Monday morning rolled around, and Cole and I both went to work like usual. Nothing felt normal though. I had a big diamond on my hand.

He hadn’t heard from Aiden and I still had guests at the Dunes I needed to visit. It was also stock delivery day, and Sam, the driver, liked to unload early so he could hang out and chat about his grandkids for a while.

I hadn’t asked Cole yet what to do with the pending reservations on the books or the ad I had paid for through the end of the year. I wasn’t completely ready to trust that Aiden would drop the suit. When Cole had a signed contract in his hand, I’d believe it. I realized the wedding magic might have gotten to everybody Saturday night. It had swept me off my feet.

Mary Ellen had made it to Chapel Hill without plans from Aiden. I assured her again he just had too much on his mind to map out a long-distance relationship. I knew from experience trying to book plane tickets and visits weren’t easy when you lived in two different states. He was clearly a perpetual flirt. I just hoped for Mary Ellen’s sake that he wasn’t a heartbreaker too.

“Hey, pretty girl.” Cole ducked his head in the door.

“Hey. What’s going on?” I didn’t plan on seeing him this early.

“I got a call from Aiden. He said he wanted to talk to both of us in a few minutes.” He strolled into the office.

“Me?”

He nodded. “Yep. Said it involved you too, but wouldn’t get into it on the phone.”

“What do you think it is?” My stomach was already twisting in pretzel-sized knots. I would punch him if he backed out of the deal he and Cole had struck at the wedding.

Cole huffed. “Trying not to jump to conclusions. Never a good idea.”

I laughed. “You? That’s funny.”

He shot me a look. “I’m just saying I don’t trust the guy.”

“I get that. I don’t blame you.” We waited until Aiden arrived.

“Good morning.” He closed the office door and took the only empty seat.

“Hi, Aiden.” I smiled. He was my best friend’s boyfriend, or something like a boyfriend.

Cole nodded in his direction.

Aiden didn’t waste any time. He launched into the reason he was in the office. “I’ve done some thinking, and I’ve gotten some new information.”

I leaned forward; the knots tightened. The little shit was going to back out of the deal.

“Cole, I don’t think I can accept your deal.” Aiden sounded completely matter-of-fact.

I closed my eyes. I should have known this would happen. It was all too good and perfect to be true. Things were coming together too smoothly. Cole had been right about Aiden all along.

“What in the hell are you talking about? We shook on that deal.” Cole stood from his seat. Normally, I would jump up and try to calm him down. Try to protect Aiden’s handsome face from Cole’s fist, but not this time. He deserved whatever was headed his direction.

“I know we did, but that deal’s not right.” Aiden showed no remorse.

“Not right? You get more than fifty percent. How is that not right?” The vein on Cole’s neck was throbbing. Not a good sign.

“Because I have a better deal for you.”

I sat up in my chair. “What do you mean? What could possibly be better than what Cole offered you?”

He looked at both of us. “Like I said, I’ve done some thinking. I think there’s a better business move here that we could all benefit from. I made a few calls yesterday and this morning. I have a new offer for you.”

Cole stood motionless. “Go on.”

“What if we go into this as fifty-fifty partners? We could update the motel and turn the rooms into condos, add a second story like mini apartments and sell them to the snowbird demographic Kaitlyn has started drawing here. We could make some big money on the real estate end and still keep the land rights for the management side of things.”

I knew I was capable of speaking, but right then, I didn’t know how to make my mouth work. Aiden had completely shocked me.

“Why are you offering this?” Cole questioned him.

“It’s a better deal. We can make more money in the long term, along with the upfront cash.” He raised his eyebrows. “So, what do you say? Want to go into business together?”

“You’ve got to have an angle.” Cole’s eyes were boring holes in Aiden’s head. The way his knuckles were turning white, I wasn’t sure he wouldn’t still punch him.

Aiden shook his head side to side. “My angle is business. This is the best deal for all of us. No lawsuit. No demolition. No one loses his or her job. You can run the amenity and HOA side of things if you want, and Kaitlyn can still be in charge of marketing. She can get into a whole new realm of condo real estate. I don’t do much with day-to-day operations. I’ll be more like a silent partner.” He stroked the side of his jawline. I noticed the five o’clock shadow was back. “Or, if you want to do something else and want to be silent partners like me, we can hire someone to do the managing part and sit back and watch the money roll in.”

“This is for real?” Cole stepped back to his chair and sat. I realized I no longer had to worry about him decking him.

“One hundred percent.” Aiden looked nervous.

“Kaitlyn and I need to talk about it.” It was Cole’s first response that wasn’t a question.

Aiden stood to leave. “Understandable. Give me a call soon.” He opened the door and turned to face us. “By the way, I dropped the lawsuit this morning. So, whatever you decide, I want you to know that. I’m not playing an angle.” He adjusted his sunglasses and walked out the door, closing it tightly behind him.

“Wait!” I jumped from my chair and chased after him, leaving Cole in the office.

Aiden turned in front of his convertible. “What’s up, girl?”

“Is this for real? You’re not trying to lure us into some kind of trap?”

He slid his sunglasses off his face and I could see the pain in his eyes, combined with something else. Regret.

“Kaitlyn, I told you why it was so important for me to tear down the Dunes, but I’ve decided that might not be the best thing for me. I know it’s not the best thing for you. It’s not a trap. I’m moving in a new direction.”

“I-I heard what Lisa said to you at the reception.” I hadn’t planned on confessing. “I’m sorry, Aiden.”

“What do you have to be sorry about?”

“I’m sorry all this happened to you. Your parents obviously had a complicated relationship and they let it interfere with you. It’s not fair.” My hands slipped from my hips.

“Sweetheart, I learned a long time ago that almost nothing in life is fair.” He put the shades back on his face. “Maybe this is my way of balancing some of that out.” He smiled and pulled open the car door.

“You think the three of us could go into business together? You and Cole actually working together?” It sort of seemed absurd, especially after the way the last two months had played out.

“I can do business with anyone.” He cranked the engine. “The rest is up to you and Cole. Besides, I’m the silent partner, remember? Think about it, then call me.” He threw the car in reverse and raced onto Gulf Boulevard.

I walked back into the office, not entirely sure I had more answers than before I chased after Aiden. The only sound was the humming of the air conditioner in the window. Lately, it had started this thing where it would sputter every five minutes then resume its normal rhythm of blowing cool air into the office. I was waiting for it to give out on me one of these days. It couldn’t last forever.

I pushed the door until it closed.

I looked at Cole, wanting him to speak. I wanted him to say something. Anything. He could curse, yell, throw the paperweight. Anything that told me he was processing what had happened with Aiden.

“What happened out there?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing really. I wanted Aiden to look me in the eye and tell me this isn’t some kind of scheme.”

“And did he?”

“I think so.” I leaned against the door.

“What do you want to do, darlin’?” His eyes were calm and steady. He drifted toward me.

“Me? The Dunes is yours. And Aiden is your—” I didn’t think uncle was the appropriate word right now even if it was the biological truth.

He walked toward me and took my hands in his. His fingers were warm and rough as he threaded them through mine. I thought I could feel his pulse.

“We are in this together now. Should I take the deal?” His crystal blue eyes darted back and forth. “Do you trust him enough to go into business with him?”

Everything was happening so fast. I knew the deal was a good one, if Aiden could be trusted. Although, in the last few days, I felt like the tide was turning with him. Mary Ellen was convinced he wasn’t a bad guy. She was ready to commit to a relationship with him one hundred percent. We couldn’t ignore he had dropped the lawsuit this morning. That was a huge olive branch. Something about his demeanor outside was different. He was softer and more relaxed. I liked this side of Aiden.

I took a deep breath. “I think you should do it.”

“All right.”

“That’s it?” I asked. Surely, there had to be more to this discussion. I knew Cole wasn’t a man of many words, but there was a lot to sort through. Such as our role at the Dunes, and those grad school plans we had just started discussing. Was he really going to answer all these questions with an ‘all right’?

I searched his eyes for doubts, but I didn’t see any. He was staring at me with the kind of certainty that rocked me to the core. For a moment, I couldn’t find my breath.

“I told you this the other night. As long as you are happy and you’re here, I’m happy. I can’t do any of it without you. I don’t want to. We are in this together. I love you, Kaitlyn.” My name rolled off his tongue and I threw my arms around his neck.

“Together.” I smiled before he kissed me. His lips moved across mine with sweet pressure, lingering as I breathed in. “I love you too, Cole.”

“If it’s too much, you tell me. You don’t have to do any of it. I’m not asking you to work with Aiden.”

“I know you aren’t, but I don’t know how I feel about letting someone else run the office. I kind of love it.” The thought of handing over all the books to someone else was nauseating. I didn’t know the first thing about running a condo association, but I could learn. I would learn.

He laughed. “I know what you mean. It’s a pain in the ass, but it’s home.”

“Exactly.”

He had said the words that I had been defining ever since I drove that truck over the Padre bridge. “Cole?” I looked into his piercing eyes.

“Yeah, baby.” He tugged me closer, his thumbs hooking through my belt loops.

“This is home. I want you to know I want our baby to grow up here. I want our family to live here.”

He lifted me around his waist, and I wrapped myself around him, letting my ankles lock against his lower back. His lips met mine and I kissed him soft and slowly, reveling in how we were meant to fit this way. This is what together meant. We had moved past summer, past the awkward adjustments, past injuries, past the jealousies, past the doubts, past the questions. All I knew as Cole’s kisses took me under with heat and passion was that all my tomorrows were going to be his tomorrows. We were building a life. A family.

Cole was home.

**Keep reading for another Violet Paige novel**