You're The One (Very Irresistible Bachelors 1)

I just wanted him to have fun, be happy.

“Only if you promise not to give me shit for flying your family over for Christmas.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, attempting to sound stern.

“That is a conversation we’ll circle back to later.”

Truth was, I was still melting every time I thought about that, but I didn’t want him to get any more dangerous ideas. Meanwhile, I was already thinking about nice things I could do for him. Stuff I hadn’t been able to do as a friend. Holy shit! A whole new world of options opened up. I could just imagine taking care of him in the evening when we were both home, helping him relax.

“This isn’t how it works,” I said.

He leaned in closer, playfully wiggling his eyebrows. “No deal, then.”

“You’re not leaving me much of a choice.”

“So we have a deal?”

“Okay.”

“You do realize you’re letting me get away with a lot more than before, right?”

I shrugged playfully. “What can I say? I’m starting to like being your wife, Mr. Caldwell.”

Chapter Nineteen

Hunter

“You’re cheating,” Josie said. I’d brought my laptop to the beach. We had two days of our honeymoon left, and I just wanted to get a head start on the emails.

“Just checking on a few things to make sure there’s nothing urgent.”

“I’m not checking anything until I’m in my office. I love being a lawyer, but I apparently love taking a break more. And I have to thank my husband for helping me make that discovery about myself.”

I chuckled. I was so proud of her for making it so far. Josie had hustled just as much as I had. Between the two of us, we’d probably covered about every student job there was in this city.

She glanced at my screen. “That project looks sexy. What is it?”

“A school.”

“It’s a charity project, right?”

I nodded. The company made enough profit that we built one or two buildings for charity a year. This was a public school. The Ballroom Galas also gathered funds for this project.

“Can I ask you something? How come you’ve gone into real estate? I’m sure you haven’t made things easier for yourself.”

I hadn’t. People still associated the name Caldwell with the huge real estate developer who went bankrupt more than fifteen years ago.

“You know me, I never choose the easier way.” I could have left it at that, but something in Josie’s expression beckoned me to open up. “I’ve always liked Dad’s work. He put everything he had in it, and I’m not talking about money. It was who he was. He was proud of it, and I spent most of my childhood in his office, watching mock-ups, listening to him explain the ins and out of the business.”

Josie kissed my shoulder, skimming her lips up and down my arm. This newfound closeness between us made it so easy to keep talking, even about things I hadn’t spoken about before—not because I had anything to hide, but it put me in a mood.

“My dad actually started this school project years ago. It took a while to sort out the legal issues and get all the permits to build, but we got the green light last year.”

“Do you need a hand?”

“You want to get involved?”