Chapter 31
DREW
Iwoke up to sunlight streaming through the bedroom windows and Kensey’s hair spread across my chest. My alarm hadn’t gone off yet, but I was wide awake. Four hours of sleep should have left me feeling like death, but instead, I felt like I could run a marathon.
I watched her sleep. Her lips slightly parted, her breathing soft and even. We’d barely slept. Every time we tried, one of us would reach for the other and we’d be at it again. My body was exhausted but my mind was sharp, alert, buzzing with something I couldn’t quite name.
She stirred against me, making a small sound of protest as consciousness crept in.
“Morning,” I said quietly.
Her eyes opened slowly, unfocused at first. Then she smiled. “What time is it?”
“Early. We’ve got time.”
She stretched, arching her back in a way that made the sheet slip down, exposing her full breasts. I watched, appreciating the view. I saw one of the many love bites I had left and felt a surge of possessiveness I had never experienced before. She caught me looking and laughed.
“You’re insatiable.”
“Can you blame me?”
She kissed my chest, then my jaw, then finally my mouth. “We need to get up. We both have work.”
“I know.” I didn’t move.
“Drew.”
“Fine.” I reluctantly let her go, watching as she slid out of bed and padded toward the bathroom. She’d brought an overnight bag. Clothes, toiletries, the works. It felt significant somehow. Like she was claiming space in my life, in my home.
I got up and headed to the kitchen, pulling out eggs and bread.
The coffeemaker was already programmed to start.
I heard the shower turn on and had to physically restrain myself from joining her.
We needed to get to the store. The sidewalk sale was two days away and there was still a mountain of things to handle.
By the time she emerged, dressed in gray slacks and a white blouse, hair damp and pulled back, I had breakfast plated and waiting. Scrambled eggs, toast, fresh fruit I’d had delivered yesterday.
“This looks amazing,” she said, sliding onto a stool at the island.
“Figured we needed fuel.” I poured her coffee, adding cream the way she liked it. “Long day ahead.”
We ate together, talking through the schedule.
She had a meeting with Micah about vendor placement.
I had calls with the marketing team and a walkthrough with security to finalize the crowd control plan.
The sidewalk sale was going to be the biggest event yet.
We were expecting thousands of people to visit the area over the course of the day.
“You nervous?” she asked.
“No.” I wasn’t. Everything was coming together exactly as planned. Micah had been a machine, coordinating the changes. The vendors were confirmed, the inventory was staged, the marketing had been hitting hard for weeks. “You?”
“A little,” she admitted. “I keep thinking about all the things that could go wrong.”
“Nothing’s going to go wrong.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.” I reached across the island and took her hand. “We’ve got this. You, me, Micah, the whole team. It’s going to be great.”
She smiled, but I could see the worry still lingering in her eyes. She was a planner, a worrier, someone who needed to anticipate every possible problem. It was part of what made her such a good teacher. But right now, I needed her to trust that we had it handled.
After breakfast, we loaded into my car. I kept one hand on the wheel, the other resting on her thigh.
It was my favorite thing in the world. All the hundreds of times we’d rode around together, I never had the luxury of something so simple.
It felt right to have my hand there. Touching her. Always touching her.
“I had a lot of fun last night,” she said with a smile.
“Me too.”
We pulled into the store’s parking structure. The place was already buzzing with activity—trucks unloading, crew members hauling equipment, the organized chaos of event prep. I parked in my reserved spot and killed the engine.
“I’ll go in first,” she said.
I rolled my eyes. “Kensey, no one is going to say anything about us walking in together.”
“I have a hickey on my neck, Drew. I’d rather not advertise my boss is the one that put it there.”
My cock jerked. That possessive little fucker wanted to claim her again. “I’m barely your boss, but fine. I’ll be watching you walk away.”
She laughed and climbed out of the car. I watched her walk toward the store entrance, her bag slung over one shoulder. She looked back once, caught me staring, and grinned before disappearing inside.
I sat there for a moment, staring at the spot where she’d been. The feeling from this morning, that buzzing electric energy, was still there. I recognized it now. It was clarity. The kind that came when you finally stopped lying to yourself about what you wanted.
I wanted her. Not just for the summer. Not just for stolen nights and borrowed time. I wanted her in my life, permanently, in every way that mattered. The question was how to make that happen without asking her to sacrifice everything she’d worked for.
I grabbed my phone and headed inside. The store was a hive of activity.
Parts of the main floor were roped off, crew members assembling display racks and testing lighting.
Micah was in the center of it all, clipboard in hand, directing traffic like a conductor.
I was glad he was taking this so seriously.
I honestly thought he’d pop in, give me some tips, and then be gone.
But when he sank his teeth into something, he took it all very seriously.
I caught his eye and he gave me a thumbs-up.
I caught a glimpse of Kensey talking with Edith.
I took the stairs to my office, needing a few minutes away from the noise to think. My desk was covered in paperwork. I pushed it all aside and sat down, staring at the wall.
What did I want?
I wanted Kensey. That part was easy.
What was I willing to give up to have her?
That part was harder.
The store was my responsibility. I couldn’t just walk away because I’d fallen in love. That wasn’t how family worked. That wasn’t how business worked. But what if I could do both? What if there was a way to keep the store running without being physically present every single day?
I pulled out my laptop and opened my calendar.
Most of my meetings could be done remotely.
The day-to-day operations were handled by a team I trusted.
Edith could run the floor better than I could.
The real question was whether I could let go of the control, trust the people I’d hired, and step back without everything falling apart.
I leaned back in my chair. The office felt too big suddenly, too empty.
I’d spent months building this, proving I could do it, showing everyone I wasn’t just a Blackwell coasting on the family name.
And I’d succeeded. The store was thriving.
The events were generating buzz. The numbers were good.
But sitting here alone, staring at spreadsheets and vendor contracts, I felt hollow.
I thought about Kensey’s job in New Jersey. The kids she talked about with so much passion. The way her face lit up when she described a breakthrough moment with a struggling student. That was her purpose. That was what made her feel like she was contributing something meaningful to the world.
What was mine?
I’d told myself the store mattered. And it did. But did it matter more than being with the woman I loved?
I stood and walked to the window, watching the crew setting up barriers for the sidewalk sale. People were already gathering, curious about what was happening. Soon, the plaza would be packed with people, all here because of the work we’d done. It felt good. But it didn’t feel like enough.
I thought about grand gestures. Flying her somewhere exotic.
Renting out a restaurant. Hiring musicians.
But Kensey wasn’t impressed by money or spectacle.
She’d grown up middle class, worked her way through college, built a life on her own terms. She valued authenticity over flash.
She loved the private plane and the penthouse, but that was fun.
That was extra. I wanted to do something that would appeal to her.
So what did she need to hear?
That I loved her. That was obvious. But words alone weren’t enough. I needed to back it up with action. With proof that I wasn’t just saying things I thought she wanted to hear. I needed to show her I was willing to fight for this. For us.
But how?
I couldn’t move to New Jersey. Not yet. Not while the store needed me here.
But maybe I didn’t need to be here every single day.
Maybe I could split my time. Spend three weeks in LA, one week in Jersey.
Or two and two. Something that let me keep my responsibilities here while also being present in her life.
It wasn’t perfect. But it was something. It was a start.
And maybe that was enough. Maybe love wasn’t about finding the perfect solution. Maybe it was about being willing to get creative, to compromise, to build something new together instead of forcing each other into boxes that didn’t fit.
I pulled up my email and started typing to Briggs.
My fingers flew across the keyboard as I laid out a scenario I’d never seriously considered before.
A question that could change everything.
A possibility that might give Kensey and me a real shot instead of this ticking clock we’d been ignoring.
I read through it twice, making sure I’d been clear about what I was asking.
Then I hit send before I could second-guess myself.
The email whooshed away into the digital void.
Now I just had to wait. I stood up from my desk, rolling my shoulders to release some of the tension that had settled there.
Whatever Briggs said, at least I was doing something.
At least I was trying to find a way forward instead of just accepting defeat.
I headed back down to the main floor. The chaos had evolved into something that actually looked organized. I spotted Kensey and Micah near the front windows, both of them studying a tablet and gesturing at the plaza outside. I made my way over.
“How’s it looking?” I asked.
Micah glanced up. “Good. Really good, actually. We’re ahead of schedule.”
I looked at the setup taking shape around us. “What do you need from me?”
“Muscle,” Micah said immediately. “We’ve got some of the bigger display units that need to be moved into position. The crew’s handling most of it, but we could use an extra set of hands.”
“Done.”
For the next two hours, I threw myself into the physical work. Kensey worked alongside me, directing placement and double-checking everything against the master plan.
“You’re really good at this,” I told her during a brief break.
“Thanks.” She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. “It’s kind of like teaching, actually. Planning, organizing, anticipating problems before they happen.”
“You should consider doing this professionally.”
She laughed. “I have a profession.”
“I know. What’s next?”
She consulted her tablet. “We need to finish the jewelry section. Then the shoes. Then we can call it a day on setup.”
“Lead the way.”
After all the manual labor, I had to go into my office and do some actual work. Kensey went to her desk to take care of some emails. At five, I closed the laptop and grabbed my keys. Kensey was waiting for me downstairs, scrolling through her phone and looking tired but content.
“Ready?” she asked when she saw me.
“Yeah.”
We walked out together through the back entrance.
“Want to come over?” I asked.
“I wish, but I have to check in at home. My parents are going to get the wrong idea.”
“Wrong idea?”
“About us.”
I didn’t know how to feel about that.
“Right,” I said. “I’ll get you home.”