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“Never in a million years would I pick anything but you,” I whispered back harshly.
Sadness overwhelmed me, and I let Tav hold me. I had worked hard to build Dailey Tires and probably no one else would’ve been able to engineer the dirty business maneuver my mother had, but it was done. I let out a shuddery breath.
“This was all shitty,” Tav muttered.
“Almost as shitty as your truck hitting my car,” I said, a smile flirting with my lips.
He groaned.
“Fuck it,” I said, taking a deep breath and standing tall. I rolled my shoulders to release some of the tension. “She doesn’t know how to run this type of company. Let her ruin it.”
“And what will you do?” he asked, studying my face.
“First, I’m going to make sure Ellis has a new internship somewhere.”
Tav ran his thumb over my chin. “Good. And then?”
I attacked Tav’s lush mouth.
He chuckled when we were both hugging each other tight with heat settling between us. “You can’t do this all day every day,” he said softly, then nipped my bottom lip.
“We can give it a shot?” I waggled my eyebrows, and he rested his forehead against mine.
“I’m—”
“Do not apologize.” I hugged him harder until I felt like my bones were aching from the strength of the embrace.
He huffed. “Was just gonna say that I’m going to go get ready for you, since your new career plans seem like they’re going to require me to be naked.” He winked at me, clearly trying to claw back some of his lighthearted attitude, then spun to walk out of the office with his back straight.
When he was out of sight, I squeezed my eyes shut and massaged my chest. I wanted to call my dad, but it wouldn’t do any good. Tears slid out of my eyes and pissed me off. I’d worked hard. I took deep breaths and forced myself to stop. I would never, ever let Tav know how much this had gotten to me because I was serious about him.
Deadly serious about my promise.
I would always pick Tav.
24
TAV
Saturday came and Judah decided to take the boys out to the farmers’ market. After the last time, I decided not to go, despite Judah unleashing his puppy dog eyes.
“Another time,” I’d murmured while giving him a gentle kiss. I wanted to start looking for a new job. Judah would need the help more than ever, and I wasn’t going to fail him. He’d chosen me, so I was going to be everything he needed and more.
“I’ll bring you home some bear claws,” he promised, with another kiss, before he, Ellis, and Hilton left.
I watched them go, my heart in my throat as I waved at them from the door while the car drove off. In a lot of ways, they’d become my unconventional family. It hadn’t even been a month, but somehow, I’d found a forever partner and two brothers.
It was Lisa’s day off, which meant I had the place to myself, and the quietness of the large space was weird. I used the time to check out the rest of the house, something I hadn’t really done yet. It had four bedrooms all together, including ours and Ellis’s room and Hilton’s, too. Judah had an office on the second floor that I suspected he’d start using next week, and it was comfy, full of warm brown wood, from the floor to his desk to the bookshelves lined against the wall.
A loud knock at the front door interrupted my tour, and I frowned, heading back downstairs. I opened the door and became rooted to the spot at the sight of Elizabeth looking anything but pleased to be here. She glared and shoved her way past me without a word.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded, narrowing my gaze on her when she spun around to stare at me. “Judah isn’t home.”
“I know, I saw him leave.” She crossed her arms and pursed her lips. “How much?”
“What?” My mouth dropped open. I knew exactly what she was asking, but I couldn’t believe I was hearing it.
She stood straighter and smoothed a hand over her cream blazer. Elizabeth looked every bit the businesswoman she was, with a matching pencil skirt and a white dress shirt. Her hair was pulled up into a tight bun and her makeup was light. “How much do you want to leave him? Give me a figure.”
