Page 47 of Feel It in the Air

“Maybe,” I joke, grabbing hold of his shirt and yanking him down for a kiss. “But, switching gears back to the contract, sorry…” I smile, gritting my teeth, wanting him to know that I appreciate his super swoony declaration, and I have every intention of showing him just how much, but I don’t want to lose this train of thought. “Whatever you do, just make sure that the building is included.”

“What?”

He pulls back just enough to look at me, the gears in his head moving right along with mine.

“The drugstore is in a freestanding building, right?” I rack my brain, trying to remember. Hickory Hills is still so new to me that I don’t remember every detail, but I don’t think it’s connected to whatever is next to it.

“Yeah. I mean, there’s all of maybe a six-foot alley between it and Dye Hard, the salon next door, which is very much against building codes, but since they are registered historic buildings they remain as is. But yes, to answer your question, it is a freestanding building.”

“Then you need to make sure it’s included in the contract. I know that sounds crazy, but that happened to a friend of my grandfather’s when he took over his business. He bought the business but didn’t realize the building itself wasn’t included and got screwed over for years. Maybe that was a specific thing to the city they were in, or hell, it was forty years ago, so laws could have changed. I don’t know. I focused on intellectual property, not actual property. But it’s worth checking, right? At least, I assume whoever owns the store owns the building and there isn’t a landlord situation?”

“No idea. None of this ever crossed my mind to ask. But I will now.” He blows out a long, hard breath, looking at his watch. “Let me go make some notes so I get all this right and get the team on it first thing Monday. And then, I have a date with my beautiful girlfriend tonight.”

I titter, unable to help myself. Girlfriend. Damn, you’d think I was fourteen all over again, and not a thirty-something woman with multiple advanced degrees. Still, I’m not going to stop myself from enjoying this.

Gus turns to go, then stops, rushing back to me, kissing me hard. “Margeaux, have I told you how fucking sexy your brain is?”

I chuckle. “No, but feel free to compliment it all you want.”

Pressing his forehead to mine, Gus sighs, taking a moment. “All of you is incredible. Irresistible. And I plan on showing you just how much later. But your brain, Margeaux Finnegan, that’s what impresses me the most. What brings me to my knees every time. And I don’t want you to ever forget that.”

Never…