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Huh?
“To four restaurants, and more are interested. I’ve sold everything I’ve already made, and I’ll have to expand and hire more people if I want to keep up with demand. And I talked to my mom. Told her I’d always be there for her, but I was done being her whipping boy. I told her to either learn how to be proud of me or get the hell o
ut of my life.”
“Sam—”
“Skippy’s potty-trained,” he interrupted. “And I finally bought him a collar with me listed as the owner. I’m committing.”
“To the dog,” she said, just to be sure she was following.
“And to you,” he said, his control breaking as he moved awkwardly forward and grabbed for her hands.
Riley pressed her lips together.
Can you still love the man who can’t stop loving you?
“You were right to write the article, Ri. And I know what you were trying to do. You were being brave and facing the hard facts that sometimes things don’t work out, no matter how badly you want them to.”
She nodded.
“But those aren’t our facts, Riley. Our story isn’t over. Not even close.” His hands went to her face, his forehead resting on hers. “Tell me it isn’t over.”
Riley searched his eyes. “How do I know you won’t chicken out again when things get hard?”
His lips brushed hers. “You don’t. Just like I don’t know that you won’t get tired of a whisky-brewing scrub who doesn’t know Armani from D&G—is that a thing?—but isn’t that what love’s about? Taking the risk? And I do love you, Riley. I’ve always loved you.”
She’d waited an eternity to hear him say the words.
They were worth the wait.
Riley pressed her mouth to his. “Does this mean I can call you Bruce?”
“You can call me whatever you want if you tell me you love me.”
Her fingers burrowed into the softness of his T-shirt as she held him close, never wanting to let him escape again. “I love you, Sam.”
He closed his eyes as his breath came out in a shuddering rush. “So, um—what about issuing a retraction of that article? Because true or not, I looked like a total schmuck—”
“Not a chance. It was an important teachable moment. For both of us.”
He shrugged and smiled down at her. “At least I won the important part of the battle.”
She lifted her eyebrows in a question.
“You.” And then he kissed her, long and hard, until their breath was coming hot and fast, until there was a very distinctly feminine giggle.
They pulled apart long enough to look at the doorway, where Julie, Grace, and Emma stood beaming at them, and Riley could have sworn she saw a flash of Camille’s orange bob.
“Julie’s idea,” Emma and Grace said in unison, pointing at the weepy blonde.
“You’ve sure got that kissing thing down, Bruce,” Emma said thoughtfully, stroking her chin. “If you ever want to be with a woman who doesn’t eat more than you do—”
Riley reached around Sam’s shoulder to slam the door shut in her friends’ faces. “Now. Where were we?”
“On the way to forever, I think.”
She rolled her eyes, even as she melted. “All that letter writing has turned you into a total cornball.”
