Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 83699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
He hoped she could forgive him now. “I’d really like to work with you on this, Gabby. I can create menus, but figuring out how to make them vegan or vegetarian is beyond me.”
He waited for her to smash him down while Ava squeezed his fingers. That’s what they had—solidarity, togetherness. Even if Gabby slammed him, Ava’s love would pick him up again.
But he wanted this to work.
For just a moment, fire blazed in Gabby’s blue eyes, and narrowing them at him, she said, “Don’t you dare hurt my big sister ever again.” A smile lurked on her lips as if she were making a joke. But he knew she meant every word. And there would be consequences.
His arm around Ava’s shoulders, he pulled her close. “I love your sister more than anything in the world. And I promise I’ll never hurt her.”
Ava sniffed as if she wanted to cry, and she kissed his cheek. They’d shared so many kisses and touches and lovemaking over the past month. But somehow that kiss, in front of her sister, was one of the most special he’d ever known. It held love and ownership and appreciation and total belief in him.
“I have to admit that marinated tofu you made at the wedding was yummy. But we can do so much more.” A smile stretched across Gabby’s pretty face. “So I’d love to work on the menus with you.”
Ransom felt Gabby’s forgiveness wrap around him at last, like a warm blanket.
Then Ava clutched his arm. “Oh, oh, I knew there was something I wanted to talk to you about.”
Ransom had no idea what. If her sister hadn’t been standing right there, he’d have wished for a litany of the sexy, seductive things she wanted to do with him tonight.
Instead, she shocked him. “You haven’t billed me for all those renovations on the kitchens.”
Ransom smiled because he had that answer all worked out. “Consider it a donation to your subsidy fund for all the people who can’t afford a decent place to live when they’re too old to live on their own.”
The two of them stared at him. Then suddenly, both sisters engulfed him in hugs.
When they finally let him go, he said, “Really, ladies, it wasn’t that big a deal.” He smiled at Ava. “All your kitchens were up to code, and I only had to do a few modifications to make the flow easier.”
Ava whispered the only words he ever wanted to hear. “I love you.”
Gazing into her eyes, he said, “I love you more than anything.”
Gabby coughed loudly. “Oh my God, I need to get out of here. This is getting way too sappy for me.”
Ava just smiled. “You said that about the final scene of Pretty Woman too.”
Ransom reeled in his beloved. “She’s young. She has so much to learn.”
Thank God he had learned how to love Ava before it was too late.
* * *
Ahhh. Fernsby allowed himself a mental sigh.
Love was definitely in the air. Ava and Ransom gazed starry-eyed at each other. Cammie and Dane could be at the opposite ends of the room, but their sparks still flew and crashed into one another.
Two down, three to go. There was still work to be done. These Harringtons had so much to learn about love.
He thought of himself as the Love Guru. He wondered what Mathilda would think of his vocation. And why were all the memories of his lost love coming back now, when it was a lifetime too late?
He surveyed the room full of Mavericks and Harringtons, including Robert and Fernsby’s personal favorite, Susan Spencer. It must be all the love in the air that made him nostalgic.
Now, who should be his next project?
He looked to Gabrielle Harrington—beautiful, blond, blue-eyed, just like her mother in all the pictures he’d seen of the family. But Gabrielle was so different from her parents. She was hardworking. Look at that cake as an example. One tier was vegan, made by Gabrielle with only a few comments from him, and one tier was made with butter and eggs, the two major food groups. And not one person in this room had been able to tell the difference.
Dane even had bets going on who had made which tier. Little did they know that Fernsby himself had put the betting idea into Dane’s head.
Standing back, Fernsby tapped a long finger against his lips. So, who needed his help the most right now?
Eenie meenie miney mo, catch a Harrington by the toe…
* * *
Clay felt more animated than he had in months, almost back to the place he’d been when he’d first started his internet platform for artists.
He let it spill out all over Gideon Jones. “I’m telling you, that kid Dylan—” He punctuated his words with sharp slices of his hands through the air. “—he’s a major talent.”