“I think it’s a smart idea,” Henry says.
“Well, yeah, of course. I came up with it.” Violet reaches up and pats herself on the shoulder.
“Actually, I think it was my idea?” Ronan jumps in.
“Uh … your idea would get Abbi’s accounts suspended,” Violet retorts, rolling her eyes.
“Why does that not surprise me?” Henry mutters.
CHAPTER 19
Violet: Just wanted to say good luck with the big launch!
“What’s that smile for?” Henry swoops in to pepper a kiss against my neck while he steals a glance at my screen.
“Your daughter is wishing me luck today.” I punch out a quick reply.
Abbi: Thank you!
He hums, then snatches my phone from my grasp and quickly types out a message.
Abbi: Get to class before I send you to boarding school.
“Henry!” I glare at him. We are nowhere near making those kinds of jokes yet. How is she going to take that?
Three dots bounce almost immediately.
Violet: Hey, Henry. I guess you graced Abbi’s office with your royal presence? And do they have hot teachers at said boarding school?
Henry’s molars grind.
I tuck my phone into my pocket before Henry can grab it to reply. “I think she won that round.” But what’s even more impressive is that she knew it was him.
“What kind of teacher allows her to text during class?” He frowns. “We need to investigate private schools in her area. She can start next semester.”
“And have you asked her?”
“No, but she needs a good education. And to be with other people like her.”
“What do you mean, like her?” It dawns on me a second later. “Oh, right. Rich.” I roll my eyes. “Well, she’s not. She’s a kid who lives with her grandparents. Plus, you can’t just come into her life and take over. She’s not a company.”
He scowls, but he doesn’t respond.
That’s a conversation for later. “What’s the countdown?” I call out to Annie, who’s sitting at her desk, watching the clock and pretending not to listen to us. Maybe I’m too trusting, but I don’t think she would say anything about Violet if she did figure it out. That doesn’t mean I didn’t get her to sign an ironclad NDA, at Henry’s insistence.
Annie grins and holds up her hand. “T-minus five minutes!”
“Okay.” I take a deep breath as we wait for the clock to strike eleven a.m. and the shop to go live. “This is ridiculous. I don’t know why I’m so nervous. We’ll sell a handful of orders today.”
“Either way, we’re celebrating!” Annie holds up the bottle of Dom Pérignon Henry brought, already chilling in a bucket. Zaheera is on her way.
“Seriously, Henry, you don’t need to stay. Today is going to be anticlimactic.” Unless I drown myself in a vat of coconut oil.
He cocks his head and gives me an odd look. “Excuse us for a moment, please, Annie.” Roping an arm around my waist, he herds me into my office, pushing my desk chair back and pulling the door shut behind him.
I know what this is about. Henry is attracted to confidence and right now I am displaying anything but that.
I look up to find him scowling down at me from mere inches away, our chests pressed against each other because there’s no room to maneuver in here. “I know! My soaps are amazing and everyone who tries them loves them. Nailed It is the best at what they do. Margo has been talking me up to everyone she knows like some crazy soap pusher. I know all that!” I throw my hands up in surrender. “I guess I’m just trying to protect myself from disappointment. After this weekend, I don’t know what to expect, and it’s left me on edge.”
Annie posted the picture Violet took with a caption that read, “The one and only love of my life. Can’t wait to marry you” and then restricted the comments. It seems to have helped cauterize the flow of online hate messages, though we’ve seen a few comments dropped on old posts of this all being a publicity stunt for my product launch. That made me laugh. As if I need or want this kind of attention to help sell a few bars of soap when I’m marrying one of the richest men in the country.
Henry looms, his blue eyes searching mine.
I can’t take it anymore. “Would you please say something?”
“Your office is in a closet.”
I burst into giggles. “I know. I told you that already.”
“I remember. I didn’t fully appreciate that until now. But that’s fine. I can make it work.”