Relief eased the tightness in his chest. He wasn’t the only one feeling something more now.
He had to be squishing her, so he slid his hand around her back and rolled to the side, taking her with him. She ended up tucked into his side as he landed on his back. He brushed the hair from her temple and kissed her on the head.
“I’m not sure amazing covers it.” His mind was still trying to catch up to the overwhelming feelings filling him up.
She snuggled in closer.
The silence stretched until he had to ask. “What are you thinking?” Wasn’t it women who always asked that? But he really wanted to know.
“I don’t know how to say this, except to say . . .” She paused. He hoped from being shy about saying whatever was on her mind and not because she didn’t want to tell him. “It felt different.”
He rolled to face her and stared into her eyes, letting her know he really wanted to hear more. “How so?”
She placed her hand on his jaw. And though he saw the shyness in her eyes, she said, “Like it meant more.” The way she said it, it almost sounded like a question.
So he immediately reassured her. “It did to me.” He kissed her softly, then met her gaze again. “What we have, Trinity . . . It’s good. It’s what I’ve wanted for a while now, but just couldn’t find. Until I met you.”
“I’ve watched my brothers all fall for someone who turned out to be the right one for them.” She pressed her lips together, her eyes soft and hopeful, staring back at him. “I’m hoping that’s what this is.”
“Me too.” It felt good to know they were on the same page and feeling the same thing, even if it was new for both of them.
And all he wanted to do was hold on to this feeling and her forever.
Chapter Fifteen
Trinity walked into Jon’s kitchen and found him with his back to her, phone to his ear. She slipped up behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and laid her cheek between his shoulders.
His hand immediately pressed to hers over his heart. “I told him I’d pay that amount nearly a year ago, but he didn’t want to sell. Now his business is in real trouble and it’s not worth anywhere near what I originally offered.” Jon turned in her arms as he listened. “No.” He shook his head and gave her a disgruntled look, though she guessed it was for the guy on the phone. “I’m not interested even if he drops the price.” Jon kissed her softly, then leaned back, disgusted by whatever the guy said to him. Hopefully not because of the kiss. She’d finger-brushed her teeth when she got up half an hour ago so she could take Emmy to school on her way into work. “Yes, I could turn the business around, but it would require an infusion of cash, and I’ve got my eye on something else right now.” He held her gaze.
She liked being the object of his affection and attention, so she slipped her hands up and over his chest, then down his belly to the thickening erection swelling behind his jeans zipper and now in her hand.
He sucked back a groan. “I’m not interested.”
She raised her eyebrow.
He pointed to the phone, then closed his eyes when she gripped his length and squeezed. “Tell him he’s too late. He’ll have to find another buyer.” Jon tapped his phone to end the call, tossed it on the counter next to them, cupped her face, and kissed her like he hadn’t done it in forever, even though he woke her up this morning with a hot kiss, then made love to her, slowly, drawing out every stroke of his body in and against hers.
The long weekend had been more than amazing. Thursday night had simply been the first of several nights spent in each other’s arms. She hadn’t been able to spend the days with him, but each night after work, she drove out to his place and they spent as much time together as possible.
Mostly naked, because she arrived after Emmy had gone to bed.
Of course, if she got there early enough, they had dinner with Emmy, played games, read her stories, and tried to give her the kind of home life Jon wanted her to have every day.
Except today. Jon’s lawyer advised him to follow the custody agreement. He’d already warned Steph she needed to get her act together or he’d fight for Emmy.
This was her last chance to get it right.
Trinity doubted she would and hated that Emmy may have to endure more neglect from her mother before Jon could get the court on his side.
Jon nuzzled his nose against her cheek and whispered in her ear, “All I want to do is take you back to bed.” Instead, he gently separated them because they both heard Emmy humming her way down the hall toward the kitchen.
Trinity smiled up at him. “I can’t help it. When I see you, I have to touch you.”
He kissed her softly. “Don’t ever stop feeling that way.”
They stood close, but a respectful distance apart for Emmy’s sake. Though she’d stayed overnight, they tried to be up, dressed, and presentable when Emmy woke up.
Luckily, Emmy was so tired each night when she went to bed because Jon kept her busy during the day, she didn’t try to sneak into his bed.
Trinity wasn’t sure what he’d say to her if she did and found Trinity already there. Maybe in time it wouldn’t matter, but right now, things were new between her and Jon, even if it felt like life had always been like this.
She didn’t want to remember what it felt like to be alone. She liked this feeling of connection to Jon too much to let it go.
The last few days together had brought them even closer to each other.
Still, she wanted to know more. “I don’t actually know what you do for a living.”
Jon chuckled under his breath. “I told you I sold most of my businesses before I moved here to rehab the ranch and raise Emmy.”
She squished up one side of her mouth and gave an exasperated look. “That tells me nothing about what you do with the businesses you kept.”
He laughed again. “Okay. Let’s see. I used to look for small businesses that had a great service or product but not the resources or know-how to expand. I bought the business, grew it over time, then in most cases I sold it for a profit.”
“Except you kept the two you own now.”
“I kept them because they make great money and are managed well. I don’t really have to do anything but make the major decisions for the businesses.”
“So that call, someone wanted to sell you their company.”
“Yes. I made them an offer last year when the company hit the peak for what the owner could do with it, but he didn’t want to sell despite the generous amount I offered him.”
“How much?” It wasn’t so much about the money as it was about understanding the deals he made and the . . . She really didn’t know what else. The scope. And maybe the status he had in the business world.
“The company was worth about nine million. I offered him ten because I knew I could make it worth ten times that.”
Okay. Millions. Wow. “So you’re rich?”
He stared at her for a long moment before answering, “Yes.” He took a step away. “I bought my first business with a loan, a plan, and a prayer. With lots of hard work, I made a decent profit when I sold it. So I bought another company. And I did the same thing, but instead of selling it right away, I leveraged it to buy an additional company. That one failed. Poor management. I was too busy building the other company and looking for a new one to see that the plan I’d put into place wasn’t being implemented. The guy I hired to run the place thought he knew better than me and made a bad deal that tanked the reputation of the company. I had to lay off workers and close the doors because it would have cost too much to rebuild. Lesson learned.”