Page 88 of Best Laid Plans

It was a humbling experience to beg for something. I never thought I'd do it, but somehow, with Nova, it didn't feel wrong—it felt natural. She was my other half, begging her was…well, it was the way it was supposed to be.

I was under no illusions about how badly I'd fucked up.

Nina was in no mood to entertain my bullshit, and she'd unequivocally informed me of that when I met with her the day after I officially moved to Savannah.

"You have a large space here, Nina. Just rent Larue Homes a few offices and a conference room so we can have an office here. It'll make it easy for us to work together on this project and others in the future." I wasn't above using the lure of business to get what I wanted.

"Do you think I'm runnin' a freakin' matchmaking service?" Nina snapped. "Seriously, Aurora, Stella, and now Nova. It's like every single woman in Savannah Lace is having some kind of a volatile relationship that interferes with my company."

"I love her, Nina."

"I don't give a fuck," Nina exclaimed. "Manage your relationships on your own time."

"Okay, then let's talk about the professional relationship. We have a contract. You've already spent too many hours on Sentinel Heights to pull back. Let's finish that project."

Nina absentmindedly fiddled with a pencil, twirling it between her fingers before tapping it rhythmically on the table.

"You'll have a new project manager."

"No deal. I asked for Nova. I still want her."

"I can't force her to work on this," Nina drawled. "You convince her if you want her so much. And good fuckin' luck with that."

"For a Southern lady, Nina, you cuss like a sailor," I remarked, amused.

"Most Southern ladies cuss under their breath. I do it loudly 'cause I'm outta fucks, Anson. I'm a woman in my late forties, and I got no patience for bullshit. So, here is how it's goin' to be. Suppose you can convince Nova to work with you, great. And since she's our office manager, work with her on getting Larue Homes set up here. If she agrees, we can figure out the cost of rent and services."

I knew she'd want a development company like Larue Homes partnering so closely with Savannah Lace that we even shared an office. We were an established company across generations, while Savannah Lace was new and an all-woman company to boot, which was sometimes seen as a dilettante amongst the real architecture firms that were owned and managed, usually, by middle-aged white men.

"Okay."

"I hear you're looking to sell Larue mansion."

"That reached you real quick." I'd floated the idea to a couple of real estate agents, one in Atlanta and one in Savannah, a couple of days ago.

"I keep my ears open. I know Gabe has been looking to build a Rhodes Hotel in that area ‘cause of how it's developing."

I grinned. "And you want to help facilitate the deal?"

Nina was no one's fool. "Yeah, and develop the hotel."

"I hear Gabriel's wife works here, so he will probably hand over a project to you without you helping with the sale."

She scoffed. "Gabe doesn't work like that, and Aurora would cut his dick off if he did. We keep business and personal separate, though that's becoming a problem, first with Aurora, who was dating Gabe, then Noah becoming a partner, and now you chasin' after Nova."

"I'm goin' to catch her, too," I informed her.

"She's stronger than she looks."

"I know."

"You broke her," Nina said solemnly.

"I know."

"But Luna said you went on your knees, and I hear you crawled. I'd pay good money to see that."

I sighed. "I thought Sentinel was a small town."

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