Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70180 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70180 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
“Hey, sweetheart,” she said, appearing out of the back in paint-splattered overalls and her hair up in a bun.
“Hi, Mom.”
It was still sometimes weird to see her like this. When she’d been with my dad, she’d been all prim and proper. And as her interior design profession had taken off, she’d dressed the part to get the kind of clientele who would pay for her expertise. But now, she had a thriving business, and so much of the work was passed to junior employees. So, she could be the painter by the ocean when she wanted to.
“Where’s this boyfriend of yours?”
“Jacob took him out to the boats,” I said with an eye roll. “As if you would expect anything else.”
“True, true.”
“And anyway, you’ve met Ash before.”
“Of course,” she said with a smile, wiping a smear of paint onto her overalls. “I remember the Talmadges well. He used to vacation with us here. But I’ve never met him as your boyfriend.”
I laughed. “All right. Come meet him as my boyfriend.”
A word I was still getting used to.
We followed the boys out the back of the shop and onto the docks, where the Hartage boats were lined up like ducks in a row. Even though Savannah was always home, Charleston was what summer was made of. The salty sea air, taking the boats out, finger food on the open water, tanning oil on the front deck, and Marina always at my side while the boys ran wild.
“Summer,” I breathed.
My mom clapped my shoulder. “I know just what you mean.”
Daron and Tye jumped off the boats they had been working on when they saw Ash heading their way. Mom and I followed them out to the boat, and I reintroduced them. Ash got along with everyone. He always had. He could charm his way into anything, even back into my good graces. Uncle Jacob started to make plans to take us out on the water and have a barbeque at his house later that night.
My eyes met Ash’s, and he reached out, lacing his fingers through mine. This was how it always should have been. It was exactly right. And when he smiled at me, the entire world settled. It had taken us so long to get here, but maybe the time didn’t matter. Maybe all that mattered was the here and now with Ash Talmadge at my side.
16
Charleston
Present
Nolan Holden shook my hand at the end of the meeting. “Thank you for meeting with me, Amelia. I like the proposal you laid out for including Ballentine in our brand-new luxury phase of Holden Holdings. I’m sure we’ll have more information in the coming week.”
“Thank you so much, Nolan.”
I could feel sweat on the back of my tailored skirt suit. Nolan Holden was somehow both pleasant and downright frightening. He was nearly as tall as Derek with dark hair and eyes the color of summer storms. His jaw was square and razor smooth with disarming dimples when he chanced a smile.
I had no idea how Marina had ever had a thing with him. He seemed like the kind of guy who would eat the girl next door for lunch. Then again … I’d dated Camden Percy. But he had chewed me up and spit me out like I didn’t matter. I’d never gotten the truth out of Marina about what had really happened between them.
We said our respective platitudes, and then I hurried out of the shiny glass building on the water. Part of me felt like I was feeding myself to the sharks by working with the company buying up everything charming about the Southern coast. But if I wanted my business to thrive, I needed to be in with the latest trends, and that meant Holden Holdings. I had a much better chance at success if I had the backing of a big corporation.
When I stepped out of the business and into the sticky spring heat, Ash was leaning against his Range Rover. My apprehension dissipated when I found him waiting for me. His eyes caught mine, and he lit up.
“How’d it go?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Good, I think.”
He caught me around the middle and whirled me around, pinning me to the side of his car. “I bet better than good.”
“We’ll see, won’t we?”
Then, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine, and I forgot all about my meeting. The anxiety about presenting in front of businessmen. The fear that maybe everything I’d worked for wasn’t good enough. The desire to prove myself. It all melted away at his touch.
“That’s not fair,” I whispered.
He laughed. “What isn’t?”
“How you can make me forget everything like that.”
He arched an eyebrow and then kissed me again. “Like this?”
I squeaked as his tongue brushed against mine. “Yes,” I gasped when he released me.
His fingers threaded up into my long hair. “I like that.”