We pull into our neighborhood, and I park the car, heart still beating like I've run five miles.She doesn't wait for me to open her door.She steps out, heels clicking softly on the cement driveway, and goes toward the front door.I follow, keys still in hand, completely unsure what to expect.
The moment the door shuts behind us, she turns.
Before I can say anything, she grabs my hand and pulls me to the living room.I stumble slightly, startled.
"Skye…"
She doesn't let me finish.
She pushes me down onto the couch with both hands, firm and determined, and then climbs into my lap like she owns the space.
And maybe she does.
Her legs straddle me, dress riding high, her hands coming up to cup my face.
"That," she says, her eyes blazing now, all fire and emotion and everything I couldn't read in the car, "was the most incredible thing anyone has ever done for me."
My mouth parts, but she leans in before I can speak, kissing me like she's been holding it in for hours.
I groan into her mouth, arms wrapping around her automatically, anchoring her to me.She tastes like heat and sweetness, setting my blood on fire from the inside out.
She pulls back just enough to look at me.
"You scared me," I say, throat thick.
"I didn't know what to say," she admits, voice softer now."I was overwhelmed.Still am.But not in a bad way."
I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding."You had me sweating bullets, you know that?"
She smiles, fingers brushing through the hair at the back of my head."Good.You deserve to sweat a little."
I laugh, the tension finally breaking.
Her smile widens, but there's vulnerability in her eyes as she shifts in my lap."You really think I can do this?Run an entire spa?"
"I know you can," I say without hesitation, hands settling on her hips."You've been running the place you work at in all but name."
She bites her lower lip, gaze dropping to the space between us.The contract sits on the coffee table, where she must have set it when we came in.I watch her stare at it, her fingers playing absently with the collar of my shirt.
"It's just..."she starts, then pauses."What if I fail?"
"Then you fail," I say, and her eyes snap up to mine."And I'll be right here.But I know you won't."
She studies my face as if she's looking for something specific.
"How can you be so sure?"she whispers, and there's a tremble in her voice I rarely hear.
I cup her face in my hands, making sure she can't look away."Because I've watched you for months, Skye.I've seen how you handle clients, how you manage the staff, and how you solve problems no one else can touch.You were born for this."
She exhales slowly, her shoulders dropping a fraction."I can't believe Stephen just...handed me a business.Who does that?"
"Someone who recognizes talent when he sees it."I brush my thumb across her cheekbone."Someone who knows a good investment when it's right in front of him."
Her lips quirk up at the corners."Is that what I am?An investment?"
"To him?Yes."I pull her closer until our foreheads touch."To me?You're everything."
Her breath catches, and I feel the shift in her body, the way she melts into me at those words.