Second Chance Rival

It didn't take her long to get ready. Within twenty minutes, she was on the back of my bike. I drove us to a secluded waterfall where no one could interrupt us. The older I got, the more I hated being around strangers.

“What was your major in college?” she asked out of nowhere, laying her head in my lap while I leaned against a tree.

We were on a blanket, and she was wearing a tiny white bikini that left very little to the imagination.

“A double bachelor in business and finances with a minor in accounting.”

“Wow. Two bachelor degrees. That must have been a lot of studying.”

I nodded, kissing her hand. “What about you?”

“A master’s in business and a minor in marketing.”

“A master’s, huh?”

“I had to prove to my grandfather that I could handle his businesses.”

“When did you decide to go to work for him?”

“Pretty early on. Part of me always wanted to take over. How about you?”

“When Caleb decided he didn’t want any part of the Hawkins dynasty, it was passed down to me.”

“You didn’t want it?”

“I did, but not for the reasons you think.”

“Which are?”

“Money, power, control.”

She smirked. “Then what were your reasons?”

“I wanted to make my parents proud of me.”

A sudden sense of loss came over her gaze, but she recovered quickly.

“Say it.”

“I know you don’t like to talk about them, but they’d be super proud of everything you’ve accomplished.”

“Especially proud that I married you.”

She ignored my statement. “What happened after college?”

“I worked my life away until you came back in it.”

“I think all the models on your arm would beg to differ, Mr. Hawkins.”

“They were meaningless.”

“I’m sure they didn’t think that.”

“They knew what they were getting themselves into.”

“Because of the press?”

“Because I never lied about any expectations when it came to them.”