“You did it!” Amanda squeals, hugging me until I stumble, while Andrew embraces Dec.
My husband.
I close my eyes and imagine Mom and Dad, wherever they are, renewing what they needed to escape to more than thirty years ago. Their wedding was fraught with disappointment, but never their marriage.
Never their connection.
Never their love.
We reach for each other, and in the space between us I find lifetimes.
.
Chapter Twenty-One
We’re in the lobby of Litraeon, just after the wedding ceremony, and Declan insisted on coming through here to look at some new fountain. Made Andrew follow us, which means Amanda’s coming, too.
“Why in the hell do you need me to look at a fountain?” Andrew asks, his hand running through his dark waves, the gesture similar to Declan’s. “We’re headed over to a private fitting for Amanda.”
“They put diamonds on diaphragms now?” I ask.
Amanda snorts. Andrew rolls his eyes.
“I’m not going to give that the answer it deserves because today is your wedding day and I’m supposed to be nice to you,” he replies, but he’s smiling.
“Speaking of gifts, though...” Declan’s voice is so full of triumph it makes Andrew’s hands curl into fists. As my husband—husband!—reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out an envelope, Andrew watches with great suspicion.
“Here. Your wedding present,” Dec says to me, eyes darting to Andrew, who smirks.
“I thought you were paying off my student loans,” I whisper to him.
“Done. This is a little something else. And before you even try—no. You can’t return it.”
I open the envelope, which is made of a heavy linen paper that feels expensive. When I unfold the thick packet of papers inside, I find the name of a law firm in the upper left-hand corner, with what looks like nineteen lawyers listed beneath the address.
“Dear Mr. McCormick,” the letter begins. The first paragraph is legalese, something about the final sale of all private shares of a company. Majority ownership. Minority ownership. Transfers.
I see the three best words on the planet other than I love you and Ben & Jerry.
Grind It Fresh!
Declan pulls his coat away from his waist and buttons a button, taking in a deep, satisfied breath as my eyes race over the paperwork.
“Does this say what I think it says?” I gasp as I realize what my sweet, new husband has done.
“What do you think it says, Shannon?”
“You—you—!” I look up in amazement, my chin dipping down to read, then back up as I look at him. “You bought me Grind It Fresh!?”
His face splits into a dazzling grin.
“What the hell is Grind It Fresh!?” Andrew asks, his brows turned down.
Amanda grabs me in a hug and we jump up and down, squealing.
“Your husband bought you a coffee shop!” Amanda crows. “Oh, my God!”
I can see Andrew giving Declan a dirty look.
As we bounce and shriek, it starts to sink in. The man bought me a store. My wedding present to him was a case of his favorite wine and a private tour of the vineyard.
I owe him.
I peel away from Amanda and give him a kiss. He’s clammy and happy, but clearly unnerved quite suddenly.
“What’s wrong?” I ask him.
“I didn’t buy you a store.”
Oh, no. Have I misunderstood? Did I just make a huge social blunder? “You didn’t?”
“I bought you a chain. Grind It Fresh! has nineteen stores in California and Nevada. You’re forty-nine percent owner. Pick your job title, honey. The only job that’s taken is CEO.”
And with that, he unbuttons his coat, reaches into his jacket pocket, and hands Andrew an envelope. A very, very slim envelope.
“What’s this?” Andrew asks as he takes it. “My wedding present? You buy me a Dunkin’ Donuts? Because that would be a dream come true,” he adds in an acid tone.
“Not quite.”
Andrew slips his finger under the envelope flap, tearing it open, and pulls the single piece of paper out. Just as he begins reading, I realize what it is.
CEO. Declan said CEO—
“You’re resigning from Anterdec?” Andrew thunders. “You can’t do that!”
“Just did.”
“But—”
Declan whirls around and grabs me, his hands shaking. “You told me to find my power. I am. You get your favorite coffee place—which, by the way, has an amazing financial profile—I become CEO, and we grow our own national chain together. Grind It Fresh! is like buying Starbucks in the mid-1970s. We’re going to do great things with this, Shannon.”
“Dec—I—you bought me an entire company?” I squeak.
“Better than a seven-foot animatronic teddy bear, I hope.”
I grab him in a hug and nearly topple us to the ground.
“What if I want to be CEO?” I joke. I am truly teasing. No way am I ready for that.
“Wait! Slow the hell down!” Andrew demands. “I’m losing her, too? She’s one of our best employees!”
“But you’re acquiring me,” Amanda says with a sour look. “When were you going to tell me you’re buying my boss’s company?”
Andrew’s perplexed anger shifts into a contrite look. “I swear I was going to—after, uh, you know...”
“After what? All the sex slows down?”
Andrew gives Declan a help me out, bro look.
Dec just shrugs and kisses me. Joy radiates from him, tension banished by the sheer act of exerting his will.