Inseparable

“Always,” I said cautiously.

“I actually bought this from my brother,” he said, laughing. “Of course, he didn’t know it was me until our lawyers had finished with the negotiations and I showed up to sign for it. You should have seen the look on his smug little face. I almost had to pick his jaw up off the floor. I got this place for half of what he paid for it. He was seriously bamboozled into buying this spot, and after months of not having anyone interested, he was forced to drop the price drastically. I knew if I personally showed interest, he might not sell, so I sent a lawyer in to represent me as an anonymous buyer.”

“Oh, I wish I could have been there for that,” I said. “How satisfied did you feel?”

“It was like strutting into a failing business wearing a thousand-dollar suit,” he said, laughing. “He didn’t know what to do, but our lawyers had already done all the contracts, and he knew if he took it back, then I could sue him hardcore. He was backed into a corner.”

“I’m surprised he even knew that,” I said, shaking my head.

“Well, he didn’t, but his lawyer let him know when he tried to walk out,” he said, chuckling. “Still the same old asshole doing exactly what I knew he would do with the company. He has absolutely zero business skills, and I don’t think he will ever learn them.”

“Well, jokes on him,” I said, smiling.

“But after I got this place, I pulled together a design team after stealing the info on your design ideas,” he said, lifting his eyebrows and smiling.

“I was wondering where those went,” I said, snapping my fingers.

“They put all of this together for me in such a short amount of time. They were really professional and I could see you and Maria’s vision coming to life every time I walked in the place. I was so impressed, in fact, I hired them to redo my loft, not that I spend much time there these days.”

“Wow,” I replied. “They did all of this in a couple of weeks?”

“Yep, furniture, computers, design, everything in two weeks,” he said, nodding his head. “Now, we could open the doors in just a couple weeks if Maria is down for it.”

“Are you serious? I thought it would take at least another six months!” I was completely elated. “We could have the place open in time for Christmas shoppers and then just sail right into tourist season. By the time warm weather comes, we’ll have all the kinks worked out, and we could have a fashion show to reveal the new line. Nathan, this is so awesome.”

“See,” he said, putting his arms out. “I’m useful for something, right?”

“I can think of a few things you are useful for,” I replied, winking and shaking my butt at him.

“We could always break the place in,” he said, coming up behind me and grabbing my breasts. “Have a little fun in the dressing rooms? Christen the place behind the counters?”

“Calm down, stud muffin.” I laughed, feeling his cock harden against my ass. “We have work to do.”

“Fine,” he sighed. “You're always all work and no play.”

“That’s crazy coming from you,” I said, looking back at him. “Like I never in a million years thought I would hear you say that.”

We walked around the shop, and I smiled as Nathan enthusiastically showed me every nook and cranny of the place. He had already purchased the software for the store that not only kept track of sales, but did accounting, calculated taxes, and kept inventory all in one area. He showed me how the different systems worked and how they would help us cut down on theft, especially when we got to the point where were able to hire a staff to run the place. Everything was set up so perfectly.

“Okay,” he said with a deep breath. “That is everything down here. Let me show you upstairs.”

I smiled and walked up the steps, feeling his hand pressing warmly on my back. He seemed jittery all of a sudden, but I ignored it, figuring we hadn’t eaten anything that day and he was really excited to show me everything. We walked to the top of the stairs, and he led me left into the designer’s room. It was enormous, and he had it designed with shelves everywhere, a huge sketching table, lamps, track lighting, and a full-on desk in the back. The room was mostly white with splashes of black, green, and orange throughout. On the door, there was a placard with Maria’s name and the title of Owner and Head Designer. I knew immediately that she was going to freak out over this.

“So, this space is for Maria,” he said, walking in. “She can go to town designing. I had the mannequins and fabric rods brought in over there, and a modeling space and dressing room over here. All she has to do is get with the fabric sellers and start filling up the space. I also contacted a friend of mine in New York who was a designer, and they sent me a list of all the tools she would need. I figured it would be better for her to start out completely fresh and new.”

I walked over and looked down at all of the pencils, ink, sewing material, the sewing machine, bright and new on the desk, a computer with CAD and other drawing programs, and everything she would need to create her masterpieces from paper to body. I shook my head, absolutely amazed at how much he had done in such a short amount of time. I looked up and walked over to the door with him.

“Then, across the hall is where I had our open-concept offices put in,” he said, leading me into the other room. “It’s our space to work side by side with each other.”

I couldn’t believe the space in front of me when I walked in. The ceiling was high, the paint was neutral and calming, and there were couches and chairs strewn all over in different hues of lavender and teal. The rugs on the floor were brand new and matched the accent pillows on the furniture. There were two desks that sat on opposite sides of the room but faced each other. They were large, dark, wooden casings with beautifully carved embellishments on the sides. Computers and office equipment peppered the desks and art covered the walls. It almost felt like walking into a fancy apartment you would see in a magazine. In both the design room and the office space, the back wall was nothing but large floor to ceiling windows, allowing us to look out at the beach and ocean behind us. I walked over to the desk and ran my hand across the wood surface before plopping down in the chair and sticking the end of a pen in my mouth.

“Do I look like a professional?”

“A fucking sexy one,” he growled.

He walked over and stared at me, pulling open the top drawer of the desk. I smiled and leaned over, looking down at a small silver box. I scrunched my eyebrows together and pulled the box out, holding it in my hand. Slowly, I lifted the lid and stared down at a beautiful diamond ring with the biggest stone I had ever seen in the middle and tons of smaller stones surrounding it. I gasped and put my hand over my mouth, looking up to see Nathan on one knee in front of me.

“Ronni, you are the light of my world, and I can’t think of anything better than spending it with you,” he said, his hands shaking. “Will you marry me?”