I hold my phone at a distance to protect my eardrums from rupturing. “Who?”
“DreamStream!”
“The Kane Company subdivision?”
“Yes! You’ve heard of them?”
“Is there someone who hasn’t?”
Jamie laughs. “True. Well, they reached out to me, asking if you were available for a show idea they have.”
“They contacted you?”
“I know. I’m equally shocked. Not that you’re not amazing, but DreamStream contracts are huge. You’d become a household name with a company like that producing your show.”
I lean against the wall before my knees give out. “What kind of show are they thinking?”
“Well, that’s the best part. They’re willing to go along with whatever you want, wherever you want, so long as you let them produce and stream it.”
“You’re joking.” A deal like this seems too good to be true.
Probably because it is.
No. I shut down the anxious thought before it has time to fester.
But still, something about this deal seems too convenient.
Who cares? If they’re letting you take full creative control of the show, does it matter?
But I can’t help wondering how a deal like this came about in the first place.
“Who reached out to you?” I ask.
Jamie doesn’t miss a beat. “Declan and Callahan Kane.”
“Both of them?”
“Yes. Callahan Kane is doing some consulting work with DreamStream. Said he found out you were pitching a show from a town local and knew his brother would want to get involved since his wife is a big fan.”
A town local?
It doesn’t take me more than a few seconds to piece everything together.
Holy shit. This is really happening.
I must have said the words aloud because Jamie laughs and says, “Yeah. It is.”
I smack my chest to get my lungs working again. “How soon can we meet with them to go over everything?”
Jamie goes into greater detail about the offer, and I diligently listen, my excitement growing with every minute. She hangs up ten minutes later with a promise to send me the revised contract once it is ready.
Now I need to find the town local responsible for all this, and I have a strong feeling I know where he is.
When I decided to move back to Lake Wisteria, I expected Julian to resume his usual position in the business, but I was surprised when he kept true to his original plan. He only works out of his office three times a week now, while he spends the rest of his time managing builds and helping at the sites.
Plus, we’re taking on the Lake Aurora house together as project co-leaders.
I haven’t seen him look this happy since…well, ever.
I open our text thread and send Julian a message.
ME
Are you still in a meeting?
He responds only a few seconds later.
FIRST CHOICE
Nope.
I head to Julian’s office, only stopping to greet Sam before walking inside the private suite and shutting the heavy door behind me.
Julian leans back in his chair. “I thought we agreed not to see each other until lunchtime.”
It was a valiant effort so we could get some much-needed work done before Christmas break next week, but Julian blew that plan to hell the moment he intervened in my life.
I forgo the seat across from his desk and choose his lap instead. His arm hooks around me, and I curl mine around the back of his neck before crushing my mouth against his.
Julian groans as I glide my tongue across his, earning the slightest shiver as a reward. His fingers press into my hips as he deepens the kiss.
No matter how many times he claims my mouth, it always feels like the first time with the way my toes curl and my spine tingles.
He reluctantly pulls back after another minute. “As much as I love the unexpected visit, I have a call in ten minutes.”
I clean the lipstick mark staining the corner of his mouth. “No problem. I only wanted to thank you.”
“For what?”
“Whatever you did that landed me a deal with DreamStream.”
His arms tighten. “I didn’t—”
I press my finger against his mouth. “Don’t lie to me or play the humble-boyfriend card.” It’s the first time I called him my boyfriend, and the shock on his face made it worth the wait.
“Boyfriend?”
“Don’t let the title go to your head.”
“A little too late for that. Does it come with a lifetime membership?”
I pinch him between the ribs, making him jolt. “Start talking or else.” I reach to repeat the move, but he traps my hands against his thigh.
“I wanted you to make a decision that was best for you, not based on my influence in the process.”
“So you admit you played a part?”
“If by played a part, you mean merely making sure the right person heard about your availability and interest in filming a new show, then yes. Guilty as charged.”
I swat his shoulder. “I knew it!”
“How did you find out?”
“Well, it was solely based on a hunch, but a good one given your connection to Callahan Kane and you being the only person in town who knew about me pitching a new show.”
The tips of his ears turn pink. “He owed me a favor.”
“And you used it on me?”
“I know how much you loved having your own show.”
The Kanes rarely owe any favors, so the fact that Julian used his to pitch my show means the world to me.
My chest squeezes. “I can’t believe you got me a deal with DreamStream.”
He cradles my head between his palms. “All I did was speak with Declan and tell him about your idea for a show. His company offering you a deal was all thanks to you and your years of hard work.” He pauses. “And probably the fact that Declan Kane’s wife might be your second biggest fan.”
“Who’s the first?”
“You’re in love with him.” He slides his fingers through my hair and steals another kiss.
The phone on his desk rings, and we break away with a groan.
“I should get that.”
I brush my lips across his. “You should.”
He sighs. “Don’t make this harder for me.”
I run my hand down the front of his pants. “Not sure that’s possible.”
“Dahlia,” he groans as I trace the tip of his cock.
The phone rings again, and I slide off his lap. His dark gaze trails down my body as I walk toward the door, and I’m hit with the same rush of butterflies in my stomach that never seem to go away no matter what.
I glance over my shoulder. “See you in an hour.”
“Make it thirty minutes. And ditch the underwear.”
“Deal.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
Julian
ONE WEEK LATER
For the first time, I hosted Christmas Eve with my mom’s and Dahlia’s help. The last time all of us were together at my house for the holidays was before my dad died, so I’m a bit overwhelmed when everyone floods my kitchen bright and early in the morning with supplies to make tamales.
Cooking is a whole-day production filled with music, laughter, and too many embarrassing stories from all of our childhoods. By the time we finish dinner and the clock hits midnight, an antsy Nico drags us all toward the living room to open presents.