Page 95 of Not As Advertised

How could I have been so blind all these years thinking that climbing the corporate ladder was going to solve everything in my life? If I hadn’t met Abbie, I wouldn’t have realized that I’d been barely living, only existing to work long hours for money that I might never need.

She handed me the keys to the rental car. “I’m so sick of driving, Aiden. So many miles and so many hills along the coast. I’m done.”

Even though a little bit of worry ran through me at the thought of all those hours on the road alone, I was proud of Abbie for going after something she wanted.

“Okay, I’ve been patient enough,” she started once we’d buckled our seat belts, and I began navigating our way out of the parking area. “Tell me what happened with the board.”

Right, of course she would be worried about my job. She’d tried to throw away her own livelihood to protect mine, after all.

“When I got back from seeing my family, Jack called me into his office and told me I’d have to face the board. Honestly, by that point, I was so consumed by getting you back that it felt like another hurdle before I could get back to what was important. That’s you, if you hadn’t figured it out by now.” I glanced over at her in the passenger seat, quickly giving her a wink.

“You know, now that you mention it, I can see that.” Her tone was teasing.

“Good. Glad we’re on the same page.” My tone was dry before a laugh escaped me. “I basically told the board that I would like to stay, but not if we couldn’t be together. I mean, I said it more politely than that, but that was the gist.”

“So you didn’t tell them to fuck off?” she asked hesitantly.

“What? No! Is that what your menace of a best friend said I did?” I let out a shocked laugh.

“Yep. In those words. What did they say then? I’m nervous now.”

I reached over the console to take her hand in mine.

“You are too sweet, Abbie. It’s fine, though. No profanity was used in front of the board. They didn’t torture me for too long while they decided my fate at Appeal. Basically, my former assistant did such a great job of making me look good to the company that they agreed I should stay on.”

“Ha! Right, because I had so much influence over your work.”

“Hey, don’t doubt yourself. We worked great together. When I wasn’t coming up with filthy fantasies about you, anyway.”

“Aiden!” Winding her up was too much fun. “What happens next?”

“Well, Jack let me know that I couldn’t be your boss anymore for obvious reasons. I’m sure they will have everything figured out by the time we get back next week.”

Abbie was silent for a minute. I worried about what was running through her mind.

“Sweetheart, what is it?” I wanted to know what Jack had offered her.

“I don’t think we have to wait. I was just thinking what you just told me was the reason Anne and Grace got in touch with me a couple of days ago. Apparently, Jack is starting a B Corp solely dedicated to marketing for nonprofits. They offered me a role on their super-small team. I’ve been too overwhelmed to really consider it. But now I see that it would be a perfect solution.” Abbie’s tone was enthusiastic.

I squeezed her hand gently. “But is that something you’d want to do? Because you know I’d absolutely support your going back to school for photography.”

“I’m not ready to decide yet. But my favorite thing I’ve worked on at Appeal was the nonprofit stuff. So I think it would be a good fit.”

“Whatever you choose, I will support you.” Abbie had no idea the lengths I was willing to go to contribute to her happiness.

“I know, Aiden. Thank you.” I looked over at her again to see her smiling. A real smile that met her eyes.

“I love you,” I said again because I couldn’t help it. Her smile widened further.

“Love you too.” God, it felt good to hear her say it back.

I would have a hard time not saying it every time I looked at her now. She’d just have to get used to it.

I drove us to a tiny house near Long Beach, explaining on the way how Indie and Emery had canceled their flights so that I could spend the week with her.

After pulling into the driveway of the adorable little beach house, we walked hand in hand to the front door. By unspoken agreement, we opted to leave the luggage in the car.

Unlocking the door, I led her into the center of the house. Watching her take in the space, I grinned when she realized we were surrounded by bouquets of pastel purple roses, their heady scent permeating the space.

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