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“Ward, I love you. I’m in love with you,” she said softly.
“I’m in love with you, Mira McBride,” I said. I closed my eyes to breathe in the moment. I thought I had lost her, and I was going crazy.
"We need to talk, Ward," she said, pulling me toward the door.
“Yes, we do,” I followed closely behind her. “Bye Joe,” I said as he smiled at Mira and me as we left his room.
“See you two tomorrow,” he said.
“I’ll be back to check on you bright and early,” Mira told him, and we left.
Chapter Nineteen
Mira
"Rebecca came to see me. She told me you tried to ruin her," I spat it out like an accusation though it was meant to be a question.
Ward sat on the sofa beside me and exhaled sharply. “She’s crazy. She came here again and tried to manipulate me, but I sent her away. I’ve been trying to tell you she came back, but I couldn’t get in touch with you."
"In so many words, she said you are trying to sabotage me, so that you can take over my company," I said, this time more humbly.
Ward looked visibly upset. He looked into my eyes and said, "That woman will say anything to get what she wants. When Joe told me he worked at M&M, I researched the company and discovered it’s one of the successful and credible construction firms in the state. I’d heard about it and knew you guys were doing well, but after my research, I wanted to buy it.”
“I would never sell my company,” I said in a sharp tone.
“I know that now, but I’m telling you what I was thinking when I first met you. When I discovered you owned the company, I wanted to seduce you. Then, I got to know you, and you are different than any woman I’ve ever met. That’s why I decided to hire you to build an office duplex for me at a low price. I thought I could make you build the office cheaper than other contractors would. But you made me pay double what I intended to pay.” He chuckled, obviously remembering the hard bargain I drove during negotiations. “You are nobody’s pushover. And the time we’ve spent together has been priceless. You are a special woman Mira, and I love you.”
"I won’t lie and say Rebecca didn’t plant a seed of uncertainty, but deep down, I know you wouldn’t do the things she suggested. Thanks for telling me the truth.”
“I will always be honest with you, Mira,” he said, moving closer to me. “Now, where were you today? I thought something had happened to you.”
“Ward, I went to the ranch to see your aunt,” I admitted. “Then, I called my brothers and my parents. They are in town because my older brother, Brandon, is about to propose to his fiancé this weekend.”
“It’s good that you talked to your family,” he said with a smile. “Are you going to be there for the proposal?”
“Yes, my brother invited me. He said he was going to call me this week, but who knows if that’s true? Everyone else already knew about it,” I said sadly.
“The most important thing is that you two talked,” Ward said.
“Yeah, but it makes me feel like shit to know he was about to have this big engagement party, and, had I not called him, I wouldn’t have known. And he’s right here in New York,” I said, forcing back the hot tears that threatened to sting my eyes.
“Mira, from now on, I don’t want you to ever feel like you’re alone. If no one else is here for you, I’m here, baby.”
“Thank you, Ward.”
“And who knows? Today could be the beginning of a new start for you and your family. Just try to keep the communication lines open with them and see what happens.”
“I will. It felt so good talking to them. It was like old times. We just all let our careers, misunderstandings, and egos get in the way of our relationship… at least, that’s what Mom said.”
“I could see that happening with you,” Ward said and laughed.
“Oh, you can, huh? Well, you have a pretty big ego yourself, Mr. Levine!”
“Oh, baby. I like it when you call me Mr. Levine. I think you should go back to that.”
I laughed. “I bet you do.”
“You said you went to the ranch today. What made you go there?”
