creating new jobs, after all.”
“Oh,” I said. “While we’re on the subject. I needed to ask you two about something before I pull the trigger.”
Chapter 29
MIRANDA
I stared at the stack of papers Nick had shown me and gave him a questioning look. We were in a hotel in LA again, but this time for an entirely different reason.
“You don’t think this crosses a line? Or maybe it’s just a little too petty?” I asked.
Nick frowned. “Of course it crosses a line. It’s also extremely petty. But he deserves it. And once you told me how worried you were about him still coming a
fter us, I knew I needed to think of something to put your mind at ease. This will protect us. It’s perfect, as long as you can swallow the slightly questionable morality, that is.”
I pushed the stack of papers back and closed the pen Nick had given me. He’d spent the past few minutes explaining the complicated business workings that allowed him to perform a hostile takeover of Robbie’s new employer. He figured we could let Robbie know by firing him, and he wanted me to technically own the company so I could deliver the bad news.
“As much as I want to,” I said. “I don’t think this is the right move. What if we just show him that we’re capable of this? Couldn’t we make a threat and let that hang over his head so he’d be too scared to ever screw with us again?”
Nick grinned. “I thought you might mention that. And, yes, that would make more logical sense. I mean, if we nuke his career, all we’re really doing is giving him a ton of free time to think of something really stupid to piss us off. But if we blackmail him, he might just leave us alone forever. I’ll be honest, though. I really wanted to watch you fire his ass.”
“It is tempting.”
“You’re right, though. Let’s do it your way. Do you want me to come with you, or do you want to go by yourself?”
“As much as I’d appreciate the backup, I think I want this to be something I do on my own.”
Robbie’s secretary let me into his office a few hours later. He was waiting behind his desk with a smug look. He was still handsome, but the way he’d acted since our breakup made me see his good looks in a new light. He reminded me of the corrupt politicians you’d see in movies—sneering and gnashing their teeth in one scene only to smile for the cameras in the next.
“Miranda.” He stood, smiling and spreading his arms to hug me.
I put my hand up and motioned for him to back off.
Still smiling, he straightened his tie and gestured for me to sit. “I knew you’d come around eventually. Max really did run quite the story.”
“Actually,” I said, “I was here to let you know a few things. One is that I broke up with you for a reason. It wasn’t a mistake. It wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t the kind of thing that you can change my mind on. I thought I could be with somebody who made financial sense and who would be good for my career, and the feelings would come all on their own. But that never happened.”
Robbie leaned forward with an irritated look. “Wait a minute. If you think all of this was about trying to win you back, you’re just flattering yourself.”
“Another thing,” I said, interrupting him, “is that Nick’s parents told me what you were planning when the Max Frost story didn’t work. Which is why I’m here today.”
“I have no idea what they are talking about. I haven’t spoken to his parents in ages.”
“I am here to lay this out to you, not to listen. So if you don’t mind, stop trying to make excuses and just listen to what I have to say.”
Robbie glared, but he sat back in his chair and watched me.
“So I decided you were probably going to keep trying petty, childish things to spite me. That’s why Nick and I worked up a plan to buy out Lockhart and Taylor. All we’d need is twenty-four hours, and we would have the power to fire you and anyone else we choose. We could shut the whole thing down, for all we care.”
“Bullshit.”
I shrugged, standing up. Nick thought Robbie would try to get the details of our plan, but we decided we’d have to keep them secret in case he tried to warn his bosses. “It’s up to you. Believe it’s bullshit if you want and test us. Maybe you’ll lose your new, cushy job. Maybe you won’t. But I feel confident that you’ll be smart enough not to find out. Won’t you?”
“I don’t think you’d risk your reputation to get involved in something like this.”
“The reputation you ruined? Thanks for that, by the way. You didn’t really give me a choice, but I realized it wasn’t everything I made it out to be.”
“Miranda,” he said, changing his tone entirely. “You’re not really considering that, are you?”
I shrugged. “All I’d need is a little motivation. So maybe think really carefully next time you want to interfere in my life.”
Robbie gripped his pen so hard I thought the top was about to pop off, but I managed to keep from smiling smugly to myself until I turned to leave.
Epilogue
MIRANDA
Six Months Later
I could hardly believe I was looking at the nearly completed version of Bark Bites Resort. I knew Nick had more money than he could spend in a lifetime, but it still made my heart swell to think he’d risk his reputation and his money on my idea like this. Nick met me at the dog-bone-shaped swimming pool.
He hugged me tightly and slid his hand behind my back in that possessive way he had, then kissed my neck.
I secretly liked the way Nick always made sure to mark me as his own when we were out together. He never seemed jealous or insecure about it. It was more like a simple statement of fact. This one is with me, so forget it.
I grinned at the thought. “You smell nice,” I said into his shoulder.
“You taste better.”
“Stop,” I whispered. “There’s a lot I have to show you, and if you start talking dirty, we’re going to end up in a janitor’s closet somewhere.”
“You say that like it’s a problem.”
I jabbed my finger in his chest. “You’re supposed to be looking over the pool with me to make sure we don’t have any complaints to take to the contractors.”
“You know, usually this sort of thing gets delegated to your underlings. I think having the vice president and CEO personally inspect a pool is a little overkill. Although they apparently didn’t think using a level would be a good idea when they did these pavers.” He knelt and pulled a coin from his pocket, then set it on edge and watched it roll down the slope of pavers that should’ve been flat.
“See?” I said. “This is why I brought you.”
“I just came for the ass,” he said.
“You better be talking about mine.”
Nick nodded to a worker who was bending down to work on some pipes a little way away. “Actually, I was talking about him.”
I slapped his arm. “Could you try acting like my boss for a minute so we can get this over with?”
“I actually meant to talk to you about that. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I don’t think I can let you work for me anymore.”
I laughed at first because I thought he was kidding, but he didn’t even smile. He just looked down at me with a grave expression.
“What do you mean?”
Nick sighed. “It’s just . . . well, I’ve never stayed on at a company this long after Sion acquired it before. Part of what I do is find a suitable replacement CEO to take over when I walk away from the company. And I’ve found someone who is perfect for the job. You.”
“Nick,” I said slowly. “As much as I want that—and I really do. But it’s too much. I can’t accept that.”
“Miranda, this isn’t a gift. It’s not some trinket I went and bought at the store to try to impress you. It’s a job that you earned. You earned the hell out of it. Just look around you. This whole thing was your idea. Your dream. So I want to give you the keys and the ability to know you made this. When it works, you’ll be able to know it was because you put it together and ran it as amazingly as I know you will.”
I blinked a few times, trying not to let the tears I felt stinging my eyes come. “For the record, there’s a lot of pollen out today.”
Nick pulled me into a hug. “Cry if you want to,” he whispered. “You can stay right there for as long as you want. Oh, but there was one more thing.” He whistled sharply, catching me off guard.
I heard the sound of a dog approaching. When I pulled away from Nick’s chest, I saw Bone Thug trotting up to us with a goofy little pink ribbon tied around his head. There was a pillow on top and a . . .
“Is th
at?” I asked.
Nick got down on one knee and reached for the ring. Bone Thug tried to bite him, so Nick yanked his hand back and swore. “We practiced this, you big asshole.” He tried again, but then Thug thought he was trying to play and started running sprints. Thankfully, the ring fell off, and Nick was able to awkwardly crawl a little to retrieve it.
He cleared his throat. “Not exactly as smooth as I planned, but now that we’re not colleagues, I figure there’s nothing stopping this from being a great idea. So what do you say, Miranda Collins? Will you marry me?”
Epilogue
NICK
The sound of clattering bowling pins filled the air. There was also a distinct dog smell floating around. Miranda and I joined my brothers and their wives for a game of bowling to celebrate opening day of Bark Bites Resort. The bowling alleys were shaped like big dog bones—supposedly, at least. I personally thought they looked a little phallic. Each lane was flanked by a padded doggy lane where the dogs could carry plush bowling balls down and smash into the pins at the end.
We invited all West Valley to stay for the weekend for free to celebrate the grand opening. There was some slight drama concerning the fact that this weekend was supposed to be when the yodeling games were held. Eventually, we worked it out so the yodeling games could still take place, and it’d just be a Bark Bites–sponsored event.
Miranda looked casual in a silky Bark Bites polo and khaki pants that made her ass look too good not to grab. She sat down beside me with a tray of chili cheese fries and wiggled her eyebrows. “Hungry?”
“Not for those,” I said, nudging her leg.
She bit her lip, then lowered her voice. “I’m not on the menu until tonight. As a big, important CEO, I have a lot of work to do.”
“Oh, absolutely. I can see how hard you’re working right now.”
She shrugged. “Work-life balance is one of my keys to success. If I don’t have a little time to bowl with my fiancé, what am I even working for?”
Anyone But Nick Page 21
