“Yeah, my dad had graduated college, and his brother had started his freshman year. My uncle took a bit harder and lost his way for a while.”
“Oh. Is that the reason Kimberly and Reese spent so much time at your home growing up?”
He shook his head. “No. My aunt passed away when the girls were young. My uncle didn’t cope well. He buried himself in work, traveling nonstop to expand the bookstore chain. Gran and my parents practically raised them. Since they lived close to us, my cousins were at our place a lot. Then, once we were all grown-up and doing our thing, she went through a few years of depression. She went to therapy, but she was truly only back to her old self after Paisley was born.”
I wanted to hug Beatrice even more. Now I understood why they were so overprotective of her. However, something told me they would try to keep bad news from her anyway.
“The therapist told her that keeping busy is important, and I try to arrange for her to spend as much time with Paisley as she wants. She just can’t keep up with her anymore.”
“You’re a great guy, Tate.”
His expression changed from serious to playful in a split second. I loved that I had such an effect on him.
“Okay, I have an idea. Why don’t we play a get-to-know-each-other game?” I asked playfully.
He leaned closer. “Does it involve clothes?”
“Yes, it does. We’re in a bar.”
He laughed. “I know. I didn’t say we had to play it here.”
“Oh, you bad man. I knew you would get at this sooner or later.”
“I’m honest about what I want, Lexi. And what I want is you, all the time.”
My breath caught when I realized he was serious. “I was thinking about something more like ‘What’s your favorite color? What’s your favorite food? Book?’”
“Your favorite color is green. Your favorite food is a veggie burger.”
I jerked my head back, blinking rapidly before looking down at my cocktail.
Holy shit, did I already tell him that and forgot? Am I that drunk?
“How do you know that?” I asked suspiciously.
“Paisley talks about you a lot, Lexi. But I don’t know what your favorite book is.”
“It’s The Adventures of Anne Delaware. It’s out of print, unfortunately. But wait, what do you mean, Paisley talks about me?”
“She does—a lot. And I take advantage of it. I keep asking her for details.”
The thought of him talking to his daughter about me was making me melt. I wanted to be a fly on the wall and listen to that. What would she say if she knew I was dating her father?
Would Tate even want to tell her?
Despite feeling more at ease around him than anyone I’ve ever dated, I still couldn’t work up the courage to ask him. But I didn’t have to know the answer tonight. I could have this one amazing evening and focus on reality tomorrow.
Licking my lips, I pointed a finger at him. “But I don’t know all this stuff about you. So, what is your favorite color?”
“Blue.”
“And what do you love to eat?”
His eyes glazed over, and at first, I thought he hadn’t heard my question. But then he brought his mouth to my ear. “Right now, you. I want my mouth on you until I make you squirm and come and cry out my name.”
A shudder went through me. The skin on my whole body turned to goose bumps, including on my pussy, if that was even possible. I swallowed hard, jerking my head back so I could look at him.
“Damn, you’re good,” I whispered. “I wanted to ask if we could dance, but now all I want is to get out of here.”
“Your wish is my command.”
“Does that mean I can get a kiss now?” It was more of a tipsy challenge, but I needed him. “Since we’re leaving anyway?”
“Fuck yes.”
The second his lips brushed mine, my skin sizzled everywhere. I had no idea how he could light up my body with a single touch. He already had so much power over me that it scared me. But every kiss made me feel even more alive than the one before, every touch even more wanted and worshiped.
Tate Maxwell was mine. Nothing else mattered—at least not tonight.
Chapter Eighteen
Tate
The rest of the week was just as intense as the one before. The only thing keeping me sane was going home to Paisley... and to Lexi. I decided to track down her out-of-print book—or rather, I’d put Gran on it. Since she still ran the bookstore, she had access to the market. If anyone could find it, it was Gran; she had an immense talent for finding rare items and convincing people to hand them over.
One week later, Gran called me.
“I found it. I have it right here. The previous owner was a book murderer, but it’s better than nothing.”
“A what?”
“Book murderer. Edges are folded. Some pages have ink stains.”
I chuckled at her description. Who came up with these things?
“This is for Lexi, right?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh, Tate. You’re finally giving yourself a chance to be happy. That’s all I ever wanted—for you to take a chance and stop thinking that you shouldn’t have someone in your life until Paisley is older.”
My daughter had essentially told me she was okay with me dating, but who knew if she really would be? I had to tread carefully. I couldn’t let Paisley down again. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t spoil Lexi and make her happy. I could imagine her reaction when she got the book.
“Gran, I have to go. I’ll send someone for the book—”
“Nonsense, I’m going to your house anyway. I’m going to give it to her.”
“Thanks.”
One hour later, Lexi sent me a picture. She was holding a book next to her face.
Damn. I’d never seen her smile like that. The pure joy on her face brought me to my knees.
Lexi: I can’t believe you got me this. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.
Tate: You’re welcome. I like your smile.
I leaned back in my chair, looking at that picture for a long time... right until Declan stomped into my office.
“The owners of the buildings next to The Happy Place have joined the lawsuit,” he announced.
“Fuck.”
I wasn’t surprised, but I was pissed.
I was used to fighting off morons, but usually the fights weren’t personal. Competitors were predictable—they were after profits—but this was different. It was personal. Malcolm and the Halsey Group weren’t acting purely out of business interest. Well, the Halsey Group might have been, but not Malcolm.
He’d thought that by marrying into the Maxwell family, the doors to Chicago would open to him—and they would have. There wasn’t much we didn’t do for the family. But he shot himself in the foot, and his continued interest in Gran’s building smelled of revenge more than a business decision.
“We’ll fight them with all we have,” I said. “Spare no expense. Take whatever risk necessary. I don’t care. The company is doing well enough. I know it, and they know too.”
“I think they’re hoping we don’t want the hassle,” Declan said. With a smirk, he added, “I guess they’re going to learn the hard way what it means to go against the Maxwells.”