Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
TINSLEY
Ismile into the pillow when I feel kisses trail down my back. I fight not to giggle, the short hair of his beard tickling me. His clean shave never lasts long. My city man will be a lumberjack in the very near future.
Last night was everything and so much more for me. I didn’t know that sex brought a different type of closeness. We are a part of each other now.
“Hey!” I laugh when his mouth makes it to my ass and he gives it a little bite. His hand slides under me, and he easily flips me onto my back like I’m a freaking pancake. “Hey,” I huff again, this time for a different reason. He’s fully dressed.
I don’t have a freaking clue what time it might be. We moved a couple of times, and at one point, I was in the bathtub. He was worried about me being sore, and I am. Only a little, but it's a delicious soreness. I didn't know that was a thing, but with Pierce that happens.
“I need to step out for a little.” He's dressed casually in jeans and a black shirt. See, the suits are already leaving him. He still has a Rolex on his wrist, but I too enjoy shiny things. Even more so if they sparkle.
“You take my virginity and run!” I grab his shirt and pull him down for a kiss. He smiles against my mouth.
“You’re making this hard.” Pierce nips my bottom lip. I'm completely naked still.
“Bet it’s already hard.” I wiggle against him.
“You got me there.” He kisses me again. “But it’s a surprise for you, so I have to go.”
“Oh, now we’re talking.” I release my hold on his shirt, making him chuckle.
"Breakfast is here. I had it delivered."
"Katherine is going to be in heaven." We only have a handful of restaurants in New Hope, and there isn't DoorDash. Even though the places in town have killer food, it will be nice to try something new. It’s one of the things I actually enjoyed about the city when I lived here.
"She's already eating it." Pierce kisses my forehead. "I won't be long. Then we can head back to New Hope."
I lie in bed for another few minutes, smiling so hard my cheeks are going to be sore too. It's crazy how Pierce and I fit together. That list I made as a kid worked. I basically manifested him. It’s like I have a superpower. People that do vision boards might be on to something.
My stomach growls, and I force myself to get up. I use the bathroom and steal a pair of Pierce's boxer briefs. I have to roll them a million times so they don't fall. It doesn't really matter because the shirt I slip on reaches all the way to my knees.
I indeed find Katherine in the kitchen sitting at the massive island. There are food containers spread out. Except she isn't eating. The plate she made is half eaten. Her head snaps up when I ask her what she is doing.
I recognize the laptop she's using as Pierce's. "What are you doing?"
"It's not as bad as you think." I lift a brow. "He said I could use it. I wanted to google a question I had, and it was driving me bonkers, but then I saw his email, and, well—" Katherine gives a small shrug. "Don't judge me! You're just as nosy."
"I don't think he would be terribly mad. I mean, he let you use it," I point out, and he knows how Katherine and I can be.
Except he had told me a secret last night when we were cuddling in the bathtub and we were playing a question game.
I'd asked him for a secret, and then he went and dropped a whole secret society on me.
I didn't know that shit was real, but I loved that he trusted me with it.
He also mentioned the possibility of pulling fully out of it.
Our worlds are so different, and before that scared me, but not anymore.
"Well, I might be more than terribly mad." Katherine's expression has gone dead serious now. It should scare me, but it doesn't. I snag a piece of sausage.
"What?" My heart sinks. Pierce told me he was working things out. That’s about all I knew. Was he trying not to worry me? Had he not been able to pull it off?
“He’s talking to these Bilton people, and they want to go in with him on buying it. They want this resort. There are even numbers and profits they’ll make with the investment in it.” I walk over to see for myself.
My eyes run over the spreadsheet she pulled up on the attachment. I don't fully understand what it all means, but I get an idea, and she's not wrong. They want the land, and they also want Biff out of it. Well, that's already done. Pierce made that happen last night.
"Ladies," Pierce says, entering the kitchen.
"Oh shit," Katherine mutters under her breath.
"That was quick," I say.
"I only went down to the lobby to sign and pick something up."
"Oh really?" Katherine's demeanor changes. "Was it the underhanded paperwork to steal the land and make your own resort?" she accuses.
"No." Pierce’s eyes come to me. I step past Katherine and around the island to make my way over to him.
"Where's my surprise?" I ask. I don't see anything. Like Katherine said, we're nosy.
"Is there species betrayal?" Katherine shouts. I partly turn back toward her. She's not one to yell at anyone. It's not her nature. I, however, don't have that problem.
"It's not betrayal. Calm down, dork." I laugh at her. "She saw an email about you investing with some Bilton people for the land and building the resort.” I wave it off.
"They did make an offer," he admits.
"Okay." I shrug. "Are you hungry?" I don’t want to worry about that. Not today. We’ll face whatever it is tomorrow. Once we’re back in New Hope. It might be time for me to come clean to Kindred and Hollis.
“You don’t want to know?” Pierce asks, his eyes watching me closely, but they always are.
“You said you’re working on it, so I’m leaving it be for now.”
“The email,” Katherine rushes to say.
“It’s an email. He might be toying with them. I don’t know. I’m sure for whatever reason he’s speaking with them, he knows what he’s doing.” Pierce's eyes grow soft around the edges. “I trust him.”
I won’t be jumping to conclusions anymore when it comes to Pierce. The man has been nothing but good to me, and until he gives me a reason, and I don’t think he will, I’m going to simply trust him.
People might call me silly and na?ve, and maybe I am, but still, I trust my husband to protect that too. That had been another one of the things he’d told me last night between lovemaking. The things that I bring to life in him. The protectiveness over me in every way he has.
“Biff went to the Bilton family, their investment firm, with the plan he’d hatched. He was able to find out the land was about to go on the market and wanted to grab it beforehand. With Bilton and other connections, that was more than possible.” That doesn’t sound good, but I’m sure he tried.
“Does that mean—”
“No, they didn’t get it. I hatched my own plan and used some of my own connections. The deal is pretty much complete.”
“Pretty much?”
“I was able to buy half of it. When I have it transferred to you, I’ll need your signature. It then will be complete. I was going to tell you once my lawyer got the final papers done for your signature.”
I stare at him in shock.
“What about the other half? You get that for me?” I can’t help the bark of laughter that comes from me at Katherine’s question.
“No, but my wife can do whatever she wants with the land.”
“As in, it could belong to Katherine and me?”
“If that is what you wish. I would want you and Katherine to look over some numbers and a few ideas I have. The town is growing, and future plans should be made.” Holy crap, I love this man.
“I was joking,” Katherine says. I’m not. I love the idea of her and me having it together, and I love it even more that my husband is more than okay with that. “But still wondering about the rest of it.”
“I was able to have it protected. It’s now a conservation easement. No one can ever build there. The land will forever be protected.” I burst into tears and throw myself at him. “Hey now.” He tucks me close, rubbing his hand up and down my back, kissing the top of my head.
I sniffle and drop my head back to stare up at him. “You’re too good to me,” I tell him.
“Don’t say that,” Katherine hisses. “Gotta keep him chasing.”
“I’ll always chase her. I have a feeling I’ll be doing it a lot,” he says with a smile.
“Is there something in your pocket, or are you happy to see me?” I tease when a hard edge presses into me.
“You girls make surprises impossible.” He chuckles and does not sound mad about it as he steps back. Pierce reaches into his pocket and pulls out a box. I close my eyes.
“Is this really happening?” I peek one open to make sure I’m not dreaming.
I mean, can you blame me? This man not only saved the future of my hometown but now he’s proposing to me even though we’re already married.
This may be the best day ever. Yesterday was pretty fantastic, but this is right up there with it.
“Someone pinch me.” I open both eyes when I see Katherine reach over to do just that. I smack her hand away.
I watch as Pierce gets down on one knee in front of me. Tears of happiness stream down my face. I can’t control them anymore. My emotions are bubbling free.
“Tinsley Harte, will you marry me again?” He opens the velvet box, and I gasp at the ring that I see inside. Katherine does as well, knowing what it is.
“Pierce.” My hand trembles as I hold it out.
I drew this ring in one of my books years ago. It has a whimsical garden feel to it with three flowers, all diamonds, but it's more than that. It's a double finger ring, wrapping around the underside of the fingers.
The ring finger has the main big flower, and two others lie next to it.
On the other finger, it appears like there’s a vine holding it together.
I didn't think the ring was possible because of the holy crap amount of diamonds and how it would slide on, but it's clear Pierce found a jeweler that could make it, and it's meticulously set. He slips it on my finger.
“Say yes.” Katherine elbows me. Right.
“Right, yes.” He stands, pulling me into his arms and kissing me deeply. “I love you,” I tell him.
“I love you, too.” He presses his forehead to mine.
“I love you guys too.” Katherine wraps her arms around us in a group hug, making me laugh. “I still haven't found out if fish can see water.”
“What?” Both Pierce and I say it at the same time.
“Yeah, if we can’t see air, can fish see water?” That’s what she was trying to google. Now I need to know this answer too.
“Yes,” Pierce tells her.
“How do you know?” I ask. He was super quick with that answer.
“Yeah, you’ve never been a fish, or do you have more secrets?” Katherine narrows her eyes on him.
“The light reflects on water,” he tells her.
“Wait, hold on.” She holds up her hand.
The two of them start to go back and forth, fighting about fish and water. I grab another piece of sausage and take a bite.
This couldn’t be more perfect. Even in all those books and hours, I never could have imagined this.
New Hope has done it again, and Katherine better be next.