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“Mm.” He hummed, stepping closer. “Whywereyou attracted to me?”
I grinned. “That big brain of yours.”
“Right. My bigbrain.” He pulled me into him, letting me feel his erection. “That’s not all that’s big.”
“You’re very…distracting right now.” I laughed.
“I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” he whispered, nuzzling my neck, “to convince you to be with me.”
“Is that so?” I asked as he kissed my cheek. My neck.
“Yes.” He leaned back, eyes scanning mine. “So, what do you say? The kids are young, and this is a perfect time to travel. For years, I’ve wanted to do something like this, but I always made excuses.”
“I would live in the AV if it meant being with you and the kids,” I said, and I meant it. It wasn’t that I disliked the region or small-town life. Quite the opposite, in fact.
I’d come to realize that I loved the AV and the people of the community. And the only person who’d worried about how I compared to my sister was me. Well, and my mother. But I wasn’t going to let her dictate my decisions anymore.
For so long, I’d made choices based on the opposite of what Tessa might do or what my mom might want me to do. But now, I’d released myself from that mind-set. Any choices I made were for myself.
“We can always go back at some point if that’s whatwedecide. But for now, I want to take an adventure with you.” He tucked my hair behind my ear, putting a little space between us.
“But your company…”
Now it sounded like I was the one making excuses. I wasn’t. I was just…trying to wrap my head around everything. It seemed too good to be true.
“I talked to the Blue River Billionaires about it.”
“The who what?” I joked.
He chuckled. “There’s a new group of billionaires in Blue River. Knox Crawford is one of them.”
“And…?”
“Based on what I told them, they suggested stepping down as CEO and consulting remotely.”
“You can do that?” I asked.
He nodded, smiling. “We have options, Elle. Even if we don’t sell the house right away, Tessa left a life insurance policy. I only found out about it recently, and well—” He dragged a hand through his hair. “This might sound crazy, but it felt like a sign.”
“A sign?” I asked, not wanting to misinterpret his meaning.
“That Tessa would want us to use it to travel. To live.”
I wiped away a tear and nodded, knowing he was right. This was absolutely what Tessa would’ve wanted.
“Yeah, but you would do that?” I asked, rephrasing my question slightly. “You’d want to step down from the business you’ve worked so hard to build?”
“It will take a while to make the transition, but it’s time for a fresh vision for Lockwood Industries. And a new challenge for me.”
I considered it a moment. Though, really, what was there to think about? He’d assuaged every concern. As long as the kids were on board, I was game.
“I see those wheels turning,” he finally said with a crooked smile. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m thinking—” I wrapped my arms around his neck “—that as long as this is what Maddox and Savannah want, then yes.”
“And if it’s not?” he asked, hesitancy in his tone.
“What happened to your confidence?” I teased.
