Page 124 of Duke
She wiggles her shoulders. “I know. You’ve been looking mighty comfortable around the ranch yourself these days. I’m not the only one who’s noticed how at home you are here.”
I’ve been smiling so much lately my face literally hurts. “Y’all take good care of me. Don’t get me wrong, I do miss Dallas sometimes—”
“Same. Which is why we go back every so often to scratch our city girl itch.”
“Right. But life on the ranch…I don’t know what I was expecting, but I really like it.”
Mollie digs for more chips. “That have anything to do with why you and Duke decided to keep the baby?”
“It absolutely does, yeah.” I scroll through my docs before I find the right one. Clicking on it, I pull up the PowerPoint presentation I’ve been working on day and night. I think I make a convincing case, but this is a big ask, so who knows. “I feel supported here. Seen. And I imagine that’s really important when it comes to where you choose to raise your kids. Imagine how cool it would be to grow up here, riding horses, hanging outside all the time, being surrounded by a zillion aunts and uncles and cousins.”
Mollie’s eyes are bright when she replies, “Why do you think I got pregnant so fast?”
“Because your husband is super hot and you can’t stop riding his mustache?”
“You don’t get pregnant from riding their mustaches, Wheeler.”
Laughter works its way up my sides. “Really? Never would’ve guessed.”
“It’s still a good time, though. The mustache rides. You should ask Duke to grow one. I’m sure he’d be more than happy to oblige. Honestly, what wouldn’t that man do to make you happy?”
The knowledge that she’s right gives me this weightless feeling in my center. Dukereallycares about how I’m feeling.
He cares about me, period.
Time to show him that I care just as much about him.
“That’s actually a great segue into what I wanted to talk to you about.” I angle the laptop so Mollie can get a better look at the screen, my pulse banging inside my ears. “Duke does make me happy, so I want to make him happy too. Which is why I’d like to bring him on board at Bellamy Brooks.”
Mollie’s hand flies to her chest as her eyes move over the first slide of my presentation. “Oh, Wheeler.Wheeler.” Her gaze meets mine. “You’re serious?”
“I hope I’m not taking you off guard—”
“Hell no!” Next thing I know, Mollie’s sliding off her stool and wrapping her arms around me. “I had an inkling you’d want to do something along these lines after we decided to do a men’s collection. I can put two and two together. I know Duke’s not satisfied doing just the cowboy thing. Cash told me he’s always been on the hunt for something more. Something different.”
Tears flood my eyes. I really hit the best friend jackpot. She gets it. Getsme. “So you like the idea?”
“Wheeler, I fucking love it.”
Relief, enormous and immediate, unfurls inside my rib cage. “I think Duke will be a really great addition,” I continue. “He really knows his shit when it comes to authentic cowboy boots. He’s clearly a team player. And he’d clearly be a great personality fit.”
Mollie releases me, her arm curling around my waist now. “Keep going.”
Turning, I glide my fingertips over the mouse pad to pull up the next couple slides. “I ran the numbers, and with all the money we’ve got coming in, we can definitely afford to hire him. We’re also expanding so quickly that I think we can both agree we need all the help we can get.”
Mollie leans her head on my shoulder. “Not a bad call to hire that help before these babies come. And you’re right, I don’t want to miss out on any important opportunities just because we don’t have enough hands on deck.”
“Doing a men’s collection is one of those opportunities, Mollie. I mean, we literally live and work with cowboys all day.”
“We love them all night too.”
“I don’t know if it’s the boys rubbing off on you or you rubbing off on them, but everyone here has their mind in the gutter.”
“It’s me. Which is why you’d better make me your baby’s godmother, because I’m the reason you made him or her.” She grins. “Yes, my matchmaking skills are the reason people in Hartsville are so horny.”
“The hot cowboys who live here are the reason everyone’s so horny,” I correct. “As I was saying, I think this is the perfect time to bring someone on board, and I think Duke is the perfect someone. He’s creative. Driven. Easy to get along with. He knows his shit, and he’s good at relationships. He’s got great ideas, and yes, he’ll look really fucking hot in whatever advertising we decide to do.”
“A jack-of-all-trades, if you will.” Mollie nudges me with her hip. “You’re putting on the hard sell, friend.”
