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“Official enough to print?” Linc checked.
“Yeah, but if you hold off a couple of hours, we’ll get you some more specifics about the steps involved.”
“Sure, no problem. Just shoot me an email.”
Once the three men left, it was nearly lunchtime, and I was thinking that perhaps I could convince Beckett to indulge in a little afternoon delight.
Last night, we’d crawled into bed well past midnight, too exhausted to do much more than cuddle. “It feels wrong to just go to sleep,” I’d muttered into Beck’s hair as he’d snuggled into my arms. “Should we fuck to celebrate surviving the night?”
He’d huffed hot air against my shoulder. “Romantic.”
“It is romantic. We’re arealcouple, babe. We don’t have any more secrets.”
He’d craned his head up to peck a kiss to my lips. “We don’t, do we? That’s awesome, but…I’m so tired. Maybe we can celebrate being a real couple by not having sex.”
I’d chuckled. “Sounds legit.”
We’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms, and there was something comforting about knowing that Beck would be there for me, with or without sex.
Of course, now that I was rested up and a little less stressed about this whole situation, I wanted those long legs wrapped around my waist while Beckett moaned under me. But when we walked Dad to his car, it became apparent those plans would have to wait.
“I’d like you two to come back to the office with me,” he said. “We’ve got some more business to discuss now that things are back on track.”
Beckett and I exchanged a look. He seemed as unsure as I did. It could be that Dad just wanted to talk about some housekeeping matters now that he was back in town and trying to get up to speed. Or…
He could finally be ready to talk about formally retiring and handing over the business.
But where I’d once have been a ball of excited nerves, I felt calm and steady, realizing that whatever happened, I already had everything I needed.
Beckett’s love was more than enough to make me happy and excited for what the future might bring.
Everything else took second place.
* * *
BECKETT
Dad wavedus into the seats in front of his desk, then pulled open a filing cabinet and retrieved some paperwork. My stomach somersaulted. This had to be about passing the business on to Wes. Even though I knew those papers would have Wes’s name, not mine, excitement fizzed through my veins.
He’d worked hard, and he deserved this.
Dad sat down behind his desk, spreading out the papers as he reviewed them, and cleared his throat. “Okay, now then. I know we’ve talked about what happens when I retire, but I want to make sure we’ve got all the details ironed out. This paperwork was drawn up by me and your mom together, Wes, with terms that we thought would be fair to you.”
“Mom helped write this?” Wes leaned forward to study the words, as if he might catch one last sight of his mother through the print on the page. My heart clenched, knowing that losing her must have been hard.
It hadn’t escaped my notice that Wes always called my mother Carol, even though I’d tried to embrace the Potter family wholly. It had felt like a double standard at one point, Nathan wanting me to call him Dad while Wes didn’t do the same with my mom. But I saw it from a different perspective now. Wes’s mother haddied, while the only father figure I’d known had chosen to walk away from me.
I was lucky to join the Potter tribe. I’d always known that, even when my insecurities made me doubt my place among them.
“This paperwork only has my name.” Wes sat back with a huff. “Beckett tried to tell me this was your plan, but I never believed you’d leave him out like this.”
His dad looked chagrined. “It’s not about leaving him out…”
Wes jabbed a finger at the text. “I don’t see his name anywhere, so what do you call it?”
“Wes, it’s okay,” I said, realizing for the first time that it really was.
Nathan wasn’t Craig. He hadn’t bailed because I wasn’t the perfect stepson. He’d supported me, even in a difficult situation, and I knew now that his love wasn’t conditional—even if Craig’s had been.
