I dragged myself into the office Monday, and almost as soon as I sat in my chair, my phone rang.

“Mr. Christakos, there is a Mr. Archer in the lobby for you.”

“Send him to the small conference room. Tell him I’ll be right there.”

“Yes, sir.”

I walked into Katy’s office and searched for the Archer file, which was sitting front and center on her desk. Clearly, she had been expecting Mr. Archer today.

After grabbing the folder and my laptop, I jogged down the hallway, and as I passed the main receptionist, I asked her to bring in some coffee.

“I already brought Mr. Archer a cup. I’ll be right in with one for you.”

“Thank you, thank you.”

Swinging the glass door open, I headed to the table and set everything down. “Good morning, Mr. Archer. Nice to see you. Did you have a good weekend?”

“I’m not here to discuss my weekend. Where’s the woman I’ve been dealing with?”

“Do you need more coffee?” I wasn’t in the mood to talk about where Katy was with this douche.

“No, I mean the blonde. The one that is actually pleasant to do business with.” He stacked his papers on the table and made a loud slapping sound.

Just then, Jill came in with my coffee. “Thank you.” I took a long swallow. “Mr. Archer, it’s been a long weekend, I’m not in the mood. We have all the material for your six homes and just need to finish this paperwork so we can get started.”

“Well, if you’re not in the mood,” he said, throwing up air quotes like he was a teenage girl instead of a grown man, “then by all means let’s reschedule. Or I have a better idea, I’ll find someone who wants my business.”

“Mr. Archer, I’m in the mood to do business, not to discuss my secretary. Christakos Construction has fronted a large amount of money so we could meet your requirements, and I would think you would be happy that one of the owners was sitting across the table from you.”

“Well, I’m not.”

“Clearly. Regardless, we have a contract.”

“And if you read that contract, you’ll realize that I lose ten thousand dollars if I walk or I can stay and give you over a million. So, if I prefer to work with someone pleasant, then you should be accommodating.”

“Well, then you’ll—”

We both jerked our heads and turned to the door as Katy ran in. “Sorry I’m late. Bad wreck on I-4. I guess that was why it was named the deadliest road in the United States, yay to having to travel it, huh? Anyway, Damon did you get those files off my desk? Hi, Daniel, nice to see you again. Did you have a great weekend?”

“Hi, Katy. Yes, I had a wonderful weekend. Let’s get this paperwork filled out.”

I tossed my pen onto the table, leaned back in my chair, and watched as Katy did business. Just like she had done with the pavers, she took over and got the job done. The woman was incredible.

Two hours and lots of paperwork later, Katy held a company check in the amount of two hundred fifty thousand dollars.

“Oh, fuck a duck, I’ve never seen so many zeros in my life. Holy cow.” She paper clipped the check to the folder and stacked it all together.

“I’m not accepting your resignation.” I folded my arms to cut off this discussion before she could beat me to the punch.

“Good, I’m not quitting.”

“You aren’t?”

“Don’t act so surprised. I’m not stupid. This is a good job, I need it, and I’m good at it.”

I stood, and for the briefest moment I wondered if maybe, just maybe, she had come to her senses. “Katy, I never meant anything bad by the camera.”

“I know.”

“You do?”

She worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “Yeah, your mom came to see me and we talked, she kind of helped me understand.”

“Understand what?”

“The why behind it all.”

“You know I’d never hurt you, either of you. You both mean the world to me. I couldn’t love Bee more if she was my own kid. You’re not a charity case, I’ve never seen you that way.”

“Damon—”

“Honestly, I thought that you’d think I was more of a deviant. I couldn’t wait for you and Bee to get to the house each day, I wanted to be a part of your world, your family. The two of you didn’t have much but you were happy with what you had. You made me realize that I had a lot and wasn’t happy with what I had. I was missing you. I just didn’t know it was you until then.”

“Damon—”

“I know it might take a while but you’ll see, you can trust me.”

“Damon,” she shouted my name. “I know all of this. You don’t have to convince me. I love you. But I need to talk with you about something, it’s major.”

“What? I’m willing to take it slow, do whatever you want.”

“That’s not it. I need to tell you about something else. Bee is with your mother today, but I need to tell you why.”

“What? What’s wrong with her? Should you be home with her?”

“Damon stop, just listen.”

I looked up as the door opened and saw Pops come in but he didn’t come to me, instead he stood behind Katy and placed an arm on her shoulder. What the fuck?

“Did something happen?”

“Yes. That black Charger, well, it wasn’t Orion.”

“Who?”

“The PI my parent’s had hired.”

“Then who was it?”

“Presley Hayes.” I waited for her to tell me who that was because the name meant absolutely nothing to me. “Bee’s biological donor.”

“What did he want? Did you tell Kayson and Carter? Are they on it? Why didn’t you call me?”

“Son, just listen.” Pops sliced his hand across his throat signaling for me to shut up.

“He wanted money. Maybe Bee for money, not completely sure.”

I sat in a chair listening to Katy tell me about yesterday’s events. My father stood behind her, signaling for me to stay calm, and the entire time a fury boiled inside me. Not at Katy, no, but at this man. How dare he try and hurt my girls? I’d protect them with everything in me. This was my family.

“We’ll get an attorney. We’ll make his life miserable.” I pounded my fist on the table. “After the courts are done with him for criminal, we’ll go after him in civil court.”

“Son, let’s not discuss that now, okay?”

Pops was right, I’d worry about that later. Right now, safety. I needed to think about her safety, their safety. “My house. Please stay at my house?”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” I was taken back by her words; she acquiesced a lot easier than I had imagined.

“Bee, she’s out of school. I have a lot of family—”

“I’m going to leave you two to talk.” Pops slid back out the door.

“Until all of this settles down, please can Bee stay with Mana or Soph?”

“Okay.”

“You’re awful compliant. Is there something else?” I felt like I had a medicine ball in the pit of my stomach waiting for her to tell me what other shit had happened.

“No, nothing else. I agree with everything you said. Yesterday as I was replaying all of this, I kept thinking that this was it. You know everything now. I have no secrets from you, not a one. That if we are going to have any kind of future together then now is the perfect time, fresh start and all of that. Provided of course you don’t have any other secrets. You don’t do you?”

“No. Wait, yes, I do.”

“You do?”

“Yep.” I dropped to one knee. I didn’t have a ring or a speech, nothing, I only had the woman and this crazy undying love for her. “I can’t keep it a secret any longer, I want you to marry me.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Marry me. I know it’s crazy, but say yes. It’s one little word. It will have the greatest impact on all of our lives. Yours. Mine. Bee’s.” I stared up and watched the emotions that washed across her face.

“We’ve known each other a month. What kind of people get married after a month?”

“The kind who are supposed to. The kind who know this is it.”

“Yes.”

“Yes?” She nodded.

Holy hell, she said yes. Standing, I wrapped her in my arms. “We’ve got to go. Now.”

“Go. Where? It’s a workday.”

“We’re taking a sick day.” I tugged her hand and pulled her out of the conference room.

As I stepped into the hallway, I saw Pops. The look on his face told me he’d been standing there long enough to at least hear the last part. “Real men will break her bed but never her heart.” Pops patted my shoulder as I passed him.

The blush on Katy’s face at Pop’s words was adorable as I led her outside.

I couldn’t get home fast enough. I would never have believed that in such a short time my life could have changed so much. I’d never been able to go back, I couldn’t. Katy and Bee were my world, my life. I knew that sound she made when I slid inside her. The smell of her hair when she climbed out of the shower. The way she wound that stray lock of hair that always fell in her face around her finger while she concentrated. I would always remember the things that were important to me, and Katy was at the top of that list.

* * *

When we finally reached my house, we couldn’t get inside fast enough. We stripped as we raced to the bedroom.

I unzipped my jeans and kicked them off as she shimmied out of her skirt and then pulled her top off. “Hey, you know what you look like?”

“What?” She gave me a dubious smile.

“The rest of my life.”

“I want to smack you for being so cheesy, but damn it all to hell if you didn’t just melt my heart.”

She climbed onto the bed, and I followed, sliding my hand up her leg so that I could cup her sex. “Yeah, I don’t think that was your heart that just melted.”

She smacked my arm, and I let out a chuckle. “Come here, you.” I lowered my lips to hers and our mouths melded together. Our breaths were in sync and I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life making her happy. Erasing every nightmare she’d ever had. I only wanted to see her smile from this day on. Pulling back, I licked along her jaw, nibbling to her ear.

“What are you doing?” Katy had tiny goosebumps up and down her arms.

Leaning even closer so that the heat of my breath tickled her ear. “I’m erasing.”

“Erasing?”

“Yep. My tongue is a fucking Magic Eraser and I’m going to erase every bad memory you’ve ever had.”

“Oh, really? Then I guess that makes me a Hoover.” Katy laughed as she tried to compose her next words. “And I’m…” She cracked up laughing as she tried to get the courage to say what she was thinking, but her cheeks were flaming red. She wiggled until she was on top of me. “Fuck it, I’ll show you what a Hoover does.”

She grabbed my cock as she slid her body down so she was kneeling on the bed. “It’s my turn to taste you.”

“It’s so warm.” She stroked, bringing her cool hand up and down my dick until her thumb rubbed across the head and smeared the small about of pre-come that had beaded up.

My whole body tensed with anticipation as she slowly lowered her mouth to me. I fought the urge to lift my body off the bed and thrust between her lips. It was the anticipation, I reminded myself. When her tongue licked across the tip, I threw my head back and was lost. She closed her mouth around the head, gliding her tongue just under the cap and slowly taking more of my cock in. The heat of her mouth, the cool air that brushed over me when she slid up, and the way she hummed when I hit the back of her throat was almost enough to undo me.

I needed to come, and I needed her to come with me. I moved her back on to the bed. Sheathing my cock with a condom, I positioned myself at her entrance. One thrust and I was in.

She gasped.

“I was wrong.”

“What?”

“I’d thought my name on your lips was my favorite sound but I was wrong. That, right there, your gasp when I first slide into you, that’s my favorite sound in the whole fucking world.”

She felt amazing, but I wanted to be deeper inside her, so I pulled out, flipped her over, and yanked back on her hips so her perfect ass was on display for me as I thrust back into her. Her back arched, and she fisted the blankets as I took her the way I needed to, but I still wanted more. I wanted her screaming my name. So, I slid my hand around her body and found her clit, which was the magic fucking button.

With her head thrown back, her blonde hair slashing back and forth, I wasn’t just in my house—I was home with this woman, in her body.