Risking the Crown (The Crown 2)

“Sweetheart, I learned a long time ago that almost nothing in life is fair.” He put the shades back on his face. “Maybe this is my way of balancing some of that out.” He smiled and pulled open the car door.

“You think the three of us could go into business together? You and Cole actually working together?” It sort of seemed absurd, especially after the way the last two months had played out.

“I can do business with anyone.” He cranked the engine. “The rest is up to you and Cole. Besides, I’m the silent partner, remember? Think about it, then call me.” He threw the car in reverse and raced onto Gulf Boulevard.

I walked back into the office, not entirely sure I had more answers than before I chased after Aiden. The only sound was the humming of the air conditioner in the window. Lately, it had started this thing where it would sputter every five minutes then resume its normal rhythm of blowing cool air into the office. I was waiting for it to give out on me one of these days. It couldn’t last forever.

I pushed the door until it closed.

I looked at Cole, wanting him to speak. I wanted him to say something. Anything. He could curse, yell, throw the paperweight. Anything that told me he was processing what had happened with Aiden.

“What happened out there?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing really. I wanted Aiden to look me in the eye and tell me this isn’t some kind of scheme.”

“And did he?”

“I think so.” I leaned against the door.

“What do you want to do, darlin’?” His eyes were calm and steady. He drifted toward me.

“Me? The Dunes is yours. And Aiden is your—” I didn’t think uncle was the appropriate word right now even if it was the biological truth.

He walked toward me and took my hands in his. His fingers were warm and rough as he threaded them through mine. I thought I could feel his pulse.

“We are in this together now. Should I take the deal?” His crystal blue eyes darted back and forth. “Do you trust him enough to go into business with him?”

Everything was happening so fast. I knew the deal was a good one, if Aiden could be trusted. Although, in the last few days, I felt like the tide was turning with him. Mary Ellen was convinced he wasn’t a bad guy. She was ready to commit to a relationship with him one hundred percent. We couldn’t ignore he had dropped the lawsuit this morning. That was a huge olive branch. Something about his demeanor outside was different. He was softer and more relaxed. I liked this side of Aiden.

I took a deep breath. “I think you should do it.”

“All right.”

“That’s it?” I asked. Surely, there had to be more to this discussion. I knew Cole wasn’t a man of many words, but there was a lot to sort through. Such as our role at the Dunes, and those grad school plans we had just started discussing. Was he really going to answer all these questions with an ‘all right’?

I searched his eyes for doubts, but I didn’t see any. He was staring at me with the kind of certainty that rocked me to the core. For a moment, I couldn’t find my breath.

“I told you this the other night. As long as you are happy and you’re here, I’m happy. I can’t do any of it without you. I don’t want to. We are in this together. I love you, Kaitlyn.” My name rolled off his tongue and I threw my arms around his neck.

“Together.” I smiled before he kissed me. His lips moved across mine with sweet pressure, lingering as I breathed in. “I love you too, Cole.”

“If it’s too much, you tell me. You don’t have to do any of it. I’m not asking you to work with Aiden.”

“I know you aren’t, but I don’t know how I feel about letting someone else run the office. I kind of love it.” The thought of handing over all the books to someone else was nauseating. I didn’t know the first thing about running a condo association, but I could learn. I would learn.

He laughed. “I know what you mean. It’s a pain in the ass, but it’s home.”

“Exactly.”

He had said the words that I had been defining ever since I drove that truck over the Padre bridge. “Cole?” I looked into his piercing eyes.

“Yeah, baby.” He tugged me closer, his thumbs hooking through my belt loops.

“This is home. I want you to know I want our baby to grow up here. I want our family to live here.”

He lifted me around his waist, and I wrapped myself around him, letting my ankles lock against his lower back. His lips met mine and I kissed him soft and slowly, reveling in how we were meant to fit this way. This is what together meant. We had moved past summer, past the awkward adjustments, past injuries, past the jealousies, past the doubts, past the questions. All I knew as Cole’s kisses took me under with heat and passion was that all my tomorrows were going to be his tomorrows. We were building a life. A family.

Cole was home.