“Why don’t you let me worry about that?” No longer able to keep a tight leash on my tone, the words came out sharper than I intended.
Holly’s eyebrows arched high on her forehead. This was it. Another fight I wanted to avoid. “Newsflash, Boomer, this isn’t Leave it to fuckin’ Beaver. Okay? You don’t get to tell me to be the cute little housewife who plans dinner and spends all day at the beauty salon or whatever the hell it is you think I should be doing. Our financial future is just as important to me as it is to you, which means I get a say in it too.”
I raked my hands through my short-cropped hair. “That’s not what I meant and you know it, Holly! You know I support your business. Hell, that was one of the things that made me fall for you in the first place. I thought it was sexy as hell that you were a powerful businesswoman with big ambitions and a solid plan to back them up. I still do!”
She fixed me with a heated stare. “Then why are you shitting on this new opportunity before we even have all the info?”
“Because I want you to be happy,” I replied, the tension leaving my voice like a deflated balloon. “That’s all I ever want, Holly. I just want you to be happy.”
Holly softened slightly. “Well, maybe this will make me happy. But how will I know if I don’t even try?”
I dragged in a breath. “Okay.”
“All I want is for you to be happy for me. Proud of me.”
I crossed the kitchen and took her hand. “I am, baby. I swear.”
A shadow lingered behind her eyes but she nodded and then dropped my hand so she could serve up the dinner plates. I followed her into the dining room and while we did our best to leave behind the conversation in the kitchen, it was lodged in the back of my mind all through dinner and late into the night as Holly slept beside me.
4
Holly
A week flew by and before I knew it, I was standing outside the glittering three-story office building on the outskirts of Holiday Cove. The sign in the parking lot showed there were a few other businesses there, but as soon as I entered and looked at the map near the elevator bank, I realized Scoville Properties used up three-quarters of the building. I rode up the elevator to the third floor and found my way to the main office and checked in with a receptionist at the front desk. The entire office was frosted glass, modern lines, and contemporary design touches with splashes of tranquil blues and greens. Fitting, considering the windows all held a perfect ocean view.
“Mr. Scoville will be with you shortly,” the receptionist said softly after she set down the phone. “Please, feel free to take a seat.”
“Thank you.” I went to the floor-to-ceiling windows and stared out at the ocean. There wasn’t a soul in sight and I smiled to myself, thinking how much fun Princess and Hunter would have tearing up the sand. Over the past week, Jack and I had been like two passing ships in the night. He’d been putting in even more hours than before the argument. I wasn’t sure if it was to avoid me or if he was trying to show me I didn’t need to take some corporate job to make enough money to keep our new house. Either way, I missed him being around to do things together, like taking the dogs down to the beach for the afternoon.
“Ms. Parker?”
I turned at the smooth voice and found Noah Scoville standing to the right of his receptionist’s desk. I also caught the way the young woman’s eyes roved freely over her man-candy-in-a-suit boss while he wasn’t looking. “Thank you for seeing me,” I said, stepping forward to greet him with a warm handshake.
He flashed his dazzling smile and ushered me in the direction of the open doorway he’d obviously come from. “Thank you for coming in,” he countered. “Can Sharice get you anything? Water, coffee, tea?”
“Oh,” I paused and turned back toward the woman. “Water would be fine.”
She nodded. “Sparkling or flat?”
I smiled at Noah. “Fancy.”
He chuckled. “I try.”
Noted. “Sparkling would be lovely.”
Sharice gave me a polite nod and then scurried off in the opposite direction. Noah took long strides to his office and I followed. The large office was wall-to-wall windows and flooded with natural light. All of the furniture matched the decor in the lobby. Clean, contemporary, and nearly invisible. It appeared that the designer had realized the real star of the show was the ocean beyond and left the furniture as minimal as possible to highlight the view.
“I don’t know how you get any work done here,” I said with a smile as I took in the sweeping landscape.