I was feeling exactly the way Heather had described her state to be earlier. I felt free. The moment I pushed open the glass door and made my way out of the conference room, Kimberly gave me a half-smile and nodded.

"Sir," she said, following me to the elevator. Adjusting her glasses over her nose, she struggled to find the right words. I was almost certain that she wanted to tell me that I'd made the right decision, even though most of the board members hadn't shied away from showing their skepticism. Some of their over-the-top statements still lingered over my head. They'd used words like abandon and irrational, but my only aim with gathering them together was to let them know what I'd already decided instead of taking their opinions to heart and potentially changing my mind.

Kimberly, on the other hand, looked impressed, like she'd been waiting for this day.

"I spoke to Corey," she finally started talking. "For what it's worth, you have our full support."

I'm not an emotional man when it comes to business and dealing with my employees, even the most loyal ones, but that made my heart smile.

"Thanks. I'm going to need your full support."

She knew that I was talking about the high-end restaurant that I wanted to buy in Upper Manhattan. The only reason I hadn't initiated the buy until then was I'd been running low on the extra hours I'd find myself with every day. I'd been so consumed with building this firm from scratch that I'd over-exhausted myself without being able to take a breather. Kimberly knew that the time to initiate that buy had now arrived.

"I want to help you with it, sir," she said. "With whatever you need. My job at Coleman Advisory is done too."

I smiled, then nodded. "Walk with me."

When we got to the lobby, I asked her to make reservations at the American restaurant that I was interested in buying. We walked there together and were able to skip the line at the door because she'd already told the manager to expect me.

We placed our orders and discussed my future projects, most of which were up in the air. It was an exciting moment for me, maybe for both of us because she, too, had been waiting to work for a man who was passionate about what he did.

Somehow, the conversation shifted from business to Heather and I told her a little bit about my girlfriend.

Kimberly congratulated me, sounding like I was getting married. I could understand why this was good news for her as well. She would no longer have to put up with coordinating impulsive trips for me with my booty calls.

"I do need you to book three tickets to London, though," I said, and her eyebrows shot up. "For you, Heather, and . . . ?"

"Her son," I finished. "But make sure they're refundable. I'm positive that she'll want to do a weekend getaway, but I can't be sure when. I just want to surprise her."

My assistant nodded and looked thoroughly impressed.

"I can't imagine you with children." She chuckled, like the mere thought of me in the presence of one was funny to her.

I shrugged. "You and Heather would get along well, and that means you might see Max once in a while too."

I noticed the invisible question mark across her face.

"She's joining the firm. In a week or two. Maybe sooner."

"Oh."

"It's why I need you to keep working at Coleman Advisory. It'll be a huge help for me.”

"I see," she said with skepticism.

"The news of our relationship isn't going to remain a secret. You and I both know that, and the fact that she'll be joining as a junior associate is not going to work well in her favor. I'm sure that people are going to give her a tough time. So I need you to make sure that things go smoothly with her. Be her support, her friend through this transition."

Kimberly smiled, understanding my position.

"I'll try my best to make sure she fits in and is treated well, and I'll inform you if I see anyone doing anything questionable just to be hard on her for being your girlfriend.”

I let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks. You have no idea how much I appreciate that."

It was like another huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders, so I was much more relaxed when I got home.

I texted Heather, telling her that I missed her even though I'd had her in my arms only a few hours ago.

She responded immediately, almost as if her attention had been on her phone and she'd been impatiently waiting for me to reach out.

How did it go at the office? she asked, and I thought to just give her a call. I couldn't wait to hear her sweet voice. I could talk to her the whole night, skipping over hours of sleep just so I could listen to her tell me stories.

The girls just left, she said, then I caught her up on everything that had happened after she left that evening.

I bet you feel amazing.

I do, I confirmed. Not because I quit but because I have you.

She didn't respond for several seconds, likely taking my words in. It'd felt so good to say them.

Want to come over tomorrow? I'm cooking.

* * *

I got into my chef mode when I gathered things to prepare the pizza dough. I'd sent Shanaya on her way, wanting to do everything on my own. I was going to make this date everything that Heather could ever dream of.

I still had two hours until she was going to show up, and I wanted to spend the last hour making sure the dinner table looked perfect. It was going to be a charming little candlelit dinner, nothing over-the-top and just how she'd wanted.

Those two hours flew by, and I recognized that I might have gone a bit overboard with the candles while still ensuring that it would all be out of Max's reach. The condo was still babyproofed. I hadn't gotten rid of anything after Heather left in the hopes that she was going to be back. And boy, was I glad that I'd waited. She was worth waiting for.

Heather was startled when I pulled open the door the second I saw her on the security screen. "Oh, wow. You didn't even give me the chance to press the buzzer."

Squeezing her in my arms, I pressed my lips against hers. “I’ve missed you."

Max kicked his legs in the stroller and grinned when I bent down to unbuckle him.

"Wow. You did all of this?"

"It's just candles. I know you like them, and I also know you like pizza."

Holding on to Max, I gestured toward the oven with my free hand.

"Think I'll have a drink tonight," she said, her eyes widening. "Been a while. But today is the day to celebrate."

She told me that she was going to ‘pump and dump,’ and I wasn't sure what that meant, so I asked her to explain. I was beginning to realize that I had a steep learning curve ahead of me in terms of raising Max.

I shook my head when that thought occurred to me, and I reminded myself to slow down and start walking instead of running again.

I let Heather pop a bottle of champagne, helping her out just a little bit.

"The last time I did this thing was when I'd turned twenty-one in college and had a house party."

I couldn't picture Heather going all crazy at a house party or being even a little out of control. I got to know her after she'd had Max, and for some reason, I'd just assumed that she wasn't a carefree person. I wanted her to let loose tonight, to help her relax. She needed to know that I would be her constant support, no matter what.

So when she hesitated to take her first sip after we toasted to doing it right the second time around, I gave her a little nudge.

"You're an amazing mother," I said, rubbing my thumb against the back of her hand.

"You always say that," she responded.

"Because it's true, and on that note . . ."

I clinked my glass against hers once again, and this time, she took a sip and then smiled at me.

We talked about all things Max, and she told me what her friends' faces looked like when she finally admitted that she was in a committed relationship. Her cheeks turned red. I could never grow tired of watching her blush.

I waited until we ate dinner and lounged on the couch before talking to her about taking a short trip to London with me.

"That was so good," she sighed, resting her head against my chest. We were both taking pleasure in watching Max amuse himself over a squeaky duck toy that he was obsessed with. "You can never stop cooking. Not while you're with me, at least. Food is definitely the secret to keeping me happy.”

“And what about travel?"

She lifted her head and fake-pouted. "What about it?"

I held her hand and told her that I would love to take her and Max away for a weekend.

"Away for a weekend?" She raised her eyebrows. "All the way to London? You're absolutely crazy, aren't you?"

"Come on," I pressed. "You've earned it. It'll be somewhat of a break for you between now and whenever you want to start your new job."

She thought about it for a second. "Yeah, about that."

“Oh, that doesn't sound good."

She held up her hand. "Oh, no, it's not what you think. I'm still taking the job, but I need some time before I can join. Maybe six weeks? I need to see that all my clients get a smooth transition to the next person they work with. I think I might personally set them up with other therapists just so they're not too inconvenienced because of me."

I ran my fingers through the length of her hair. "Take as much time as you need. There's no rush. I've told Kimberly that you'll be joining and asked her to look after you."

"Look after me?" She chuckled. "You make me sound like I'm Max's age. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"That might be true," I said. "But that doesn't satisfy my constant need to protect you."

She lifted her chin and kissed my lips, and I held her tight. I felt the heat radiating from within me, and she must have sensed how turned on I was when she said, "Let's continue this on our date number two."

"Does that mean I did a respectable job with date number one?"

"Eh, it was okay," she joked and gave me another kiss before standing and bringing Max to the couch when he started whining.

"So, when are we going to London?"