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I lifted my gaze first to his chief operating officer, an older guy who’d been mostly quiet so far, then to him. “Are you serious?”
“Serious as a heart attack.” He slapped his menu closed and sat back. “We can skip all the formalities and you can just tell me now. Yes or no.”
My future flashed before my eyes as I sat there, staring at Trevor. All I could think about was the woman who sat quietly next to me, hands folded in her lap.
This kind of money could make all the difference. I wouldn’t have to work all the time. Okay, so I probably would still work, but I could choose projects that kept me close to home.
“I’ll do it,” I said.
I looked over at Sammie, trying not to let my excitement show. I expected to find her smiling, as happy as I was at my sudden windfall. Instead, she’d paled considerably and was staring at me with wide eyes and a frown. She thought I was selling out. If she could just wait five, maybe ten more minutes, I could clear everything up.
“Excuse me,” she said to Trevor. Then she shifted her gaze to me and said, “I have to go.”
Without another word, she pushed back her chair, snatched up her purse, and rushed from the hotel restaurant, nearly knocking some ornaments off the nearby Christmas tree in the process. I turned to watch her go.
What had just happened here? What had I missed?
“I have to go too.” I turned back to Trevor. “I’ll be in touch.”
Trevor looked visibly annoyed. I could have just blown the whole deal. But I didn’t care. All that mattered to me was the woman who had just run from this restaurant. A woman who now meant everything to me. If she got away, I’d never forgive myself.
Luckily, my stride was longer than hers, and I caught up to her just as she was pushing through the revolving door. I grabbed one of the doors next to it and rushed out, meeting her on the other side. Cold air smacked into me, along with Elvis’s voice, blaring through the speakers above us. It was a fitting song. If I lost Sammie today, a blue Christmas would be exactly what I’d have.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “I don’t understand.”
She turned and looked at me, crossing her arms over her chest. “You just sold the company. I thought some things were more important than money. I thought your business meant something to you.”
Why did I have a feeling this wasn’t about my business? It was about her. She thought I’d just sold out to some corporate CEO.
“He’s offering big money,” I said. “Money that will set us up for a great life. I can take on projects that keep me close to home instead of traveling all over the place. We can start a family, build a home in the suburbs…”
In the silence that followed, it hit me that this might be too much for her. Who said she was ready to settle down with me? This could have all just been a one-time fling.
But if that was the case, why was she so upset?
“My company’s done well, but not this well,” I said. “And I want to be able to take care of you…for the rest of your life.”
“I don’t need someone to take care of me.” She lowered her hands to her sides and looked around. “I want someone to build a life with me.”
That was when it clicked into place. She wanted the same thing I did. I wasn’t phrasing this right.
“That’s exactly what I want,” I said. “But I don’t want to be the type of husband…and father…who’s on the road all the time,and that’s who I am right now. I want to be there for you. With you. And I want to support you in achieving your dreams.”
The chill in her expression melted, and I knew I’d finally found the right words. I sucked at saying what was in my heart. But it hadn’t mattered in any previous relationship. This time, not blowing things meant everything to me.
“I’m in love with you,” I said. “I know it’s soon…but yesterday was the most phenomenal day of my life. I want more of those days. I want you in my life every day for the rest of my life.”
This time when she looked around, I saw that she was fighting a smile. “Maybe we could take things one day at a time…for now.”
As she said those words, she was stepping toward me. But I saw when she looked up at me that she was happy. And that was all that mattered.
“And I’m in love with you too,” she said, putting a hand on each side of my waist. “But we’re going to have to talk about my future with your company.”
“There’s plenty of time for that,” I said, stepping toward her and putting my arms around her. “Right now, I don’t want to talk.”
And there, in front of the hotel’s front doors, I leaned down and kissed Sammie Benson as Elvis crooned in the background.
EPILOGUE
