Page 31 of Best Laid Plans

She was a classic beauty. I'd known her my whole life, well, at least since she'd become friends with Alma when they were in kindergarten.

She ran her hands up my thighs. "You look tired."

"Cause I am," I admitted.

"How tired?" she whispered, as she started to unbutton and unzip my pants.

I closed my eyes and relaxed. Maybe a blow job wouldn't be such a bad thing, I thought. But the minute she touched my uninterested cock, I stopped her.

"Not in the mood, darlin'."

She cried out and leaped to her feet. "You're never in the mood. Do you know we haven't had sex in weeks?"

I did know. Since I saw Nova, I couldn't imagine fucking Bailey. I didn't want to.

Christ! I was losing my mind.

"I've been busy." It was a lame excuse, but it was better than, "Sorry, babe, but I just saw the love of my life, and now my dick only wants her."

Chapter 14

Nova

Two weeks after I was in Sentinel, the Larue Homes team came to Savannah Lace to hear our proposal and accept it. They had signed a contract of intent with us, but after this meeting, I was hoping that we'd sign a full contract that would take us through the next three years while Sentinel Heights was being developed.

This was going to be a big project for us, and I was grateful that Nina trusted me with it. Despite the fact that Anson asked for me, if Nina didn't think I could do the job, she wouldn't have given me the opportunity.

Why Anson wanted me on his project was no surprise. He wanted revenge. He wasn't going to get it. All he would get was a damn good luxury resort in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, period.

I spoke with our head of legal and finance about Larue Homes giving me access to their budgeting system. They found it unusual, and when I expressed my discomfort with that level of responsibility, they took my username and password, setting it up for someone from the finance team to manage the budget instead, ensuring I had no access to it.

"You good with this?" Luna asked as she, Stella, and Aurora walked into my office right before the meeting. My posse!

"Yeah," I assured her.

"Nova?" Aurora leaned her ass against my desk. "You sure?"

"Yeah," I repeated, rolling my eyes. "I'm a consummate professional."

Stella scoffed. "Hey, I know how it is to work with an ex who fucked you over. So, don't tell me about professional."

I folded my arms. "The ex you're now married to?"

She chuckled. "What can I say!" She wiggled her right hand, flashing her engagement ring and wedding band.

I looked at Luna. "You'll be at the meeting, and if you see anything untoward happen, you can jump in and kick Anson's fine ass."

"He does have a fine ass." Luna winked at me. "Not sayin' you're weak, honey, just want to make sure you're not havin' any concerns."

I pursed my lips and gave them honesty. "Anson and I were a long time ago. And, you know what Maya Angelou said? When a man shows you he's an asshole, you should believe him."

Aurora and Stella cleared their throats but didn't say anything.

"These bitches both forgave their assholes and married them," Luna teased.

"Gabriel groveled," Aurora protested.

"So did Noah," Stella remarked.

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