Page 77 of The Fix Up

She rearranged their fingers so their knuckles were interlocked, thumbs resting on top of their connected fists. She met his eyes and felt her smile widen. “One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war.”

Ben smiled back and squeezed her hand tighter. “Five, six, seven, eight—Holly, I think you’re really great.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “In fact, I think I kinda love you.”

Her stomach rolled over like a giddy puppy, and Holly fought the urge to crawl into his lap. “That doesn’t rhyme,” she said, kissing him back. “But I love you, too.”

“Yeah?”

“Definitely.”

“I’m glad.”

She moved back, still eager to crawl all over him, but knowing it was more important now to reconnect on a different plane. “Okay then,” she said, licking her lips. “Get ready to have your thumb’s ass kicked.”

EPILOGUE

“And that concludes today’s presentation on the branding plan for the new philanthropic arm of Langley Enterprises. Does anyone have any questions?”

Holly pivoted at the front of the conference room to see Ben raising his hand. She smiled and pointed a manicured finger at him. “Yes, you there in front. What was your name again?”

“Benjamin Monroe Langley, but you can just call me your fiancé.”

The word sent a bolt of pleasure coursing through her all over again, even though she’d had a month to get used to the idea of marrying Ben and three more since they first stripped off their clothes in this very conference room.

“Yes, Mr. Fiancé,” she said, doing her best to maintain her business decorum even though they were the only two people in the room. “You had a question?”

“I did. I was wondering if you could tell me more about the penetrative testing involved with this product launch.”

Holly grinned and folded her arms over her chest. “Well, first we debriefed, then firmed up our action plan, and finally we had a robust interface.”

Ben smiled and pushed his glasses up his nose. “I can get behind that.”

She giggled and sat down beside him. “Seriously, what did you think? I know this is your pet project, and I want to make sure we do it justice.”

“I think it’s amazing,” he said, leaning in for a kiss. “I especially love your proposal for Judy’s Hope.”

“I’m so glad. I wanted to incorporate your mother’s legacy into it somehow, and it just made sense that the program funding cancer research should be named after her.”

“She’d be very proud.”

“She’d be very proud of you, Ben.” She squeezed his hand. “Watching you evolve into the sort of CEO you were meant to be, instead of the CEO your father wanted you to be—I just wish she’d gotten to see it, too.”

He smiled. “I think she’d be even more proud to see how wisely I’ve chosen her future daughter-in-law.”

He leaned close, planting another kiss on her lips, and Holly slid her fingers into his hair to kiss him back hard and deep and sure.

“Okay, you two, put your clothes back on!” Miriam burst into the room with one hand covering her eyes, a look of mock disgust scrunching up her features. “Oh, who am I kidding? I kinda want to see Hottie McCEO in his undies.”

“Nice effort, but no cigar,” Ben said. “Better luck next time.”

Miriam shrugged and dropped into a chair beside Ben. “Can’t blame a girl for trying.”

Holly sat down on the other side of Ben and kicked her shoes off. Ben reached down and pulled her feet into his lap. He wrapped his massive palms around the arch of one foot and began to massage her heel.

“Thank you, honey,” she said, relaxing into her seat.

“My pleasure.”

“I think I’ve almost got this Kleinberger presentation dialed in,” Holly said, turning back to Miriam. “Do we have all the video footage finished?”

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