“Wait. Charlie, you’re the CEO of your family’s company. I mean, I have no doubt you wouldn’t be able to handle that job and be a mother, but living so far from CMI, could you do that?”
I nodded. “Yes, especially when I’m no longer CEO.”
His face dropped. “So, wait. I’m confused. I thought you said you were CEO.”
“I am,” I stated. “But it was never my dream. It was my father’s, and I’ve spent the last ten-plus years doing everything for my father. I could walk away from CMI Consulting as a very rich woman. It’s not about the money, and I do care very much about my father’s business. That’s why I’m giving myself at least a year to be CEO, take the company in the direction I want it to go, get people on my team who see the same future I see, and then step down and let them run it. I’ll still retain a majority of the stock, so I very much have a say. It wouldn’t be like I’m turning my back on it. I’ll still be involved, just not in the day-to-day things.”
Pushing his fingers through his hair, Tucker let out a disbelieving chuckle.
“What will you do if you’re not working for CMI?”
“Be your wife. Follow my own dreams. I’ve always wanted to buy old houses and flip them. You bought your house and remodeled it. I was sort of thinking that might be something we could do for fun. You and me.”
Tucker’s eyes lit up. “I love that idea. What about kids? I know we’ve brushed over the subject a couple of times the last twelve hours.”
I took his hands in mine and kissed the back of each. “I want kids, but I also think it’s important to spend time with you. Just us. Maybe travel some and see some places we wouldn’t be able to see with a baby … or two. I don’t want to have a baby when I’m still at CMI because I’d love to be a stay-at-home mom.”
Tucker’s face lit up like Christmas morning. He reached for me and pulled me so I straddled him. My warmth pressed against his hardness.
“How many kids do you want?” I asked.
“Two? Maybe three. If we’re good at it. Well, I know we’d be good at the making babies thing, but you know what I mean.”
Laughing, I pressed my mouth to Tucker’s, and we were soon lost in one another. It didn’t take long before I was stripped bare and the man I loved moved slowly and gently inside me.
Tucker moved behind me, pulling me tight into his arms as we laid on the sofa in the most amazing after-sex glow.
“Son of a bitch!” Tucker cried out, causing me to open my eyes and see Mr. Pootie’s head buried inside of Tucker’s takeout container.
Smiling, I closed my eyes again and let my happiness settle around me.
Finally, everything was falling into place. Tucker and I were together and nothing would ever tear us apart.
If only I’d known in that moment how naïve my thinking had been.
“PULL!”
Nash pulled the trap thrower and two skeet shot up in the air. I aimed, fired, and hit them both.
“Damn, son! Have you missed one yet?” Nash called out with a laugh.
I smiled as I yelled for him to pull again. Another two went sailing, and I shot them both. One right after the other. Two shots.
“This is why I hate going dove hunting with him,” Blake said from behind me. Jim let out a laugh and said something to Blake I couldn’t hear.
“You know, you can win money with an aim like that. Oh, wait, you used to do that shit in high school,” Nash added while slapping me on the back. “Let’s get a beer.”
Putting the safety on my gun, I followed him to the back of my truck. Jim tossed me a beer, and I sat down in one of the camping chairs we had set up.
“So, the big announcement is tomorrow, huh?” Jim asked before tipping his beer back. Blake made some sort of grunting sound, and Nash gave me a stupid grin.
“Yes. The announcement is tomorrow. I don’t know why it has to be such a big deal,” I added with a sigh.
After Charlie had asked me to marry her, I had turned around and proposed a few weeks later when we were back up at the lake house. We’d been officially engaged for two weeks, and the PR people at CMI insisted Charlie make a formal announcement. After all, one of the richest women in the US was now off the market.
“Because you’re marrying Charleston Monroe. How much is she worth?” Jim asked.
I rolled my eyes. “I have no clue.”