“And?”
“And he apologized and indicated the job is still mine if I want it.”
He frowned. “Why wouldn’t you want it?”
I leaned closer to Nolan so we were face-to-face. “Because the man I love, the man I told I wanted to build a life with, might take issue with suddenly finding himself in a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend. So you should also know that the Whitecaps organization offered me an assistant coaching job yesterday. It is a good opportunity. I’d get to work with the best players, including my sister. There’s some travel, but I would be based in the Cities, which works better for us—”
“No.”
My heart sank. “No?”
“No, because you’re not turning down your dream job for me. I know you love coaching, but would you be happy?”
“I’d be unhappy in any job that takes me away from you.”
Nolan curled his hand around the side of my face. “Well, the man who loves you, the man who is thrilled you still want to build a life with him, is unemployed as of yesterday and is searching for employment opportunities in . . . Duluth. So it would be better for me—for us—if you took the sportscasting job.”
Lucky thing he held my jaw, or it might’ve hit the table. “What happened?”
He explained about files that protected a Lund family secret and confronting the executive officers and the entire board about it, but he didn’t get into specifics beyond it was serious enough to have him reconsider his career.
“The bottom line is I’m still on the board, but I’m no longer employed by LI. After talking with my cousin Zosia, who lives in Duluth, I started researching investment opportunities, which is fortunate since I’ll need to pick one and see how strong my business acumen really is.”
I couldn’t remember ever seeing that glint of excitement in his eyes when he talked about work. “The business opportunities are in Duluth, though?”
“Yep. And allow me to channel Dallas for a moment and mention the fact that we’re both ending up there seems like a huge cosmic sign for us.”
“A big flashing neon-green cosmic sign that says, Your life together starts here.”
He grinned. “I’m so crazy in love with everything about you, Happy.”
“I’m so crazy in love with everything about you too, Fancy Pants.”
“I want us to live together. I understand you’ll have to travel a lot and you’ll have to put up with me either working a lot or not working at all, depending on my business situation, but I want us to exist in the same space in all our downtime.”
“I can’t wait. So since I’m shacking up with a billionaire heir, will we be looking at exclusive high-rise apartments with a killer view of Lake Superior? Ooh, and can we have a pool table and an air hockey table? Maybe a bowling alley?”
“Take your expectations down a notch, Gabriella. My billionaire heir days are behind me. I’ll be a working man, on a budget, so don’t get your hopes up about a life of luxury.”
“Shoot.” I sighed. “I’ll just have to be content living with you, even if it’s in a closet. Because that’s truly where I’m at. At peace and excited as hell to be starting this stage of life with you, Nolan, no matter where we end up.”
“Babe. I’m still a millionaire, so it’s not like we’ll be roughing it in a fishing shack.”
I cocked my head. “So now that you’re a working man, does that mean you’ll start buying your clothing off the rack? Yourself?”
He literally shuddered. “God forbid.”
I laughed.
Nolan pointed to my beer. “Taking your time with that.”
“Beer is not really my thing.” I smoothed my hand over his hair and down his neck, letting my thumb rest in the hollow of his throat. Feeling that slow, steady heartbeat and seeing the happy glow in his eyes, I realized no matter what happened job wise, he and I would thrive together. “I’m wondering why I suggested it.”
“Me too.”
I noticed he’d barely touched his glass either.
“Actually, I’m hungry. Wanna take a drive?”
“Sure. Where’d you have in mind?”
“A seafood joint in Duluth I know you’re gonna love.”
“Lead the way.”
Epilogue
NOLAN
DULUTH, MINNESOTA . . . FIVE MONTHS LATER
I looked at my phone for the tenth time in the past five minutes. No messages.
A shadow fell across me and I glanced up at the bartender.
“You sure I can’t get you anything while you wait?”
Maybe it was ornery to say, “What do you have for nonalcoholic liquor?” but I asked anyway.
“You mean like nonalcoholic beer?” he said.
I shook my head. “No. I mean like nonalcoholic gin or vodka.”
The guy snorted. “Buddy, there’s no such thing.”
“Not yet.” But there would be, once Lund and Sons Distillery was up and running. In the meantime, we’d been granted an import license to bring in the nonalcoholic booze that was only available in Europe. And we wanted to build buzz about options for people who liked the taste of spirits but didn’t want the buzz.
His eyes narrowed and he gave me—clad in my usual suit and tie—a suspicious once-over. “Who are you?”
I slid my business card across the bartop.
He read the text, “Nolan Lund. Lund and Sons Distillery.” Another skeptical look. “You related to Zosia Lund?”
“She’s my cousin. And one of the distillery owners.”
“Ah. So you’re one of them billionaire Lunds from the Cities. I’ve heard about you. Just here visiting?”
“Nope. Been living here for four months. I’m part of the investment group that bought the old cannery.”
“The one that’s been abandoned for fifteen years? Sheesh. That place is a wreck.”
“It won’t be when we’re done with it.”
“Yeah? Whatcha planning on doin’ with it?”
“Half of the space will be distillery manufacturing; the other half will be retail venues.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “So you came to warn me that your investment group is putting in a bar?”
I laughed. “Not even close. We will be strictly wholesale to bars and liquor stores.”
“Just the nonalcoholic stuff?”
“No. We’ll be distilling our own line of regular alcoholic spirits and nonalcoholic spirits once the manufacturing side is up and running. Right now I’m just out in the community introducing myself. Letting people know that we are the exclusive distributors for Clearheaded Spirits, the only nonalcoholic brand currently available in the U.S.” I pointed at my business card. “Call the number and we’ll set you up with a private tasting of our products.”
“You don’t say.” He scratched his chin. “I can see where there might be a market for it. Don’t know if it’d be a big seller here, but I’d be glad to give it a try.”
“Great. Like I said, we’d be happy to discuss some of the promotional opportunities we’re creating just for local bars with competitive pricing.”
“What’s Zosia’s place in Lund and Sons?”
“She’s the big boss. Right now she’s focused on getting the distillery operational, so she’s handling employee recruitment.”
He grinned. “Everyone in this town loves that woman. I’m happy to hear things are going her way for once.”
“Me too. We’ve talked about running a business together for years and I’m lucky it’s finally a reality.” Not only had she and her brothers let me become a major investor, they agreed to let Jax invest too so we had all the capital we needed to get started right away.
“If the retail space ain’t gonna be a bar, mind me askin’ what it is gonna be? And who’s runnin’ that?”
“The full concept hasn’t been finalized, but the confirmed anchor stores are Duluth Clothing and the distillery. Do you know Zach, Zosia and Zeke’s youngest brother?”
He nodded.
“Zach is head of property development and he’s working on bringing in local, diverse businesses to round out the remaining retail spaces.”
“What’s your part in it?”
“I’m the numbers-crunching money guy. There are a lot of opportunities in Duluth for existing and new businesses, so I get to check them all out.”
“Ambitious. What’s Zeke got to say about this? He ain’t hanging up his fishing hook for good, is he?”
“No way. He’s invested in the businesses with us, but he’s made it clear his focus will always be on the charter company and Lund Fisheries.”
Just then the outer door banged open, sending a bright streak of sunlight across the dark bar. I barely contained my grin; my woman still barreled through life at breakneck speed even when she wasn’t on the ice.
The bartender turned. “Gabi! Darlin’. It is good to see you.”
Of course the bartender already knew her by name.
“Hey, Charlie.”
“Saw your interview last night with the UMD athletic program director. You didn’t pull any punches.”
She laughed. “Someone’s gotta hit him with the hard questions. Glad to hear you enjoyed it.”
“We all did. We’re ready for the damn hockey season to begin already.”
“You and me both, Charlie.”
Then Gabi stopped five feet away from me. “Dude. You’re in my seat.”
“I picked the one seat that’s yours? Seriously? Out of all of these empty chairs you want this one?”
“Yep.”
I felt the bartender watching us closely. I sighed and pushed back to stand. “Fine.”
Her gaze moved over me from head to toe. “Is that a new suit?”
“Yes. You like?”
“I love it. Damn. Q gets a gold star for making you look that hot.” That’s when she moved in, stood on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around my neck, kissing me like she hadn’t seen me in a week—which she hadn’t. After she finished blowing my circuits, she put her mouth on my ear. “I missed you like crazy, Charming.”
“Missed you too, Happy.”
“So tell me again why we’re meeting here and not racing home to get naked and sweaty in our big soft bed after you’ve been in the Cities for a damn week?” she demanded softly.
I tugged on her ponytail. “I have to get used to sharing you with the community—maintaining a public presence is part of your job as the newest co-anchor of the Wolf Sports North college hockey broadcast team.” I’d never get tired of saying that. I was so damn proud of her.
“I know that. But it’s barely afternoon and we’re the only ones here.” Her eyes narrowed. “Spill what you’re really up to, Lund.”
“All right. I’m doing recon and promo for distillery distribution.”
“And?”
“And I saw your Instagram post from here three days ago. What is it with you and finding dive bars, Welk?”
She shrugged. “It’s my thing. Plus, this is the postgame hangout for the college crowd, including the players. I’m guessing I’ll be here a lot.”
“So we’re both doing recon.”
“I was doing recon earlier this week. Now I’m here to drag my man home so he’ll do all the dirty, wicked things to me he promised in his last text message.”
Check, please.
We turned back to the bar and Charlie was still watching us. “The two of you are together?”
I grabbed her hand. Even in this dimly lit bar the five-carat diamond engagement ring on her finger flashed like fire. “Yes, this woman has agreed to marry me next spring after the hockey season ends. Why?”
He shook his head and addressed Gabi. “No offense, but he just doesn’t seem like your type.”
She looked at me with heart eyes. “He loves me just as I am, which means he’s exactly my type.”
“Perfectly said, my Gabriella.” I kissed the top of her head. “Come on. I’ll race you home.”
DON’T MISS
I Want You Back
BY LORELEI JAMES, AVAILABLE NOW!
LUCY
Mommy. What time will Daddy get here?”
Whenever the hell he feels like it.
Not an answer I could give my precocious eight-year-old daughter, even when it was the truth. “He said after six. Since it’s now six fifteen, he’ll be here at any moment.”
Mimi sighed heavily. Then she kicked her legs up and hung upside down from the back of the chair, balancing on her hands. It was obvious to everyone she inherited her natural athleticism from her father. Embarrassingly I was one of those people who trip over their own feet . . . and everyone else’s.
“You sure that hanging like a monkey in a tree won’t upset your stomach?” I asked her. “Or give you a headache? I’d hate for you to miss an overnight with your dad.”
“I have to practice so being upside down doesn’t make me sick,” she replied with another sigh, as if I should’ve already known that.
“Ah. So what are you practicing for this week?”
“It’s between a trapeze artist or an ice skater. If I decide to have a partner I’ll have to be used to being upside down.”
Last month Mimi wanted to be an astronaut. The month before that a dolphin trainer. While I’ve always told her that she can be whatever she wants to be when she grows up, it’s exhausting finding an activity that holds her attention. After spending money on dance lessons, gymnastics classes, martial arts classes, T-ball, soccer club, fencing, swim team, tennis lessons, golf lessons and horseback riding lessons, I’d put my foot down and said no new organized activities. If none of those worked then she needed to wait until she was older to try others.
Still, I feared she’d play the guilt card and I’d find myself buying tickets to the circus, a Cirque du Soleil show or a Disney on Ice program. Or . . . maybe . . .
“I’m sure your dad would love to take you to a performance.” Not really dirty pool—Mimi’s father, Jaxson Lund, was a member of the billionaire Lund family as well as a highly paid former pro hockey player, so money had never been an issue for him. And there was nothing he loved more than humoring Mimi’s requests, even if it was to alleviate the guilt that he’d missed being a regular presence in her life for most of her life.
The doorbell pealed and Mimi squealed, “I’ll get it!” twisting her lithe little body sideways from the chair to land lightly on her feet, agile as a cat.
I heard her disengage the locks and yell, “Daddy! I thought you’d never get here.”
He laughed. That sweet indulgent laugh he only had for our daughter. “I missed you too, Mimi.”
“I got my stuff all packed. I’m ready to go now.”
Without saying good-bye to me? That stung. But I sucked it up and started toward the entryway.
“Sure. Just let me get the all clear from your mom first.”
Then Jaxson Lund and I nearly collided as we turned the corner simultaneously.
His big hands circled my upper arms to steady me.
I had to tilt my head back to look at him as he towered over me by almost a foot.
It was unfair that my ex actually looked better now than he did when he and I met a decade ago. His dark hair was shorter—no more long locks befitting the bad-boy defenseman of the NHL. No scruffy beard, just the smooth skin of his outlandishly square jaw and muscled neck. His eyes were clear, not bloodshot as I’d usually seen them, making those turquoise-hued eyes the most striking feature on his face . . . Besides that damn smile. Hockey players were supposed to have teeth missing from taking a puck or two hundred to the face. I knew Jax had a partial, but he’d never removed
it when we were together. The lips framing that smile were both soft and hard. Druggingly warm and soft when pressed into a kiss, but cold and hard when twisting into a cruel sneer. A sneer I’d been on the receiving end of many times.
That shook me out of my musings about Jax’s amazing physical attributes.
“Hey, Luce.”
Jax had called me Luce from the first—a joke between us because I warned him I wasn’t loose and wouldn’t sleep with him on the first date. An inside joke made me feel special—he made me feel special—until I realized Jaxson Lund used that killer smile and those gorgeous twinkling eyes as a weapon on every woman he wanted to bang the boards with; there wasn’t anything special about me.
I forced a smile. “Jaxson. How are you?”
He retreated at my cool demeanor and dropped his hands. “I’m fine. You’re looking well.”
And people thought we couldn’t be civil to each other. “Thanks. You too.”
“Anything I should know before Meems and I take off?”
Meems. He’d given our daughter another nickname, even when Mimi was already the shortened version of Milora Michelle. “Nothing worth mentioning. She’s been looking forward to this all week.”
Those beautiful eyes narrowed. “So don’t disappoint her, right?”
“Right.”
“Luce. I’m not—”
“Daddy, come on. Are we goin’ or what?” Mimi demanded.
“We’re goin’, impatient one.” Jaxson hauled her up and cocked her on his hip with seemingly little effort, because his eyes never left mine. “We can do the switch back at the Lund Industries thing on Sunday afternoon?”
“You’ll be there?”
“I work there, remember?”
In the past six months since Jax had joined the family business, I’d hardly seen him hustling around the building in a suit and tie, so I had no idea what his actual job title was. As far as I could tell, he didn’t “work” there like I did. Sunday’s event was a retirement party for a woman I doubted he knew personally. “I’m surprised. I wasn’t aware that you knew Lola.”