Entangled (The Accidental Billionaires, #2)(55)

I didn’t care whether or not we ever saw the slot machines.

Not when I could have Aiden all to myself.

We ended up skipping the slots, and didn’t surface until dinnertime.

Best. Day. Ever.





CHAPTER 25

AIDEN



It took me two weeks after we got back from Vegas to admit to myself that even if it took forever, I’d wait until Skye was damn good and ready to marry me.

Sure, it was what I wanted, and like any stubborn guy, I wanted to get my way.

I’d had a very nice diamond burning a hole in my pocket for over a week now.

And I still hadn’t popped the question.

Truth was, I needed her to want to be committed to me just as much as I wanted her to have everything I had to give.

I wanted her to trust me completely. And, hell, I couldn’t blame her for being slow to trust anyone after what she’d been through.

Until I could feel that she was ready, just being with her was enough.

I’d finally realized that marriage was just a piece of paper. What really mattered was our relationship with each other.

Marriage wasn’t going to keep her from leaving again.

That job was all on me. And I didn’t plan on screwing it up.

The last few weeks I’d felt like me, Skye, and Maya were a family.

I didn’t have to have a piece of paper to prove it.

I wandered out to the kitchen, missing Skye’s presence because she’d gone to pick up Maya from school.

She’d only been gone fifteen minutes, and I was already missing her.

It was getting way too natural to be able to wander in and out of her home office all day, since hers was right next to mine.

She’d spent a lot of time helping me out. Skye had strengths in areas I didn’t, especially organization. And she’d been invaluable at helping me get all my ducks in a row.

Construction was starting soon on a processing facility right outside of town, and I’d already purchased a couple of fishing boats. I was on track to get my business up and running on a reasonable schedule.

I grinned as I saw the sandwich Skye had made me sitting on the kitchen counter.

Every day it was another creation.

And every single day, she came up with something better than the day before.

That was one of the amazing things about Skye. She wasn’t a quitter, and she didn’t settle for mediocre. She kept trying to outdo herself, come up with something even better, even though what she’d done the day before had been pretty damn good.

Her plan to make the restaurant into an upscale deli was a pretty damn brilliant idea. People headed to the beach in the summer could take stuff to go, but there would still be a nice seating area for patrons to relax, sit down, and have themselves a great lunch or dinner if they weren’t in a hurry to get to the beach.

I looked at the handwritten note she’d left beside the plated sandwich:

Hawaiian pizza grilled-cheese sandwich with dipping sauce. Make sure you use the sauce. It makes it taste better.



I had no idea what was in the concoction, but the toasted Italian bread looked pretty damn good.

I picked it up and took a bite. I could taste the pineapple, but the cheese and ham were front and center.

As usual, it was better than the one I’d tried out yesterday, and I hadn’t thought she’d be able to top the apple barbecue pulled pork.

I dipped it in the sauce, and then discovered in the next bite that it was even better with marinara. I should have taken her advice the first time.

The plate was empty within a few minutes, and I put it in the dishwasher, congratulating myself again for getting the job of official taste tester for the menu Skye was working on.

It was kind of ridiculous that she actually thought that eating her creations was some kind of help to her, or any sort of sacrifice on my part.

It was an occupation I thoroughly enjoyed.

Another winner, sweetheart.

That sandwich definitely needed to stay on the menu. Right alongside the five other ones I’d sampled in the last five days.

I was going through the mail that Hastings had dropped off at the house when my daughter and her mom came through the door.

“So, what did you think?” she asked immediately.

Maya ran toward me like a runaway train, and I scooped her up and told Skye, “The best one yet.”

She rolled her eyes. “You always say that.”

“Because it’s true. You outdo yourself every single day. Your deli is going to be a huge hit.”

She beamed at me. “I hope so. You should hope so, too, since we’re partners.”

I didn’t want to burst her bubble by reminding her that I could well afford the loss if the place didn’t fly. The success of her new restaurant was something I desperately wanted to see because it was important to her.

Honestly, I knew it would be a success, because Skye didn’t know the meaning of failure. She’d bust her ass until the place was running exactly the way she wanted it.

At some point, I knew I’d end up calling her on working too much. But for now, she was sticking to our bargain of knocking off at a reasonable time so we could spend our evenings with Maya.

My daughter hugged me, kissed my cheek, and then politely asked me to put her down because she wanted to go practice her piano.

I watched her scamper away, and I put my arms around Skye. “Everything is going to be fine. Don’t drive yourself crazy. You have a great design for the new place, and I guarantee the menu will be very well received. It’s unique and different.”