Page 86 of Raging Inferno

He met her gaze. “Why can’t you move?”

“I love my job. It’s my life.”

Kayne focused on the road again. “You only get a short amount of time on this big blue marble,cher. Happiness isn’t easy to come by. True love even more so. Seems to me you should grab onto it when you can and never let go.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Presley thought about Kayne’s words for the rest of the ride home. Why couldn’t she move? Yes, she loved her position on the COBRA Securities team and her coworkers, but it was only a job. Dominic, Gia, and Major were her heart. Her home.

True, she’d never thought about returning to Serenity Shores permanently. Presley had been so eager to get away when she was younger. She’d never looked back, nor had any desire to revisit it, especially after her parents had moved away. As lovely as her hometown was, it would forever hold memories of Gwen. Good and bad. Now, there would be reminders of Margy, Nancy, and Charmaine. Everything had been tainted. Presley wasn’t sure she wanted to deal with that every day.

As much as she loved Dominic, she didn’t want to resent him for uprooting her life. Bosses like Luke Colton and Logan Bradley were few and far between. They’d believed her—believedinher—when she’d been at her lowest. Presley had been coming from a job she’d quit because of accusations of her boss attacking her. They’d only had her word. No one else had listened to her. They had. That meant the world to her.

With a deep inhale, Presley weighed each side. Beloved job. New love. When it came down to it, Dominic and Gia won every single time. She simply didn’t want to live without them. What was an excellent career without the people who made you happy?

Presley was feeling optimistic when Kayne navigated the driveway to the house. The fatigue that had plagued her earlier was replaced with a giddiness boarding on hyperactivity. She wanted to proclaim her love as soon as she saw Dominic.

“Make him work for it.”

“Uh, what?”

“I know you, Presley. You want to run inside and declare your love to Dominic. Am I right?”

Yes.“No.”

Kayne chuckled. “If you’re going to quit your job for him, at least make him grovel at your feet.”

Kayne dumped rain on her parade, but he was right. She deserved some concessions for her life-altering decision.

“Presley!”

Presley barely had time to brace herself upon entering the house before sixty pounds of girl and seventy pounds of canine attacked her. She absorbed the blows, scooping Gia up with one arm while scratching Major with the other. Once they’d both calmed down, she looked up and met Dominic’s eyes. Oh, my, she loved him. There was no choice. Disregarding Kayne’s suggestion, she opened her mouth to tell him. “Dom—”

“Who are you?” Gia’s question cut her off.

“Hello, Gia.” Kayne bent over to shake her tiny hand. “My name’s Kayne. I work with Presley.”

“You do?”

“I do,cher.It’s nice to meet you.”

Gia giggled. “My name isn’t Cher.”

“That’s a term of endearment in Cajun. I’m originally from Louisiana.”

“Ooh, I like it.”

“I could also address you asla petite filleorma belle.”

Gia covered her mouth and giggled again, obviously smitten with Kayne. “Were you named after Adam and Eve’s son?”

“Well, no, but it’s pronounced the same way. Mymaman’sname was Kay, and my papa was Neil. They decided to combine them and came up with Kayne.”

“I like it.”

“Why, thank you,ma belle. I guess it’s better than Neka.”

More little girl chortles. “You want to make friendship bracelets with me, Kayne?”

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