Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 100226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
I had no idea that Holden had moves on the dance floor. And he wasn’t at all shy about it.
Within just a few minutes, Holden opens the glass door and slips out, dressed in his sweats and nothing else.
For fuck’s sake, he should warn a girl when he’s going to walk around like that.
He sits on the swing next to me, and I pass him his glass. We’re angled toward each other, one leg bent on the seat, one arm resting on the back of the swing. Holden’s rocking us with his toes.
It’s the most calm and serene I’ve felt since we got married.
“I could tell that the women there tonight admire you.” His voice is low out here in the quiet, and his fingertips brush my elbow, sending heat up my arm. “They ask smart questions. You listen to them, and when you answer or give advice, they pay attention. It’s a testament to how well you run your business and how you treat people, Millie.”
I bite my lip, staring down into my tequila.
“For a long time, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I felt a little lost.” I take a sip. “I got that business degree in college, but only because I had to major in something. My brothers always knew what they would do. Rem would take over the ranch someday. Ryan’s a business man, through and through, and we all know how well that’s worked out for him. Chase is a total badass cop, and Brady’s first love, until he met Abbi and Daisy, was to be on the back of a bull. They all had things they were passionate about.”
I reach up and pull out the few pins that I popped into my hair to keep it tamed for the event, letting it fall, and brush it back behind my ears as I set the pins on the side of the swing.
“I knew that I had to come home.” I glance at him and find him sitting still, watching me with those beautiful blue eyes. “I just wanted to be here, in Bitterroot Valley. I didn’t want to live out at the ranch because I don’t love ranch work.”
His lips tip up on one side. “You’re awfully good at it for not liking it.”
“They don’t have to be mutually exclusive.” I stretch my foot out, looking at my toes as I spread them out. Holden sets our empty glasses on the ground and then takes my foot in his hands, gently massaging it. It shouldn’t be sexy, but my girl parts decide to do the cha-cha at the press of that thumb on my arch. “I love spring time at the ranch. All the babies and the branding and stuff. I always go out for that, and I always will. But the day to day?” I wrinkle my nose. “No. Not for me.”
I sigh when he massages each little toe.
“So, I found the apartment in town, started working at the coffee shop, and it was kind of perfect for me. I like seeing all the people, and I’m good at memorizing what everyone’s favorites are.”
“Everyone except mine,” he says with a knowing smile.
“Yours was the first one I memorized.” I close my eyes and lean my head on my arm. “And every time you came in, it tore more of my heart apart.”
“Rosie.” It’s a tortured whisper.
“But if you didn’t come in, that was even worse. Anyway, we’ve been through this, and it’s not why I’m telling you this story. A couple of years ago, when Marion came to me and said that she wanted to sell the shop, I didn’t understand why she was telling me.”
“Silly girl.” He grins at me.
“It really didn’t compute. I’m a worker bee. I’m not really a boss bee. But then I talked to Chase about it.”
“You went to Chase first?”
“Yeah. I’m close to all my brothers, but Chase and I…we’re kindred spirits. And he thought it was a great idea. Of course, I didn’t have the kind of money it would take to buy a business like that. It wasn’t cheap.”
“So, you went to Ryan.”
“Have I already told you this story?”
He pushes his hand up my calf. “No. Sorry, I won’t interrupt.”
“I went to Ryan. I knew he wouldn’t turn me away. He would have just bought the shop and given it to me as a gift if I’d asked him. He’s too fucking generous.”
“He loves you.”
“A lot, yeah. They all do, and that makes me a lucky girl. I made him set it up like a traditional bank loan, and I make payments to him. He refused the interest. In fact, he yelled at me when I told him to charge me interest.”
“I wouldn’t take that from my sisters, either, and I’m no billionaire.”
I shrug a shoulder. “It’s still nice of him. When I became close to the other four girls, we got drunk one night at The Wolf Den and decided to start this club for businesswomen. Because girls need to look out for girls, and there’s room for all of us to succeed. And now that we’ve been doing this for a little while, I honestly think that it’s the whole reason I was supposed to buy my shop, Holden. Because now I get to network and learn from all these incredible women, and they’re my friends. I guess my point of all of this is to say, I love that you’re proud of me. Like, love it. But I’m so grateful because for a long time, I felt lost. And now I’m not lost anymore.”