More Than Hate You (More Than Words)

“It definitely is, Mrs. Shaw.”

Joy blooms, and my smile mirrors the happiness in my soul. “Anything else?”

He turns serious. “I need you to believe in me. In us.”

“I do. You giving up your job at Stratus and letting me go proved I could. If I wasn’t convinced, I would never have gone to the trouble of tracking down that headhunter friend of yours to have him call you about my ‘open position.’”

“Well played.” He nods, his expression somewhere between satisfied and smug.

“Thank you.” My heart lurches to my throat. “Does that mean you accept?”

He lifts my hand and settles my wedding ring back on my finger, where it belongs. “I do.”

I’m sure my cheeks will be sore later from all this smiling, but right now I don’t care. I’m with the man I want by my side. “I do, too. Forever. That’s a promise.”

He cradles my face again and smooths his thumbs across my skin in the softest caress before brushing a lingering kiss on my mouth. “I promise you forever, too. But you could have just called and told me how you feel, rather than flying all the way here and setting up this elaborate scheme.”

“I could have,” I concede. “But that isn’t our style. Besides, you’ve never not had game. I couldn’t come to you a slacker.”

“Good point.” Then he grimaces. “But I’m afraid I’m the one coming to you a slacker, baby. I’m still unemployed.”

I gathered as much, and I’m seriously stunned. “I thought someone else would scoop you up quickly and—”

“Oh, I have six job offers on the table, including one from Jeremy McBride. But I’d have to move to Phoenix to work for him. So that’s a no. Two other opportunities would require me to move to New York. When I left my hometown, I left that winter shit behind. So those are both a hard pass, too. One position was based in Florida, another in Tennessee. Neither were where I wanted to be. Same with the offer in Houston. Close, but…”

What is he saying? “Where are you trying to land?”

“Dallas, baby. To be near you. Did you really think I was going to give up entirely?”

Yes, and I should have known better.

I laugh. “Did you have a scheme, too?”

“You know I did.” He rubs at the back of his neck. “There’s an up-and-coming power tools company about a block from Reservoir’s office.”

“Driving Force? The little place around the corner?”

“That’s the one. They offered me a job yesterday. It’s a downgrade to a finance manager—their only open position. The salary offer was shit, and we’re still negotiating. But I was planning to take it to be near you.”

For this deeply ambitious man to accept a job he could do in his sleep for pennies compared to his worth, simply so he could be near me… I’m touched all over again. “You should turn it down.”

“I disagree.” He raises a brow at me. “Unless you’re going to support me in the lifestyle I’ve become accustomed to.”

I roll my eyes. “Please. You can barely stop working for a whole day, much less for the rest of your life.”

“You’re right. I’ve been climbing the walls these past few weeks. I could only keep doing so much for Evan under the guise of tying up my loose ends. I think he finally caught on. He cut off access to my email and our shared drive a few days ago.” Sebastian is obviously glum about it.

I take his hand. “He didn’t have a choice.”

“I know.” He sighs. “So are you asking me to work for Reservoir for real?”

“Not exactly. Sit.” When he does, I follow suit. “I need to tell you something.”

“I’m listening.”

“Long story short, Reservoir, as is, isn’t equipped to handle Wynam’s business. I weighed the time needed to gear up talent and tech while stabilizing our cash flow and still serving my new client’s robust—and immediate—needs. It was impossible.”

“Do you want me to take a look at the situation? Maybe I can find a solution that—”