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Holding a clipboard, she was surrounded by a gaggle of men and women who hung on her every word. He overheard a smattering of phrases, like hazardous materials and bringing things up to code and confirming sewer lines are sound and power lines are connected.
His beautiful girl Friday directed, questioned, instructed. She was the capable, confident woman she’d always been. But she was a girl Friday no more. In fact, she’d never been his girl Friday. She’d always been in charge—of him, of his life, of his work, just as she was in charge of the men and women standing before her now. She was his idea genius and his right hand.
His partner.
And she charmed the group as easily as she’d charmed him from the moment he’d first seen her.
Why had they waited twelve years? But he knew the answer. This was how it was meant to be. They needed to be workaholic colleagues and best friends and equals. They needed to know each other inside and out.
They needed to love each other before they fell in love.
As he watched her now, totally in charge, respect gleaming in the faces of the professionals surrounding her, he realized this was what they’d been working toward. A partnership of equals.
With a smile and a wave of her hand, the group broke up, off to do the tasks she’d assigned them. He couldn’t wait another moment. Even as a contractor turned back to her with a question, Dane commanded her attention.
Before the man could open his mouth, Dane said, “Excuse us. We’ll be back in a moment.” Grabbing her hand, he pulled her into a copse of trees near the lake.
She looked up at him with her beautiful green eyes, perfectly at home among the wildflowers surrounding them. “What are you doing?” she whispered. “I’m in the middle of a meeting.”
“You have them completely corralled. They all have their tasks. You’ve set everything in motion and handled it all.” Still holding her hand, he said, “And now it’s my turn.” He went down on one knee in the moist, sandy soil.
She gasped. “You’re getting your suit filthy.”
“I don’t care.” Because a five-thousand-dollar suit was replaceable.
But Cammie, the love of his life, could never be replaced.
* * *
Cammie put both hands to her mouth. She wanted to laugh. She wanted to cry. This was everything she’d ever wanted. But she whispered, “Get up.”
He held her gaze a long moment, his true-blue eyes compelling. “Not until I bare my soul.”
“But, Dane—”
“Shh,” he whispered. Her heart wanted to burst.
Then he told her everything. “For so long, I was focused on taking care of the family. Clay and Troy and Gabby were so young when our parents died.”
She’d seen how hard he worked to make sure their needs were met. When she came to work for Dane, Troy had just won his first gold medal and was poised to win so many more. After attending night school, Ava had graduated from college. Clay was a sophomore at university. And Gabby was heading for cooking school.
Dane had navigated all of that with his siblings, always cheering in their corner.
She said softly, “I know how hard you worked. You and Ava did an amazing job raising them.”
He’d given up so much to do it—his dreams of being a veterinarian, dropping out of college to handle the financial debacle his parents left behind, then working at a resort just to keep food on the table and pay for his siblings’ college educations. He’d worked so his siblings could achieve all their dreams while he had to give up his own.
“I admired you from day one,” she admitted. “Especially when I learned everything you did for them.”
He put up a hand. “I’d do it all again. They’re my family. But I could never give them the love of good parents, much as I wanted to.”
She wanted to drop to her knees and hug him close. “You gave them all the love they needed to help them grow into the most incredible adults.”
Something sparkled in his eyes. It might even have been tears. But she knew better than to point it out.
“The thing I couldn’t give them was the example of a loving family. Of parents who cared for each other, supported each other, parents who wanted to spend time with their children. Parents who inspired them. Like Susan and Bob Spencer.”
She held out her hand. And he took it. “Don’t you know you always inspired them?”
“But not in all the ways I wanted to. Look at them. Not one of them has had a meaningful relationship.”
“They have loving relationships with you and with each other.” She pulled him to his feet. He was just too far away from her down there on the ground.
Dane shook his head, his hair falling over his forehead. “But I could never show them how to love. Because I was afraid.” He put his finger to her lips as though he thought she’d deny it for him. “I drifted from woman to woman, never knowing what I truly wanted or needed.”
