My One And Only (Very Irresistible Bachelors 5)

“You have another suggestion?” Becca asked.

“Right now, no, but we’ve just received this information. I’m sure I can get more out of it if I have enough time to analyze it.”

Becca bit her lip. “It’s because of Tess, isn’t it?”

David straightened in his seat at that.

“I’m not going to do anything that risks her business.”

“What about us?” Becca asked softly.

“Or ours. I give you my word.”

She chewed on her lip. “I trust you. You’ve never led us astray. But we don’t have that much thinking time, do we? If we don’t make him an offer until Christmas, he’s free to shop around for another buyer.”

“I know.”

“Okay, I know we’re knee-deep in problems, but...I do need to give you shit,” David cut in. “The opportunity is too good to pass up. Besides, it’ll lighten up the mood.”

“Go ahead. We can use some of that,” Becca said before I could answer. I disagreed but didn’t voice that thought.

“I can’t believe you’re actually going all out for a woman like that. How does it feel? Is it more good than bad? Should I take notes?” David asked.

“You definitely should,” Becca said.

I glared at the two of them. “That’s where your mind just went?”

“It’s a coping mechanism,” Becca explained. “Much better than us sulking like we usually do when it’s about Albert.”

Okay, that was true. It was definitely an improvement over having to run laps with David and take Becca for coffee.

“I’d love to stay and chat, but I have two Thanksgiving dinners to attend,” I said.

David laughed. “What?”

“Holy shit, is one with Tess’s family??

?? Becca exclaimed. “David, you should definitely take notes, or it’ll take you a year to be invited to your future girlfriend’s Thanksgiving feast.”

“I promise I’ll give you enough material to write down after the dinners, but right now, I need to go.”

David held up his hands. “I won’t hold my breath. It was a rhetorical question. Since when are you taking everything so seriously?” The last part was directed to Becca.

She shrugged, smiling coyly.

I got up from the chair, bidding both goodbye. I didn’t have time to linger today.

On the way to pick up Tess, I kept replaying the newest bits of information in my mind. Two things were clear. One: I was going to do whatever it took to protect everyone I love. Two: I was determined not to ruin anyone’s dinner by being in a shitty mood.

***

Tess

“Holy shit, I can’t be late.” I glanced at the clock on my phone, hairbrush in hand. I was trying to multitask...and was thoroughly failing.

I was trying to keep an eye on our new online shop. It had gone live last week, and we were smoothing out all the bugs ever since. Yesterday had been a bug-free day, and I was hoping today was going to be the same, because tomorrow was Black Friday. It was one of the most important days for retail.

We were going to officially open the second store in the first week of December, and things were moving so fast I barely had time to keep up.