Chapter 40 #2
He smiled as he ate a shrimp. “Ovens aren’t my thing.
Grills I can handle. But the extent of my cooking is meat, fish, and vegetables.
Maybe some potatoes. I have no other talent when it comes to the kitchen, aside from eating and having a well-experienced palate, knowing the difference between quality food and rubbish. ”
“I’m not much better. I can handle the basics. My nanny does the majority of the cooking for Abbi and me. She’s exceptional.” I picked off a corner of the bread. “The thing is, it sounds like the palate skills you do have are all you need for your business. Walker’s got the rest handled.”
“For now, yes. Until he quits.” He whistled out a breath.
“You think he will?” I chewed a cucumber. “When I spoke to him at Charred, although the chat about work was brief, he sounded somewhat positive about the potential of creating new menu items again.”
His brows shot up. “He said that?”
“Well, I was standing with Alivia—who’s adorable, by the way—and I asked him his favorite dish from the new Horned menu. That led to more cooking talk, and while he was smiling at Alivia, he said he had some other ideas brewing.”
“She’s changed him so much. For the better, I mean. She’s calmed him and redirected his anger. But if we follow through with the buyout, that’s going to be a lot of work, and … I don’t know.”
“But what you’re going to acquire and convert and achieve, will be worth it.
It’s just going to take a hell of a lot to get you there.
The Gordons have quite a portfolio, Colson.
That’s a massive changeover, brand-wise.
Exteriors with signage. Interiors. Uniforms. Menus.
Websites. I don’t have to tell you this—you already know. ”
“Says the attorney who knows exactly what we’re facing.” He chuckled.
I smiled. “I’m off the clock, so I can say, I’m glad it’s you doing the work and not me. That’s one hell of a project to tackle, and I’m exhausted just thinking about it.”
“And if you were on the clock, what would you say?”
I laughed. “Lowball the hell out of them. When those assholes tell you they’ve reached their rock bottom—and they will—negotiate even harder.
They’ll expect you to cave. I’ve trained them to think that way.
But once Dutton gets his hands on them, you’re going to be in the driver’s seat.
” I lifted my chin. “Prove to them who’s in control. ”
“You mean … be dominant.”
I kissed him. “And you know how to do that well.”
We didn’t move from the couch. We stayed long after we finished dinner.
I didn’t know the time, but at some point, we indulged in some chocolate-covered strawberries.
My wineglass was refilled several times, each round spaced out, but not enough that the warmth left my body.
And there was conversation, what felt like hours of it, where we dug deeper into work and our future, Colson’s family and mine.
Rarely did our lips turn still, but it happened when Colson pointed out the moon.
It wasn’t quite full, probably only days away.
Still, the brightness and glow and beauty were exceptional.
“It’s showing off for us.” I laughed.
He held me while we continued to gaze at the sky, freckled with some of the most dazzling stars.
“Let’s go for a swim.”
He was positioned behind me, and I was nestled between his legs, reclining against his chest.
“Now?”
“Unless you fear the ocean at night. I know you don’t during the day.”
The water was black, a darkness that even light couldn’t illuminate. I could relate in so many ways.
“When you’ve survived a childhood like mine, the ocean is the least of your enemies.”
His arms tightened around me, his lips moved to the back of my neck, pressing hard into my skin. “It fucking hurts to hear that.”
“I don’t want it to. It’s made me who I am.”
“And for that, I accept it. But I wish more than anything that I could take it away.”
I rubbed my cheek against his chin, the whiskers of his beard a pain I welcomed. “You are, Colson. Without even realizing it.”
I let those words simmer over him, and I stood from the couch. I still wore a bathing suit under my maxi dress, so I let the dress fall, and I draped it over a cushion. Colson followed me to the swim platform that surrounded the back of the yacht.
“There’s a ladder. One second. I’ll—”
I dived in, not needing what he suggested. The water wasn’t as chilly as I had expected, the wetness taking hold of me, only adding to the buzz in my body. When I emerged, he was sitting on the end of the boat, and he sank himself into the ocean.
He met me a few feet away, and my legs straddled his waist, locking us together while we treaded the waves. Even though the Pacific was completely obscured beneath us, between the moon and stars, the surface glistened.
My arms wrapped around his neck, and I kissed him, tasting the salt on his lips. “This has been one of the best nights. Wait, I should retract that. All of the evenings I’ve spent with you were amazing. But there’s something so special about being here with you.”
“Does it have to do with the ocean? It makes you feel like you’re home?” His hands didn’t stay still; they moved from my waist to my back, up to my neck, before they lowered again.
“I don’t think so.”
“Then what is it?”
I dunked my hair into the sea. “This. You.” My face rose, and I cupped his cheeks. “All of it.”
As I was slipping in closer to kiss him again, he said, “I love you, Sophie.”
I froze. The three words caught me off guard. I had wanted to hear them. I certainly felt them. But the sound of his voice and the strength in his tone and the meaning of his statement and the way the moment wrapped around me—I was captured.
But it was even so much more than that.
“Colson …” My volume wasn’t higher than a whisper. “You do?”
“I do.”
“Please … I need to hear you say it once more.”
With his lips near mine, his breath hitting the wetness on my face, he exhaled, “I love you.”
And when I couldn’t hold it in a second longer, I replied, “I love you too.”