“It was…interesting.”
She frowns. “What happened?”
“Turns out Grandpa had one last plot twist in him.”
Her eyes widen. “What do you mean?”
“Grandpa gave us the option to vote on whether our father should receive his shares or not.”
“Oh my God.” Her mouth remains hanging open.
“I know. We were surprised to say the least.”
“So that’s it? You’re free of him?”
I nod. “Declan just ran his first board meeting today.”
“That’s amazing.” She smiles up at me. “And how did the conversation with Arnold go?”
“He wants me to meet him and the team next week to go over some ideas I have.”
Her smile widens. “I’m so proud of you.”
I look away. “I haven’t even done much yet.”
“What do you mean? You’re the reason the Kane Company has one app instead of four now. I’m pretty sure you’re half of America’s hero right about now.”
Heat floods my cheeks. “Only because you helped.”
She cups my cheek. “I barely did anything. You’re the one who has spent weeks combing over data and meeting with teams to go over acquiring more content.”
“It’s a work in progress.”
“Kind of like us.” She grins.
I can’t resist kissing her in that moment. Lana melts into me, deepening the kiss until we are both breathlessly ripping at each other’s clothes. I tease her, and she does the same back, driving me mad with the desire to fuck her.
She licks. I nip. She sucks. I bite. She teases me with her tongue. I fuck her pussy with mine.
It doesn’t take me long to find myself between her legs. She guides my cock toward her center, and we both groan as I sink inside of her. With how hard she grips my ass, I wonder if she will leave permanent marks against my skin similar to the ones she left on my heart.
Every time we have sex, it always feels desperate. As if we both are trying to make up for lost time. Like I want to bury myself inside her and never leave.
I torture her for what feels like an hour, driving her to the brink of an orgasm before retreating back.
At one point, she flips us over and takes control, spinning around until her ass and curved back is all I see as she bounces up and down my cock. The position feels like heaven, and Lana seems to agree based on the moans coming from her.
With a few flicks and pinches of her clit at my command, she comes, taking me over the edge with her. I don’t stop driving her up and down my cock until my body no longer trembles from coming hard enough to see stars.
Lana slides off me, making us both sticky from our release. Her nose wrinkles at the mess.
“Shower or towel?”
She yawns. “Towel. I’m too tired to do anything else.”
“Hold on.” I come back with a wet towel to clean us both up the best I can before collapsing into bed.
Lana cuddles up against me and tucks her head between the crook of my neck. “I love you.”
My chest tightens. It took me a while to feel worthy of those words from her, but I’m slowly getting used to them.
“I love you too.” My lips brush against the top of her head. There is nothing I won’t do to make sure Lana spends the rest of her life being cherished like the gift she is.
She changed my life and proved to me that loving myself matters just as much as loving others. Because in order to show up for everyone else, I need to show up for myself first.
The future won’t be easy. I’m not foolish enough to think I won’t be tested and tempted into falling back into hurtful patterns. But with Lana, Cami, and our family by my side, anything feels possible. Even the failures.
And I think that’s what my grandpa was trying to teach me all along.
EPILOGUE
ALANA
One year later
“You’ll close up for me tonight?” I tug my apron over my head.
Gabby, my amazing employee, pauses her sweeping to look up. “No problem, boss. I got it.”
I have three people working for me, all of whom are incredible in their own ways. Besides their love for baking, they are passionate about testing out new recipes to see who can make the next best Dreamland dessert. Turns out my tres leches recipe was a hit, and Rowan is already pressuring me for more sweets.
He is the reason I have been working later than usual this week. If it weren’t for him asking me for a new holiday recipe, I would have been the one to pick up Cami from school. Instead, Cal has been the one to take care of her while I’ve been obsessing over what holiday treat I plan on presenting to Rowan this weekend when we go visit the family at Dreamland.
My phone rings in my hand. “Shit. Bye, Gabby!”
“Where are you?” Cal asks when I answer.
“On my way.” I flip the switch for the neon sign before walking out the front door. The Sweets and Treats Bake Shop sign lights up above me.
It was the same name my mom and I came up with together one day while standing in the same spot. I’m sure my mom would be proud, knowing I finally achieved the dream of opening my own bakery.
“You’re still at the shop, aren’t you?” Cal’s question drags me away from my thoughts.
“I’m leaving now, I swear!” I juggle my phone between my shoulder and cheek while digging around my purse for my car keys.
Someone groans in the background.
“What was that?” I ask.
“The television. See you soon. Love you. Bye.” He hangs up.
Huh. That was weird.
The stars are already out by the time I pull into the driveway of our lake house. I expect to find Cami and Cal in the living room working on the new boat he bought, but the place is pitch black. I reach for the light switch near the sliding door, only to stop myself as something outside catches my eye.
The dock is lined with candlelit glass lanterns illuminating a path toward the end.
“Oh my God.” My hand shakes as I open the sliding door and step out onto the wraparound deck. I walk down the steps and across the massive lawn, straight toward the shadow standing at the end of the dock. Grass crunches underneath my feet, breaking the silence.
Cal looks over his shoulder. The moon shines above, illuminating his entire face. “Hey,” he calls out loud enough to be heard from a distance.
“What’s all this about?” I say with a loud voice. I think I have a good idea what is going on, but only because Cal picked a terrible spot to hide an engagement ring. I’ve been waiting weeks to see when he would pop the question. He even teased me twice, with him making a big deal out of tying his shoe on two separate occasions.
I swear he knows I know.
He turns to face me. Something long and wide is cradled against his chest, but I can’t make it out from here. The dock creaks beneath my sneakers as I close the gap between us. My heart pounds so hard that I’m afraid it might break a rib in its attempt to bust free from my chest.
“What’s that?” I stop in front of him and point to the piece of wood in his hands.
He flips the piece of wood.
My eyes widen. No way.
“Is that…” I reach out with a trembling hand and trace the L etched into the wood beside the C.
“You didn’t think I would really let the construction crew throw it out, did you?”