Page 94 of One Touch

I blinked, trying to recover from his less-than-enthusiastic tone and remain upbeat. “Yes. You run the crew. I document on social media. We could monetize like your dad—”

“I’ve got jobs in Chicago lined up.” The way his curt tone cut off my words sliced into me.

“Oh.” My nervous laughter gave me away, and I felt more naked than ever. “Of course you do. It was silly.” I swatted the air between us and fought back a wave of embarrassed tears.

“It’s not silly.” He shook his head, and a tiny ember of hope sparked to life in my chest.

“It’s not?”

He scooted closer, his warmth seeping into me as his arms pulled me to his chest. “No. It’s not. But I have questions—things like what properties, timelines, buy-in costs, a hundred other things. A business partnership is a significant undertaking.”

Of course it was. Beckett is a successful businessman, and I’m a girl with an Instagram page and a hopeful heart.

“Of course. I know that. I just—I don’t know. I thought it would give us more time to figure out what this is between us.”

I pinched my eyes closed as the words escaped my lips.

His voice was rumbly and low. “You’d want that? To work with me on building projects and document it all for your page?”

Tension in my shoulders eased as his embrace comforted my worried heart. “Well,someonehas to put up with your salty attitude every day.”

We laughed, but I didn’t miss it when he shifted the conversation, and that very worried heart of mine still hung in the air without an answer.

THIRTY-TWO

BECKETT

Irritation stormedthrough me as I stared out the window into the whipping wind and snow that danced across the raging waves.

I couldn’t shake the hope in Kate’s voice when she’d pitched her idea for expanding theHome Againpage to an actual business and taking on another project together. I wanted to scoop her up. Laugh and shout at the ceiling that it was the best fucking idea I’d ever heard.

In fact, I had already been thinking of alternatives—selfish ways to keep her in my life. For the past few years, I had made a habit of visiting Outtatowner nearly monthly to catch up with Duke and soak up the simplicity of quiet small-town living. There had to be a way I could transfer some of my business to Michigan or work remotely out of Chicago. Half of the time the jobs could run themselves, and with Gloria at the office, there had to be a way to make it work.

I didn’t give a shit if I never saw a dime fromHome Again. Just the thought of working with Kate every day was enough to send sparks of excitement dancing through my veins.

It was hope.

Happiness.

Unease.

Kate didn’t seem to realize it, but her star was about to skyrocket, and a grouchy builder with a piss-poor attitude and shitty self-esteem would only drag her down.

But I couldn’t bring myself to face that. Not yet.

My eyes scanned the familiar beachfront as the glass protected me from the howling wind and snow. My heart was heavy, knowing that I would be holding Kate back.

She had awoken a part of myself I didn’t even know existed, and yet it wouldn’t be enough.

Iwouldn’t be enough.

My business already demanded nearly all my time and attention, and I couldn’t risk losing everything I had worked for, only for Kate to realize she’d mistakenly hung her hopes on a man like me.

A man who would always be a placeholder for the real deal. Only with Kate I wasn’t sure I’d ever recover when our relationship inevitably came to an end.

But I would do it.

For her.

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