Page 89 of Never To Be Mine

I stepped back into the hallway, my head spinning. Another partnership. The burger project I’d almost given up on was back in play. Young at Heart’s resources and expertise were going to get it across the finish line.

I walked back toward the conference room, where I could hear the party still going strong. Juno was standing near the windows, talking to her assistant. She looked up when I entered, her eyes immediately searching mine with a question I couldn’t answer in front of everyone.

I crossed the room to her side. Her assistant smiled and disappeared, practically into thin air.

“Everything okay?” she asked, her champagne flute in front of her mouth like she was afraid someone might overhear.

I wanted to grab her and spin her around. “Your dad wants to partner on another project,” I said quietly.

Her eyebrows shot up. “What project?”

“The meatless burger. He thinks Young at Heart can solve the production cost issue.”

“That’s incredible,” she breathed, and I could see the excitement building in her expression. “Hollis, that’s huge.”

“I know.”

“We’ve been trying to crack plant-based burgers for years,” she said, leaning in closer. “If you’ve actually got something that works, this could be massive.”

“It works. It just needs your team’s magic touch on the production side.”

“I can’t wait to get started.” Her eyes were bright with excitement, and I realized this was one of the things I loved most about her, the way she lit up talking about work. Not in a workaholic way but like she had genuine passion for what she did. “This is going to be so much fun.”

“Fun?” I grinned. “You think working with me is fun?”

“Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Too late.”

She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

The celebration wound down over the next hour. People started trickling out, congratulating me one more time. I shook hands, accepted compliments, and tried not to check my phone every five seconds to see the view count climbing on the commercial.

By the time the last person left, it was just me, Juno, and Kari cleaning up the conference room.

“I’ve got this,” Kari said, waving us off. “You two go.”

I caught Juno’s eye and gestured toward the door. She followed me out into the hallway.

“So,” I said as we walked toward the elevators. “Come over tonight?”

She bit her lip, pretending to consider it even though I could see the answer in her eyes. “I suppose I could make an appearance.”

“Just an appearance?”

“We’ll see how it goes.”

The elevator doors opened, and we stepped inside. The moment they closed, I pulled her against me and kissed her. She melted into it immediately, her hands sliding up my chest.

“I can’t stop thinking about you,” I murmured against her mouth.

“Good,” she breathed. “Because I can’t stop thinking about you either.”

The elevator dinged, announcing our arrival at the parking garage. We broke apart, both of us slightly breathless.

“Tonight,” I said.

“Six?”