Page 63 of Release Me

“She?” My head tips back with a deep bellow of laughter. “That’ll make itthreefemales under his roof. Amazing.”

She giggles. “I know, right? Henry’s already so overprotective with Violet. I think I saw a gray hair the other day.”

“Good. I hope you have five more girls. It’ll serve him right.” I lean against the wall and fold my arms, drawing her hazel eyes to my sleeve of tattoos, my arms, my chest. They stall on my dark hair, the ends bleached brown from long days in the sun. She reaches up to toy with a strand. “You’re growing it out.”

“Yeah. I needed a change.” I forgot how wavy it can get. The back tickles my neck.

A memory flashes briefly through my mind—Abbi with her hands on my buzzed head, her body writhing, while my face was buried between her legs—and I have to shove it out before my dick reacts.

She swallows hard, as if she can see my depraved thoughts. “You look good.”

“Ifeelgood.” I was a bear for the first few weeks after quitting cigarettes and booze cold turkey, so much so that Connor bought a carton of Marlboros and pleaded with me to give up. But the gym has helped. I’ve added thirty pounds of muscle and can jog without feeling like I’m going to leave my lungs on the pavement.

A staffer passes, her curious gaze on us. Thankfully, it’s quiet in here otherwise.

“So, what are you doing in Miami? And up so early?” I ask.

“I’ve got a few Farm Girl things to do.” Abbi shrugs, as if it’s no big deal that the little soap company she started in her Pennsylvania barn at, like, age twelve is now taking off across the country, with enough contracts that she has a full-time staff of twenty and is opening a second production location on the West Coast. “It was too late to call you when we came inlast night, but I wanted to catch you before you spoke to Henry.”

“Wolf’s here?”

“Yeah, in there.” She points to the heavy wooden doors of the Pacific, one ajar.

I frown. “I have a meeting withhim?”

She collects my calloused hands in hers. “Yes, and he has a proposition for you. I know it’s going to sound crazy at first, but Ronan?Pleaselisten to him?” She pleads with her gaze.

“Is this going to be like the last proposition he had for me? Becauseyou knowI’ll say yes.” That night in Alaska will live rent-free in my mind for the rest of my life and then haunt me in the hereafter. In fact, I could die right here and be satisfied.

Abbi bites her bottom lip to hide her grin as she tightens her grip. “No, it’s notthat. But it’s a great opportunity and you would be perfect for it.” Her chest lifts with a deep inhale. “And you deserve it. So, please, say yes?” That last part is delivered softly.

“Well, now I’m intrigued.”

A throat-clearing pulls our attention to the gaping door and the billionaire luxury hotel owner looming, an annoyed look painted across his face.

“You better go. He doesn’t like to wait.” Abbi pulls me in for another hug and a kiss on my cheek.

I think it’s more about him not liking how close his wife and I are, but I can’t help myself, holding her a few extra beats before releasing her.

“Call me later!” She blows a kiss at her husband, whose annoyance breaks instantly with a warm smile for her, his eyes shifting briefly to her belly.

Abbi strolls down the hall, her sandals slapping the floor, the material of her dress swaying with her hips.

Both of us stare at her for far too long.

“Get in here before I change my mind,” Wolf barks before disappearing into the room.

“I can barely contain my excitement.” I drag my boots all the way.

32.Ronan

“This is a fucking joke, right?” I check around for hidden cameras.

Henry’s smarmy smile says he’s enjoying every second of my confusion. “If there’s one thing I would never joke about, it’s a business decision.”

“And you can’t think of a single other shoulder to tap besides mine?Really?”

The boardroom leather chair creaks as he stands, relieving it of his weight. “I can think of several.” He wanders over to peer out the window, his hands tucked into his pockets. It’s rare to not see him in a suit, but today he’s dressed down in a golf shirt and plain black pants. Still looks like he bleeds hundred-dollar bills. “So? Are you interested?”

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