My One And Only (Very Irresistible Bachelors 5)

“And I wanted to taste things from your perspective. I’d much rather taste you.”

“I can’t believe you’re so good at flirting even at ten o’clock in the morning. Especially after getting so little sleep last night. I’m still half asleep, and you’re in top shape. Are you trying to melt the panties off me?”

“No. Only when I’m in the same room.” Last night, we’d both been too tired to make plans, but I wanted to rectify that. “I want to see you, Tess.”

“Today?”

“No, but soon. I have a standing date with my grandmother tonight. I wanted to check in with her anyway.”

“Oh, let me know how she’s feeling. Tell her hello. And that I’m jealous.”

Only Tess could say that in a conversational tone.

“Everything okay with you? You sound a bit different.”

She’d picked up on that? I debated telling her about Albert but decided against it. She’d worry for no reason, and that ass had nothing to do with her or her business. The fucker was my problem.

“Now, as much as I’d like to keep talking to you, handsome guy, I just spotted a teenage girl entering the shop. She looks intimidated, so she’s going to need me to ease her into this. Oh, poor thing, she’s not even going near the bras.”

I couldn’t believe she cared so much for every customer. I’d never met anyone with so much empathy.

“Go charm her, Tess.”

After hanging up, I searched for a place to take Tess tomorrow. I wanted to please her, pick something she’d really like. She completely lit up when she was happy, and I wanted to bring that out in her as often as possible.

On impulse, I texted Skye, asking her if Tess would like anything in particular.

After that, David arrived. His grim expression instantly brought me back to the problem at hand. I was going to call our lawyer today too, double-check that Albert’s hands were tied by the contract he signed. I also wanted them to dig into everything and come up with something we could hang over his head in case he really did want to come back.

When I told him that I protect the people I care about, I didn’t mean just Becca and David but all our partners. They put their faith in us, not Albert.

I grimaced just imagining Tess’s disappointment if Albert managed to weasel his way back into the office. I wasn’t going to let her down.

Chapter Eighteen

Tess

After a busy morning at the store, Skye and I met with the realtor, signed the deal, and got our keys.

“I can’t believe we’ve finally signed the lease!” Skye exclaimed as we left her office. It was in Soho too, and we headed straight to our favorite ice cream shop to celebrate. As we sat down at the table, Skye pointed at me.

“So, it’s super cloudy and overall shit weather, and you’re usually moody when it’s like that. You’ve been grinning the whole day. Did something more happen with Liam yesterday?”

I grinned as I got out my laptop. We were supposed to be working on our post-investment operational list.

“Well...”

“Wait a second.”

My grin widened. We’d only sat down a few minutes ago, and she was already on my case. Today was going to be fun.

“I’ll make you a deal. Let’s blow through our to-do list, and then I’ll tell you everything in a lot of detail.” I lowered my voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “A. Lot.”

Skye pressed her lips together, nodding, and we both focused on our screens.

Honestly, our to-do list was insane, because we were also putting everything in motion for the second store. But for now, we were focusing on blasting the news about our investor to everyone. If I’d learned something from the fashion show, it was that even people who turned up their noses at us before would take a second look now.

We were also putting together a list of all the functions we wanted our new website to have. Midway through making the list, I received a text.