Page 112 of Once Smitten, Twice Shy

My heart jumps as I think about what he said he was looking for when all this started, what he confirmed when I asked him about it at the pub last weekend, what he needed from the woman who would be his business partner.

His wife.

And it’s…everything I’m good at. Networking, wining anddining, connecting people, being my extroverted, engaging self. A scary, beautiful dream flits through my mind as I stare up at him. I wonder if Will can see it in my eyes, all that I’m already hoping for, all that terrifies me and thrills me in equal measure. The life we could share here, the incredible team we would make.

The joy we’d bring each other.

I bite my lip as I peer up at him. “I’d certainly be interested to hear what you have in mind.”

Will tucks my hair behind my ear and kisses me softly, discreetly, a quick, gentle press of his lips to mine. “I don’t want to lay my offer out on the tablehere,” he says meaningfully, nodding to all the people surrounding us. “I’ll just say I think you’ll be pleased with my terms.”

Those butterflies take off in my stomach, a glorious, fluttering swoop. “Looking forward to it,” I tell him, settling back against his chest.

I glance around again and notice Olivia’s still close by, standing chest to chest with the same woman, who smiles up at her. They lean in and kiss, slow and sweet. I look away, giving them privacy, smiling to myself. I hope that’s her Basti, the woman she mistook me for at the club—she certainly looks like me from behind—short, curvy, dark hair to her shoulders, a heart-shaped face that in profile looks a little like mine. I hope Olivia’s gotten her happy ending, too.

“Still think we should try to get Olivia Tobias on board,” I tell him.

He laughs softly.

I poke his stomach. “What’s so funny?”

“That woman”—he nods toward Olivia—“she’s one of those influencer ladies whose profile Ma sent me.”

I sit up. “What, as in someone you should try to pursue?”

He nods.

“Never mind. Social media influencers with over a million followers are a dime a dozen.” I wave a hand. “We can find another one. I don’t need that kind of competition hanging around.”

“You goof,” he says, dragging me back inside his arm, tucked tight to his chest. “Like I could ever want anyone but you.”

•Thirty-Four•

Will

“Who’s a good pup?” Juliet croons to Hector, crouched in front of him as he licks at her jaw.

He’s a puddle for her, butt wiggling in excitement, tail thumping against the pavers outside my house. Juliet squeals as he licks her ear and wraps her arms around him. “You’re the sweetest pupper, aren’t you?” She’s full-on baby-puppy-talking to him now, smile wide, nose wrinkled, eyes scrunched shut as he licks her face. “The sweetest, sweetest pupper.”

I stare down at them, my heart so damn full.

Juliet peers up at me, beaming. “I love him.”

I crouch, joining them, my hand drifting steadily down Hector’s back. “He loves you, too.”

Juliet smiles softly, her eyes holding mine. “Think so?”

I nod, my gaze fixed on her. “Know so. He never stood a chance.” Glancing back at a panting, happy Hector, I pat his flank, then stand. “Love at first sight.”

Offering Juliet my hand, I draw her up to stand, because I know crouching for long hurts her knees.

“Love at first sight,” she says quietly, her fingers lacing through mine. “I thought that was the stuff of fairy tales.”

“Me, too,” I tell her. “It seems…improbable. But Dad, he saidsomething that made me think there’s some truth to those fairy tales, after all.”

“Oh?” Juliet smiles as I draw her inside my arms. Her hands settle on my chest. “And what was that?”

“He said…” My gaze dances over her face. “He said it’s not so much that you know you love someone at first sight, it’s just that…you feel its possibility, like you never have before.” I draw her closer. “Like you never will again. And one day, when that possibility’s blossomed into love, you’ll look back and understand that seed for what it was, even though it looked so different when that first sight planted it, when it began as something unrecognizable from what it is now.”

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