Nate sat in the boardroom at the car manufacturer’s head office. Tristan and he were on one side of the table, the car executives on the other. Tristan had already called Kevin Richardson, the CEO, to tell him they were turning down the deal, but Kevin had insisted on going ahead with the scheduled meeting anyway. He was probably hoping to change their minds.

Nate started the meeting by explaining why they wanted to go it alone, but his mind was only half on what he was saying. Suzie would be cooking up a storm right now. She was probably nervous as hell about the wedding tonight, but she shouldn’t be. She was such a great cook, it was sure to be a huge success.

“I understand completely,” Kevin said. “That’s why I’d like to propose a new deal.”

Nate blinked. He’d drifted off into his thoughts about Suzie and wasn’t sure he’d heard the CEO correctly. “Excuse me?”

Kevin slid two contracts across the table to Nate and Tristan. “Instead of a buy out, I’m proposing a partnership. If we take the strongest qualities that each of us have to offer, together we’ll be unstoppable.”

A partnership. Nate picked up one of the contracts, staring at it without being able to focus on the words.

Dammit, how could he even consider never calling Suzie or seeing her again? They’d only been apart for three days and he’d spent every minute of that time missing her. Even now, her catering job seemed more important than this meeting.

Tristan kicked his leg, frowning at him. He had to get his head in the game.

“… course we want your system,” Kevin was saying. “But even more than that, we want you to be in charge of that part of the business and make sure the cars are up to date with your market-leading technology. You have the knowledge we need, and we want you to create our cars.”

Nate frowned. “In charge?” he repeated.

“You’d have carte-blanche to run the new division however you see fit, and make the cars you want to make. Of course, we want the cars we make to be the only ones using your system, but you’d retain the rights for anything else. Boat steering systems, for example. And you’d have plenty of money to throw into development.” The CEO nodded at Tristan, who must have mentioned their plans. “We need both of you and we’re offering a bonus to sweeten the deal. Sign a partnership with us, and as well as getting ownership of our new division, you’ll be considerably richer.”

Tristan wore a stunned expression. He flipped through the contract, but his eyes were slightly glazed. Nate knew he wasn’t really reading, but considering the possibilities.

Nate stared at the contract as well, but he couldn’t concentrate on it until he’d made up his mind about Suzie.

“You can go it alone, no doubt,” said Kevin, sitting back and running his hand over his bald head. “But the rewards if we worked together would be far greater.”

And that was the point, wasn’t it? Nate had never experienced happiness as profound as he’d felt when he was on the yacht with Suzie. If he never got to feel like that again, his would be a life only half lived. So she could get hit by a car, or get cancer, or eat a damn apple the wrong way. Wasn’t even the smallest amount of time with her worth risking any amount of pain for?

“The real benefit of a partnership is the power we’d gain by combining our knowledge,” Kevin said. “So the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. We provide you with our expertise in car building, and you apply your considerable skills to make something neither of us could have made alone.”

Suzie had changed the way Nate saw the world. He pictured her covered in squid ink diving fearlessly into the sea, and felt a smile play around his lips. She’d made him happy, and he could do the same for her. If she let him. Like Harrison had said, all he needed to do was convince her how amazing she was. He could support her. Help her achieve her dreams.

And if she were here right now, she’d probably tell him in no uncertain terms to stop daydreaming and focus on the partnership he was being offered. He grinned, imagining her curls bouncing as she told him he was crazy to even think about turning it down.

Screw it.

As he made his decision, it was as though a thick, black cloud had lifted off him. He was all in, one hundred percent. It felt good. More than good, he felt totally euphoric. He’d leave right now and call her, except she’d be busy cooking and wouldn’t appreciate the distraction. That was okay. He’d get on a plane to LA first chance he got.

“So, you’re happy with the contract?” The CEO raised his eyebrows, and Nate realized he was grinning.

Oh yeah, the contract. He liked the idea, and now he’d made the most important decision, maybe he could focus on it. First he had to read through it and catch up on anything he might have missed.

“We need time to consider it,” he said. “We’ll take it with us and give you a call.”

Kevin inclined his head. “Naturally. But can you tell me your initial thoughts? Do you think we’ll be able to make a deal?”

Nate glanced at Tristan who was still reading the pages in front of him. “Will you give me a moment with my business partner?”

“Of course.” Kevin stood up and the other executives followed his lead. “I’ll have someone bring in coffee and cake, and if you want to talk again before you leave, just let the secretary at the front desk know.”

When the door shut behind him, Nate looked at Tristan. “So?”

Tristan broke into a wide grin. “Well, I’d have to read the fine print. But it sure looks good.”

Nate nodded. A partnership was a dream solution. He’d get access to hardware, expertise and technology it would have taken him years to replicate if he was starting from scratch. This would speed things up and he could easily press on with his idea for putting the system into boats at the same time. One thing for sure, they’d end up with a far better product.

There was just one thing. If he was going to make it work with Suzie, a long-distance relationship wasn’t an option.

He scanned the contract, skimming through all the clauses. He’d be building the new division from scratch, so theoretically he could base it wherever he wanted. It would start out as a research center as they worked toward putting together their first prototype, and he’d begin with a small, hand-picked team.

So why not base it in LA?