She laughed and leaned in for another kiss, then pulled back before I had my fill of her.

“A funny thing happened to me on my drive here,” she said.

“Yeah? Like what?”

“I got a phone call from Angelica. She apologized and said she’d thought about what I said about her one-eighty being unfair and that I was right.”

“No shit, Madame Dictator.”

“She asked me to come back to Marks. Because she admitted I was also right that I was the best person for the job. She wants me to lead her company into the future.”

“Wow, Chloe. Congratulations. You deserve every bit of that.”

“Thank you,” she said with a humble smile. “I told her no.”

I reared my head back enough to get a good look at her expression. She didn’t appear to be shitting me. “Why did you do that?”

“Because I figured out what I really want to do with my life.” She laced our fingers together, palm to palm, between us. “I have a proposal for you.”

“O-kay.” I drew out the word. “That’s interesting since we’re already married.”

She laughed quietly. “Thankful for that. What would you say if I came on as an assistant manager at the brewery? Or an operations chick or… whatever you need me to do. I believe in what you and Kemp are doing, Holden. I love what you’re doing. What you said a while back about our careers being similar, that we both give the customer a quality experience… that resonates with something deep inside of me. I loved what I did for Marks, but the new position would require me to travel a lot. I don’t want to be away from you. I want to help you build your dream… if you’ll have me.”

My heart had never been so full. “I’ll have you. Hell yes, I’ll have you. At the brewery and in my bed. You unravel me, Chloe Henry. Your business sense is sexy as hell and exactly what we need at Rusty Anchor. And these luscious thighs are just what I need in my bed,” I said as I ran my hand up her leg and dipped my fingers under the fringed hem of her shorts.

“You dirty, tempting man,” she said on an exhale. “One of the many reasons I love you. So it’s a yes? Do you need to talk to Kemp?”

“It’s a yes. I want to talk to Kemp about making you an equal partner—”

“No. You can pay me a salary, and it doesn’t need to be a high one, but my investment was a gift. Because I believe in you, Holden. I’ve always believed in you. You deserve to have your dreams come true.”

“My dream is coming true this very second. It’s sitting on my lap.”