Love In Secrets (Love Distilled #3) - Scarlett Cole Page 0,96
to it.”
Cassie laughed and sat down. “Can I move in with you?”
Move in with him? Hell, she could marry him and have his babies if she wanted.
“Easiest yes. When?”
“Tonight. Tomorrow. If that’s convenient.”
He looked at her face and did a double take. “Wait. You’re serious?”
Cassie nodded. “You said start with the big reveal.”
“Like moving back to Denver?”
She nodded again.
“For good or for now?”
“For good. As long as this is where you are.”
Jake went to stand, then sat down again. He ran a hand through his hair. He could have sworn he was about to cry, but somewhere in his stomach, elation was exploding, and suddenly his world stood on its head.
“Back up two steps now,” he said, as he reached for her hands and gripped them.
“I had an epiphany yesterday, flew home this morning, met my dad, and made an agreement to buy his company off him over the next three years.”
“You’re going to what? Wait. I lied. Go back to the beginning.”
“I was deeply attached to the idea of making it big in construction in New York because of the size and competitiveness of the market. I felt that if I made it there, I would have really made it. I felt like I’d outgrown my dad and what he’d achieved. But the reality of it was so much different. It’s a constant battle, every day. And ironically, I prided myself on being able to deal with it. I prided myself on having a hide thicker than a rhino. I prided myself on dealing with the bureaucracy and bullshit. But Wednesday was exceptionally shitty. I had an interview. I heard the interviewer afterwards basically describe me as a skirt who’d be a hazard to the guys on the construction site. And then Brandon tried to throw me under the bus. And as I was standing there, I realized you were right, I had been happy here, working on the projects. It felt like I was in charge of something. But I also felt something else. I can build it into something so much bigger. But only if it’s mine and mine alone.”
Jake’s mind whirled as he listened to her. Her words were coming faster and faster as she poured everything at his feet in one long continuous flow of consciousness.
But one thing began to resonate, a throb getting louder and louder.
She’s come home.
She’s come home.
She’s come home.
“You didn’t do this for me, did you? Because I would have moved there to be with you.”
Cassie placed her hand against his face. “That’s part of why I’m here. Because I know you would. It occurred to me that making it work in New York was a dream I could let go of as long as it was on my own terms, but I know leaving the distillery was ripping your heart out. And here I was, holding on to my goal when you would give up everything important to you, to allow me to follow mine. You’re the only man who has never expected me to fall into line.”
He didn’t know what to say to her. Humbled by her understanding of and belief in him. “Wait, some guy called you a skirt?”
“Yeah, almost immediately after he’d acknowledged I was exceptionally competent, had great experience, and that Bruce, my site manager, spoke highly of me. He said I’d be perfect if I was a guy.”
“You’re fucking perfect as you are, gender doesn’t even come into it.”
“Thank you.”
“Hang on. Did you say you were buying your dad’s company off him?”
“I dumped a lot on you, didn’t I?”
Jake raised an eyebrow. “Just a bit. It might have been easier to understand if you’d started at the beginning.”
Cassie laughed. “I tried. You couldn’t wait, remember?”
“Fine. I couldn’t. But did I get that right?”
“Yeah. I met with Dad this morning and we had a long chat. Dad and Marianne are separating. They’re going to sell the house, and Dad is going to downsize considerably. He has a prenup with Marianne. So, the business and the home are Dad’s. I’m going to take over the business at the end of next year. Dad will stay on for fourteen months for transition, and I’ll work in various departments to get more knowledge and expertise. I’m not sacrificing or losing by coming home, I’m gaining.”
“Emerson wished she could have had that kind of opportunity with Dad. It will be invaluable.”
He could barely believe he was sitting here, calmly discussing this.