EIGHT MONTHS LATER, I wake up on a Saturday morning when it’s still dark outside, knowing that something good is happening today.

Then I remember what it is.

I lie in bed for a few minutes, staring up at the ceiling and listening to Owen breathe until I can’t contain my excitement anymore.

I give him a quick poke.

He huffs and rolls over so his back is to me.

I frown at the back of his head and poke him again, this time right between the shoulder blades.

He mumbles wordlessly.

This is improvement, so I give him one more poke.

He rolls over onto his back. “Whas’it?”

“It’s morning. Saturday morning!”

“M’kay.” He makes a move I recognize—the one that’s going to lead to his rolling over and going back to sleep—so I grab his arm to stop him.

He gives me a malevolent glare. “What time is’t?”

“I don’t know. Around six, I think.”

“Too early to get up.”

He’s awake now. All the way. I know because he’s speaking in complete words. But he’s keeping his eyes closed and pretending to still be groggy.

I give him another poke.

“Ow.” He rubs his arm.

“Stop faking. I know you’re not asleep anymore.”

He chuckles and opens his eyes. “Why did you wake up so early?”

“I got too excited about today.” I sit up in bed, the covers falling down around my waist. “Aren’t you excited too?”

His eyes are soft and sleepy and fond as they gaze up at me. “Yes, I’m excited. You know I am.”

“Then why are you still sleeping?”

“I’m not sleeping anymore. I’m not sure how anyone could sleep through all that poking.”

“Well, you weren’t waking up, and I wanted to do something.”

He smooths down his hair and rubs his bristly jaw. He’s bare chested, and his hair is a tousled mess that smoothing doesn’t come close to taming. “Okay. Just give me a few minutes to wake up first.”

“You are awake.”

“Yeah, but I need to be a little more awake than this if you want me to get it up for any length of time. You might take off your top.”

I look down at myself. I’m wearing a pretty white camisole and pale blue cotton pajama pants. “You want me to take off my top?”

“Yes. That’s the quickest way for me to get in the mood.” He’s got his serious, focused expression on right now, an adorable contrast to his rumpled appearance.

I giggle helplessly. “You think we’re going to have sex?”

He blinks. “Isn’t that what you wanted? You said you woke up early and wanted to do something. I just need a minute or two to get ready.”

I’m laughing so hard now I bend forward at the waist.

Owen is frowning at me when I straighten up.

“I didn’t mean I wanted to have sex,” I explain, barely able to control my voice. “I had something else I wanted to do.”

“Oh. Okay. You can keep your top on then.”

I lean over to kiss him, slow and affectionate, and then I nestle in at his side. “I just adore you. You know that, don’t you?”

“I’m always glad to hear it again.” He wraps an arm around me, adjusting my position slightly. “What did you want to do?”

“I wanted to go to Masterson’s this morning—before the reopening. I wanted to walk around the store with you the way you used to with your grandfather.”

Owen is silent, but I feel an emotional tension in his body. When I glance up at his face, I see why.

“You want to do that with me?” he asks hoarsely.

“Yes. I do. I’m so proud of you. And all you’ve done over the past year. I know it’s just one store you’ve redone so far, but it feels like this is the culmination of all your work. I want to walk through it with you. If you want to do that with me.”

He presses a kiss into my hair. “I do. We’ll have to get there pretty early though to avoid all the hassle just before opening.”

“I know. I’m ready to get up anytime.”

“What about sex?”

I slide a hand down his chest to feel the front of his underwear, smiling when I discover that he’s not hard. “Sex can wait until later. The store is the most important thing right now.”

***

WE GET UP, SHOWER, and dress quickly so we’re at the big downtown Masterson’s at just after seven.

Owen lets us in with his key, and we walk around the beautifully redesigned store, complete with two exclusive collections and a much more trendy, contemporary look than the old Masterson’s. He’s made deals with several more designers over the past months, but it will be a year or two before some of the new lines are stocked in the stores.

Everything is perfect. I’m so giddy I can hardly keep from giggling as we complete the circuit.

Owen has been holding my hand the whole time. He’s been quiet, but his grip is tight, and I know he’s happy and emotional too.

He kisses me when we finish our tour. I wrap my arms around his neck.

“I’m so proud of you,” I whisper.

“I couldn’t have done it without you.”

He means it.

I know he does.

He was the first man who ever took me seriously, and he’s still the man who believes in me more than anyone else.

I have no idea who I’d be without him.

“Are you crying?” he asks, scanning my face.

I swipe my fingers at one eye. “No. I’m just happy.”

He catches a tear below my other eye before it falls. His expression is very tender. “Good. I am too. And I actually wanted to... mention something.”

“What is it?”

He rubs his jaw and glances away.

“What is it, Owen?” I ask. “What are you nervous about?”

He meets my eyes with a rueful look. “Mary is retiring.”

This is a surprise, so my eyes get big. “For sure?”

“Yes. In three months. Her husband just retired, and they want to move to Florida. So she’ll be leaving in three months.”

“Well, you know I love Mary, and I’ll miss her. But this is a good opportunity for you to put someone else in her position.”

Owen nods. “I know. And I’ve been thinking. I’m going to restructure some stuff when she retires and put a Senior Vice President over that area. So I won’t be directly supervising the buying staff.”

I nod, listening and thinking. “Okay. That’s a good idea.”

“I won’t be directly supervising the buying staff.”

I frown at this since he just said it. “Okay.”

“I won’t be directly supervising the buying staff.” His voice has gotten low and soft. “Are you understanding me yet?”

I stare at him, suddenly realizing what he’s telling me. “Oh. Oh.”

He cups my cheek with one hand. “Chelsea, if you want to find another job when your internship is over, I completely understand. I’ll support you no matter what. But I would love for you to work for Masterson’s. We still need you. I still need you. And I would love for Masterson’s to get all your brilliance and not someone else.”

I giggle stupidly and cover my mouth with my hand. “I’m not brilliant, Owen.”

“Yes, you are. And it’s fine if you don’t want that. Or you’re not sure. Or if you want to look around and see if you can get something better. But I wanted it to at least be a possibility for us to keep you.” He clears his throat and glances down. “If you want.”

I throw my arms around him. “Of course I want to work for Masterson’s! It’s what I’ve always wanted. I just didn’t think there would be a way for us to work it out.”

“I think we can.” His arms around me are tight, urgent, nakedly needy. “I think we can make it work.”

I bury my face in his suit jacket. He dressed up for the reopening. “It sounds perfect. It would make me so happy.”

“If you’re sure. I don’t want you to feel pressured to work for Masterson’s, just because I want you so much.”

“I don’t feel pressure. I feel exactly right about it. I feel exactly right about everything. I never dreamed I could ever be this happy. I guess all I needed was an old fuddy-duddy.”

He kisses me one more time. “Well, this old fuddy-duddy is going to be yours forever.”

Nothing could sound better to me.

***

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This was supposed to be the last book in the Trophy Husband series, but I got inspired for one more book—about the grown daughter of Pop’s fiancée. I’m not sure when it will be coming out since I’ll have to fit it into my release schedule, but you can be looking for one last book in the series.

My next release will be Living with Her Fake Fiancé, the third book in the Loft series. You can find an excerpt on the following pages.

If you want to keep up with my new releases and sales, you can sign up for my .

If you want book discussion and insider information on my books, you can join my . Just ask to join and I’ll approve you.

If you want a complete list of my books, including series and tropes, you can go to my .