I had a bad feeling about the meeting with Vance and Maggie Winters. Vance had been abrupt on the phone that afternoon, demanding that I make time to stop by before I headed to the airport. I had time. My flight wasn’t until almost eleven pm. I never had trouble sleeping on a plane, even squeezed into coach, and I preferred not to waste the day sleeping when I could do it while I flew. I’d planned to take Ella to dinner, but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen.

I was trying not to think about Ella. I couldn’t say I was surprised she’d ended things. Hell, we’d barely gotten back together before she lost her nerve and walked. Maybe it was for the best. A long-distance relationship wouldn’t be easy. If she couldn’t trust me, it would fall apart, just as it had before.

I was trapped, and I couldn’t figure my way out. I couldn’t walk away from my company. Not only was it the product of years of hard work, but my team was counting on me. Even if I didn’t want to run the company anymore, I couldn’t let it fail. If I really wanted to move on, we had to finish this project and get it on the market. Then I could sell the company and start over with something else. Something with less stress. I could get a regular job.

Would Ella give me a shot if I had a regular job with none of the demands of running my own company? My stomach twisted at the thought. What if I sold the company and she did come back?

That guy wasn’t me.

I’d been dreaming of Endicott Tech the whole time we were together. A regular nine to five was never on my radar. If that’s the man she wanted, I was better off without her. I felt sick as that realization crystallized in my mind.

Endicott Technologies was a part of me. It was who I was. I’d never be happy with less than my own dream. If less was what Ella wanted, then as much as I loved her, I was better off without her.

I parked my car in Vance and Maggie’s driveway, queasy at the thoughts rolling in my brain. Was I giving up on Ella?

No, I refused to give up.

She hadn’t asked me to sell Endicott Tech. She’d said she was breaking things off so I could focus on work. She didn’t want me to change. She just didn’t think there was room for her in my dream.

Frustration coursed through me as I got out of my rental car and paced to the front door. I didn’t want to be here dealing with business. I needed to spend my last hours in Atlanta talking to Ella. There was more to say—she just didn’t know it yet.

Maggie swung open the door with a smile, little Rosie balanced on her hip, tugging on Maggie’s long red hair. “Come in, Noah. Vance is in the office.” She gestured down the hall.

“Aren’t you coming?” I asked. Maggie had been an integral part of every meeting and conference call we’d had so far. If she wasn’t joining us, it couldn’t mean good things.

She shook her head, gently tugging her hair free from her daughter’s tight fist. “I’m out. Vance and I aren’t seeing eye to eye. But Noah? I like you. I’m more cautious than Vance, and I’m not happy about this mess with Phillip Martin, but I like you. I hope you make the right choice.”

With that oblique comment, she walked away, singing a nursery rhyme under her breath, Rosie trying to sing along with limited success. I watched them go, thinking about family, and children, and Ella. Whenever I imagined those things, which admittedly wasn’t often, it was with Ella.

Always Ella.

Even when we were apart, she was the woman I thought of when I thought of forever.

Resolved to get this meeting over with, I strode down the hall to the office. Vance sat at his desk, working on his laptop. He looked up when I knocked on the open door. With his hair pulled back in a low ponytail, wearing a faded t-shirt and torn jeans, his tattoos dark lines on his tanned skin, he looked every inch the artist and nothing like a savvy investor.

“Noah, take a seat,” he said, nodding to the chair opposite him. I did, trying not to let his hard blue gaze disconcert me. “I’ve got an offer for you.”

“Am I going to like it?” I asked.

Vance shot me a sharp grin. “I don’t know. Why don’t we find out? Take a look.”

He slid me a few sheets of paper, a revision of the deal we’d been discussing for weeks. Everything looked good. Their buy-in was generous. They’d get a stake in the company but wouldn’t be able to take control from me. It was everything we’d been talking about. Exactly what I’d been working for. With this money, I’d be able to keep the company going until we had the new product ready for the market. We’d be in the clear.

Relief speared through me; then it dissolved when Vance said, “There’s a condition.”

Of course, there was. After all the damage Phillip had done, this deal was too good to be true. “What’s the condition?”

“You agree never to contact Ella again.”

That was the last thing I was expecting. A penalty for delays on getting to market, sure. Higher ownership stake if we needed a second infusion of cash, maybe. But turning my back on Ella? That didn’t make any sense.

“Are you serious?” I finally asked.

“Dead serious. You need to focus on your company. And Ella is like family. She’s been working with Maggie and me, taking care of Rosie for six months. She’s close to Holden and Tate, as well as Jo and Emily. She’s more than an employee. We care about her. And you’re making her miserable. I’m looking out for her. You back off, don’t see her again, and we’ll give you everything you need to make Endicott Tech a success. You call her, try to see her, and we’re out.”

“What if I take the deal and then decide I want Ella?” I asked, trying to see the deal from all the angles. I wanted this money, but I wanted Ella, too. If there were any way I could have both . . . I had to figure it out.

“We’ll draw up a clause that allows us to pull out, with penalties, if you have contact with her. At any time.”

“And if she calls me?” I asked.

“She won’t,” Vance said. “You’ve already let her go twice. She’s not going to come back for a third time. Take the money and forget about Ella. You can have everything you’ve ever wanted.” Vance shrugged a shoulder in dismissal. “There are other girls in California. You need your company more than you need her.”

I stared at Vance with blind eyes, his words a jumble in my mind.

I wanted that money for the company. I needed Ella for me.

You can have everything you’ve ever wanted.

No, I couldn’t. Not if I couldn’t have Ella.

I imagined saying yes. Going back to California. Getting the product out on the market. Making my team’s dreams come true. Instead of anticipation, it all felt flat. Empty. I hadn’t had Ella before, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I’d always planned to reconnect with her. I’d always assumed we’d find a way to be together. Without Ella, without the hope of someday being with her, nothing else mattered.

There were other girls in California, but I didn’t want another girl. I wanted Ella. My Ella.

I’d been shying away from investing my savings in Endicott Tech. I’d worked my ass off for every penny. Having a safety net helped me sleep at night. But without Vance, I could still pull this off. Fuck getting investors. I’d sell my house, sell my cars. I’d drain my savings if that’s what it took to save Endicott Tech on my own terms.

It wasn’t the best business decision, but if I went my own way, I could do right by my company and still go after Ella. I wasn’t letting her walk away from me. Not this time.

“No thanks,” I said, shoving the papers back in Vance’s hand. His eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Are you sure? You won’t get a deal like this from anyone else.”

“I know. I don’t care. I’ll do this on my own if I have to. Thanks for your time.”

I was striding to the front door when I heard Vance call out, a laugh in his voice, “Good luck!”

Asshole.

I checked my phone. 4:45pm. Ella should be home. If she wasn’t, I was going to track her down. I wasn’t leaving Atlanta until we’d worked things out.

My phone rang just as I was parking my car a block from her front door.

Ella.

I answered, breathless with sudden nerves. “Ella?”

“Noah! Where are you? Have you left yet?” Her voice was thin and fast, like she was running.

“I’m almost at your front door,” I said.

The door swung open to reveal Ella, wearing loose-fitting cotton pajama pants and a red tank top, her dark hair wet and pulled back from her face with a clip.

“I was just going to look for you,” she said. I noticed her keys clutched in one hand.

Raising an eyebrow, I asked, “In that?”

She looked down at herself and flushed, slowly shaking her head. “I realized I needed to see you and I forgot what I was wearing.”

“Can I come in?”

“Yes. Please come in.” I followed her to the elevator, unable to take my eyes off her. She was jittery, her breath coming too fast, flags of pink in her cheeks.

“Why were you looking for me?” I asked.

Ella set her phone and keys on the kitchen island and turned to look at me. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she said, “I’m sorry about everything I said earlier. You were right; I was running away because I don’t want to get hurt again. I’m scared. But I want to try. I don’t want to give up on us.”

I thought about telling her how things had worked out with Vance and Maggie. In theory, giving up all that money for her should prove how serious I was. But I didn’t want her to know. I didn’t want her to be with me because of a big gesture.

Anyone could make a big gesture. Big gestures were a one-time thing. Trust took more than that. Trust was day-to-day. Trust was the little things. If this was going to work, we needed the time to build that.

Taking a step toward her, I took her hands in mine. “Ella, I love you. I know this isn’t going to be easy. You’ve got at least a year of school ahead of you, and we both know I have a problem with getting sucked into work.”

Ella let out an uneasy laugh. “I’m going to try to be more understanding about that, Noah. I know how important your company is to you.”

“Not as important as you. I promise. Nothing is more important than you.”

She looked up at me, her dark eyes serious as she framed my face with her hands. Drawing me down, she pressed her soft lips to mine. “I’m sorry I got scared,” she said against my mouth.

“I’m sorry the timing is so fucked up.”

I kissed her, pulling her body into mine and slanting my mouth over hers. She was mine. We were going to do this together. I kissed her until she was liquid heat in my arms, until the clothes between us were too much distance. Her lips swollen, Ella tipped her head back, studying me as if she wanted to memorize every nuance of my face.

“You have to go, don’t you?” she asked, dropping her head to rest on my shoulder.

I did. I couldn’t bring myself to say it. Instead, I said, “Not yet. I have a little time.”

Looking up at me with a glint in her eye, Ella asked, “How much time?”

“A few hours.”

"Do you want to talk?" she asked coyly.

I scooped her up and tossed her over my shoulder, striding toward her bedroom.

"We can talk on the phone."

I tossed her on her bed, stripping her loose cotton pajama pants down her legs. I had my own clothes off seconds later. I was already peeling Ella’s tank top up to reveal her gorgeous breasts and perfect, hard, pink nipples . . . when reality interrupted.

Condom.

Fuck.

Praying I still had one in my wallet, I dove off the side of the bed and snagged my jeans, yanking out my wallet and flipping through.

Jackpot.

Ella watched me, her eyebrows knit together, teeth sunk into her lower lip. When she saw the red plastic square in my hand, her expression cleared, the frown replaced with a saucy grin.

"I'll make a doctor appointment and go on the pill or something."

"Whatever you want, Els. I'll get tested, so you know you don't have to worry." I didn't ask her for the same. I already knew no one had touched her in the last two years but me. Not for the first time, I wished I could say the same.

I couldn't decide where I wanted to start. Ella's body stretched across the bed was a buffet of delights. If we had more time, if I weren't leaving in a matter of hours, I might have made a different choice. But this time, the last time I’d to touch her for at least a few weeks, maybe more, I wanted intimacy more than anything else.

I stretched out beside her, pulling her into my arms and kissing her. I could kiss Ella all day. Her mouth fit mine as if she'd been made for me. Every part of her was mine—the sounds she made in the back of her throat, the way her body moved into mine as our kiss grew deeper. Nothing, no woman, had ever been like this. Ella was magic. And she was mine.

When I thought I would go mad from not being inside her, I drew back to open the condom and rolled it down my desperately hard cock. The look in her eyes as she watched me, the heat and the hunger, was almost too much. I rolled to my back and pulled her on top of me.

"Like this," I said. "I want to watch you."

If I had to pick a favorite position with Ella, this had to be it. Watching her as she rode me, seeing the passion on her face, the way her skin flushed as she drew closer and closer to orgasm, the sway of her breasts, the curve of her hips. I loved how easy it was to draw her down and suck her nipples, how easy it was to kiss her.

She straddled me, rising above me, and trailed her fingers up the length of my cock before stroking the head over her pussy, front to back, rubbing gentle circles over her clit.

Fuck. Watching the woman I loved pleasure herself with my body was fucking hot. I couldn't resist reaching out to slide a finger inside her. Yeah, she was teasing me. Her pussy was slick and ready. I withdrew my finger and ran my hands up the sides of her thighs, rocking my hips up a few inches, teasing her back. Her eyelids drooped, and her breath hitched in her chest.

Leaning forward, she set the head of my cock against her pussy and slowly, inch by inch, lowered her body onto mine. My eyes wanted to roll up into the back of my head, but I kept them open, focused on Ella's face, watching bliss spread across her features as I filled her.

She started rocking above me slowly, getting used to the stretch of me inside her, cupping her breasts with her hands and tugging on her nipples in a way she knew would drive me crazy.

It did.

Usually, when she was on top, part of the game was to hold myself back until I couldn't take it anymore. Letting her tease me until we were both insane with need added an edge to the sweetness of watching her ride me to orgasm.

It had been too long, and I couldn't play. When she started making the little moans that told me she was close, I pulled her down, took her mouth with mine, and rolled us over.

Kissing her, driving my cock into her over and over, it wasn't long before she arched her back beneath me and let out a low, gasping wail. I followed her into orgasm, for a fleeting moment wishing the condom weren’t between us, wishing I was filling her with me.

When I had my breath back and thought I could walk without wobbling, I went to the bathroom to take care of the condom. When I came back, Ella was still in bed, the sheet pulled up, her face drowsy and a tiny smile of satisfaction on her lips.

"You look pleased with yourself," I commented as I slid into bed beside her. I still had an hour or two before I had to leave for the airport, and I didn't want to waste a minute of it.

"I am very pleased with myself," she said, rolling to face me. She lifted her hand and traced her fingers down the side of my face, from my temple to my chin. "We can do this, Noah. We have to promise to be honest with each other, to tell each other if we feel like it's not working so we can figure out a way around our problems instead of just getting angry and giving up."

"You mean, you want to debug our relationship?"

She laughed. Even when we were fighting, we always understood each other. "Exactly. Last time, I was hurt you weren't calling, and then you didn't show up for graduation. I reacted emotionally when I told you it was over. I don't want to do that again. I know you're going to get distracted with work, even though you won't mean to. When I go back to school, the same will probably happen to me. I don't want either of us sitting on opposite sides of the country thinking the other one doesn't care. When things start getting hard, we need to talk about it. Figure out where we’re going wrong and what we can do differently. Just like we would with a buggy program."

"Have I ever told you you’re brilliant?" I asked. Maybe to someone else, Ella's debug approach to relationship troubles would sound insane. Not to me.

"A few times," she said. "Did you work things out with Vance and Maggie?"

"No. They had some conditions that didn't work for me. I'm going to do this myself."

"I thought you said that was bad business," she pointed out. I hoped I could distract her because I didn't want to explain how things had gone down with Vance. Personally, I thought her employer was a dick, but I knew Ella adored Vance and Maggie, and they'd been good to her. Better than good.

Vance was right—they treated her like she was family. If I told her Vance's condition, she'd probably be angry with him, and she didn't need that complication in her life right now. The issues with the company were my problem. I wasn't going to drag Ella in the middle.

"It is bad business, in a way. I'm going to see about getting a mortgage on my house when I get back. I thought about selling it, but if word gets out I’m selling my house, it will undermine faith in Endicott Tech. I bought it for cash back when I had a ton of it and was looking to invest. I should be able to get a lot of equity on it. Interest rates are low, so it won't be too bad. And I have a few cars I bought for fun and never drive that I could do without. Some other stuff like that. I'll see what I can do to raise enough money to get us through the next few months. If that's not good enough, there's always my savings."

"Noah, that sounds risky."

"It is. If this goes the wrong way, if we take too long to get the product out, I could end up with close to nothing. I could lose the company. Are you okay with that?"

"Noah, I don't care about money. I appreciate that you paid my tuition. It means so much. But I know how to work hard. So do you. Even if I don't finish grad school, we both have marketable skills. We’ll be okay. I'm not in love with Silicon Valley's newest tech billionaire. I'm in love with you. I loved you when we were both doing work-study and hustling for scholarships and grants. If you lose everything tomorrow, I’ll still love you. I'll always love you. Do what you need to do with the company. Follow your gut. I'll be by your side, even if it's from across the country."

"I love you, Els.”

We lay there for another forty minutes, whispering about nothing and everything until an alarm beeped on my phone, reminding me that I needed to get moving if I didn’t want to miss my flight.

Ella made me a sandwich while I took a quick shower. She walked me to the door, waving me off with a smile and her dark eyes filled with tears and hope.

I'd come to Atlanta hoping to score a deal for my company and reconnect with Ella. The deal was history, but I had Ella back, and she loved me.

No business deal, no company, was as important as Ella. As long as I had her, we would figure the rest out. Together.