“Oh, thank goodness.” My mother leaned back in her seat, hand on her chest.
I elbowed Chloe. “She never could resist me.”
My mother rolled her eyes. “Good grief, Oliver. Behave yourself. You’re barely out of hot water with Chloe as it is.”
“I’m used to him by now,” Chloe said. “Sorry to hold up dinner.”
“Don’t worry about it,” my dad said. “Glad you kids have worked things out. And tomorrow, son, we’re going to have a talk about work ethic and strength of character. You’ve got some explaining to do.”
“Uh, sure thing, Dad.” I pulled out Chloe’s chair for her and took my seat, trying to think of a way to avoid my father’s insufferable work ethic lecture. I’d heard it at least a million times growing up. Clearly I’d have to do better with my own kids. Or come up with one that was even more torturous.
The thought actually made me smile. I could see myself being that dad one day.
And I saw Chloe by my side. It was the first time being a husband and father hadn’t seemed like something I had to do because it was expected—it was something I wanted to do.
“So what will you do about the land you planned to buy for the rye?” my brother asked. Of course.
I tried not to let it bother me as I spread my napkin on my lap. “I’ll apply for a loan, I guess. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be.”
“Just a minute.”
Everyone looked at Gran.
She rose to her feet at one end of the table. “It seems there’s still a business opportunity to be had here. And as I’m ninety, I feel like my time to invest in talented entrepreneurs might be running out.”
I shook my head. “Thanks, Gran, but I’ve decided I want to do this on my own.”
“I’m not talking about you. I’m talking about Chloe.”
My jaw dropped. Everyone’s jaw dropped.
“What do you mean?” Charlotte asked.
“I mean, I’m going to invest a million dollars in Chloe. What she chooses to do with it, and whom she chooses to share it with, is her business. But she impresses me. She’s got heart and smarts and moxie, and it doesn’t get better than that.”
We all looked at Chloe. Her face was white as a sheet. I glanced back at Gran, and she winked at me.
I smiled back, appreciating what she was doing for me.
“What do you say, Chloe?” Gran asked. “Will you accept my offer to invest in your future?”
Chloe met my eyes and I shrugged. “Your decision. No pressure here.”
“This is insane!” she cried, laughing and wiping tears from her eyes. “A million dollars?”
“A million dollars.” Gran’s eyes glittered. “And maybe a bottle of that fancy whiskey you’re going to make.”
“Deal,” Chloe said, putting her hand on her chest. “Oh my God, my heart is racing so fast. I can’t believe this! Thank you!”
“You’re welcome. I have the utmost faith in you.” She looked at me and smiled. “In both of you.”
“Thank you, Gran,” I said, my throat tight. “That means a lot to us.”
“Chloe is going to be a busy woman,” said her father.
We all looked at Uncle John.
“I am?” asked Chloe.
“Yes.” He put his arm around his wife and looked at his daughter. “Your mother has finally convinced me to retire this fall, and the only person I trust to run Cloverleigh is you. You’ve been there longer than anyone and know the place inside and out. You work hard, you work smart. You’ve got the education, the experience, the work ethic, the gut instincts, and the passion it takes.”
“But what about April?” Chloe asked.
Her mother smiled. “April is happy doing what she does. She’s one hundred percent on board with you taking over as COO. Everyone is—Sylvia, April, Meg, Frannie, Mack, Henry … if you want the job, it’s yours.”
I found myself getting choked up and grabbed Chloe’s hand.
“This is all so surreal,” she said, blinking back tears. “I feel like everything is happening at once.”
“Do you need some time to think things through?” her mom asked.
“No!” Chloe burst out. “When have I ever taken time to think things through? I want the job—give it to me!”
Everyone laughed and I kissed her cheek. “Congratulations. We will make this work, I promise. You’ll be busy, but you can do it.”
“Thank you,” she said breathlessly, squeezing my hand.
“Well, hear, hear!” my father said, raising his glass. “A toast to new beginnings!”
My mother quickly poured wine for Chloe and me. “A toast to a wonderful past.”
“To love and family,” said Aunt Daphne with shining eyes.
“To friends who are family,” said Uncle John.
Chloe lifted her glass. “To second chances.”
I leaned toward her. “I might need more than that.”
“I might give them,” she teased.
We locked eyes as we drank to our past, our present, and our future.
Later that night, we undressed and climbed into bed. I wrapped my arms around her beneath the covers. “I can’t believe I almost lost you again.”
“Me neither.” She snuggled up tight, her head on my chest. “That was a close call.”
“I’m going to try really hard to be the man you deserve, Chloe. I mean that.”
“All I want is you.” She kissed my bare chest. “And you don’t have to be perfect. Just honest.”
“I will be. For example, I’m honestly thinking that I’d really like to have sex with you right now.”
Giggling, she shook her head. “No way. Your parents, my parents, your grandmother, your nephews—they’re all right down the hall. And this old bed squeaks.”
“So let’s do it on the floor.”
“The floors in this house creak more than the beds!”
I sighed. “You’re really going to make me wait until we get home to be inside you again?”
“Sorry. Yes.” She was silent for a moment. “So where will home be?”
“Where do you want it to be?”
She picked up her head and looked at me. “Honestly?”
I flicked her earlobe. “Duh.”
“Right at Cloverleigh.”
“Then it will be home to me too.”
Her smile lit up the dark. “You mean it?”
“Sure. I’ll get a condo in Traverse, or buy a little house in Hadley Harbor. I’ve never lived small town life. Maybe it will suit me.”
“I hope so.” She brushed her fingertips across my collarbone. “Or you could stay with me at Cloverleigh if you want. Even if it’s just temporary.”
“Chloe, if I move in with you, I’m never going to want to leave.”
“Really?”
“Really. I mean, you’ll be there all the time cooking for me, doing my laundry, ironing my shirts—”
She smacked me on the chest. “Very funny.”
“I’m teasing.” Grabbing her arms, I flipped her onto her back. Kissed her lips. “I’m never going to want to leave because I love you. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. There’s nothing I don’t want to share, and I can’t believe I wasted so much time.” I kissed her again. “I don’t want to waste any more.”