Page 95 of Forgotten Desires

“It’s so strange to get a barn put up on a farm? Really?”

“No, that’s not, but that you wanted it done in a week.”

It may not make sense to him, but I don’t care. When we were in Sugarloaf last, I saw what my wife was dealing with. Everything was crumbling around her and when I spoke with the two caretakers, they expressed some worries as well.

Brynlee gives everything to those animals and I’m not going to have her dealing with rotting wood and a roof that looks like it’s one windstorm away from being taken off.

“She will never be okay with it otherwise,” I explain.

“Why the hell not?”

“Because Brynn doesn’t want a penny of my money. She hates gifts, trips, or designer names. She’s literally the last person in the world that sees me as a paycheck. If she knew any of this was happening, she’d flip the fuck out.”

“So you’re doing it anyway?” Ford asks with a shake of his head.

I shrug. “Better to ask for forgiveness than permission.”

He laughs. “Yeah, totally worked out that way for me with my first wife.”

“I’m pretty sure your marriage failed because she ran off with your accountant, not because you were being good to her.”

Ford lifts his hands. “Ehh, I’m not crying about it, but we’re not talking about me. To answer your original question, yes, the barn should be done when you get there tomorrow. The freaking cost to have one built in a week was ridiculous, but I did as you asked.”

“Good.”

“You know, you were more ruthless in that meeting this morning than I’ve ever seen you,” Ford notes.

To be fair, the guy was a fucking asshole who wanted to push me around on price. I offered him a more than generous contract that would benefit him and my tech company. “I’m not in the mood to play ‘whose dick is bigger.’ It’s mine.”

Ford huffs a laugh. “And so is your ego.”

“Rich, coming from you.”

He lifts both hands. “Hey, I’m not saying mine isn’t. You’re just usually much more at ease in the meetings. I like to describe you as a venomous snake. You’re patient, quiet, and unwavering when you’re ready to strike. Sort of like how you got your wife back.”

Yeah, there was nothing patient about how that went down. “Other than the fact that I married her a week after I put a ring on it.”

“Other than that.”

Best hurried decision I’ve ever made. “Well, it worked out for me in the end.”

“So things are good with Brynn?”

Things are more than I ever imagined they could be. While I know she’s still trying to keep herself from getting hurt, she’s doing a pretty bad job of putting distance between us. She sends me texts during the day when something good happens. Each night we end up naked and then she sleeps plastered against me. Yesterday after we talked, she sent me a text that she was going to get Layla some things for the house in Sugarloaf so we didn’t have to worry about Digger being spiteful and not packing her clothes.

Everything about her makes me happy. Every time I think of her, I smile.

Falling back in love with her is as easy and natural as opening your eyes in the morning. She’s so damn easy to love.

“Things are really good.”

“I have to say, I thought this whole marriage was just for the custody agreement. I didn’t know you guys really reconnected that way, but it’s good to see you so happy.”

“I am happy. Even if we married for all the wrong reasons.”

“What wrong reasons?”

I realize what I just said, and I laugh once. “Meaning I knew I had to lock her down before she realized I was a mistake.”

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