Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
“You’ll get the job?”
“I think so.”
I lifted my mug to my lips with both hands. “And when would you start?”
“I’m not sure yet. But I won’t accept their offer without talking to you.”
“Okay.” I didn’t want to think about it.
“So what’s the plan for Thanksgiving? What does your family do?”
“In the past, we’ve always had dinner at the restaurant. This year, I’m not sure what we’ll do. I can’t believe it’s less than two weeks away—it kind of snuck up on me.”
“My dad called me yesterday and invited us and Gran and whatever members of your family who’d like to join us to his house. Austin and Xander are going to cook.”
“That’s so kind. I’ll talk to Gran.” Then I wrinkled my nose. “And Tabitha.”
“She won’t go visit her dad for Thanksgiving?”
“I doubt it. And even though she’s not my favorite person right now, I’d feel bad leaving her alone on Thanksgiving. Maybe including her will get her to stop acting so weird.”
“You still think she’s up to something?”
“Yes. She’s been too nice to me now for a month.”
Devlin laughed. “Maybe she realized you’re the boss. You can fire her.”
I giggled. “I wish. She’s supposed to be consulting with the spa manager on the aesthetics for the space, but I’m pretty sure we’re mostly paying her to scroll Instagram.”
“Maybe she’d rather have a job doing social media. Or PR. We need someone to handle those things eventually. Maybe that’s a better match for her skill set.”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll talk to her.” I sighed. “There are days I wish I could fire her, but I can’t. She’s annoying, but she’s family. That will always mean something to me.”
He chuckled and kissed my temple. “I know.”
TWENTY
devlin
Exactly one week after my interview with Rian Richman, he called me and said the position was mine if I wanted it. Corner office with a view. Fat salary. Company car. Excellent benefits. Everything I could dream of. Everything I’d been working toward.
The only hitch was that I had to start on the first of the year.
“That’s gonna be tough, Rian. I’ll just be honest.” I got up from the desk in the administrative office I’d been using in the main lodge and shut the door, muffling the sound of the drills and saws in the lobby.
“I’ll tack on two more weeks’ paid vacation,” he said. “With the use of company vacation homes. We’ve got properties everywhere—Aspen, Maui, Venice, the French Riviera.”
“Sounds nice,” I said, immediately picturing Lexi and I lounging poolside on a terrace overlooking the Mediterranean. Strolling hand in hand along cobblestone streets. Relaxing in a gondola as it cruised down a narrow canal.
“Your wife will love it out here after all those Michigan winters,” said Rian.
“You’d be surprised,” I said. “She actually loves winter.”
But of course, it didn’t matter, because Lexi wouldn’t be moving to California with me. Nor would she be accompanying me on any luxury vacations.
“I need to speak with my wife, Rian. Can I have some time to talk this over with her?”
“Sure. A couple days?”
“Could I have a couple weeks? Let you know right after Thanksgiving?”
He paused. “Okay. I can do that.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it. I’ll be in touch.”
We hung up, and I set my phone aside. Folded my hands over my stomach. This office was nice—lots of dark wood and leather, big windows with plenty of natural light, a view of the mountain. It had belonged to Lexi’s grandfather, and when I inhaled, I could still smell the pipe tobacco he’d smoked. I didn’t mind. It was a nice, grandfatherly smell, and something about it was comforting.
On the large, sturdy oak desk was a framed photo of Lexi and Tabitha as kids. I reached for it and smiled.
They were sitting on their grandfather’s lap—Lexi a few years younger than Sara, Tabitha still a toddler—and he had an arm around each of them. Lexi’s front teeth were missing, but that hadn’t stopped her from grinning widely, proudly showing off the gap in her smile. Her dark hair was in two braids, the way she sometimes wore it now, and that dimple in her chin looked exactly the same. She might have been laughing at something, and I could practically hear the giggle echo in the room.
Tabitha had the blue-eyed, towheaded look of a doll, and their grandfather’s expression was one of complete contentment. Based on Lexi’s age, it had to have been taken before her parents’ deaths, and I wished I could go back in time and stop it right there so that little dark-haired girl never had to hurt.
But I was about to hurt her, wasn’t I?
Frowning, I replaced the frame on the desk. For the last couple weeks—ever since Boston—I’d been grappling with a sense of dread I hadn’t anticipated. When I’d asked her to marry me, I’d thought only about the legal aspect of it. The actual piece of paper that made us husband and wife. I hadn’t thought at all about the relationship aspect. How it would feel to live with her. Get close to her. Share a goal and a vision day after day and a bed night after night. I hadn’t worried at all that either of us would lose sight of the big-picture reasons we’d gotten married. I hadn’t anticipated how good the moment-to-moment would be.