Page 99 of Duke
“Really?” Mollie gasps. “And?”
“And he’s going to fast-track those prototypes for the men’s collection. He had a cancellation, so we should have them by the end of the week.”
Mollie smiles, biting her lip. “Bet Duke’s gonna be happy.”
I’m smiling just thinking about how thrilled he’ll be. And isn’t that the definition of friendship? Going out of your way to thrill someone?Knowinghow to thrill them because you’ve learned who they are and what turns them on?
I wonder if Duke would be open to some kind of official collaboration. Maybe…hell, maybe he’d like the idea of joining us full-time. I could draft a proposal, then run it by Mollie. I think she’d be open to expanding our company, right?
My gut seizes.Fear.
My heart flutters.Hope.
Just for today, I try on something new.
I let hope win.
CHAPTER 23
Caught in the Act
Wheeler
The next evening, however, it’s my, ahem,needthat wins out.
I blame Duke for showing up to lunch with a Stetson on his head and a three-year-old on each hip.
Ava had the day off from her job as a barrel racing trainer over at the Wallace Ranch, a nearby property where the Wallace family has bred horses for generations. So she brought the girls with her to the New House to eat.
I was walking into the kitchen after a call with Rory when I stopped dead in my tracks. My mouth legitimately went dry as I took in the tall cowboy holding two giggling toddlers.
“Tickle monster!” he said over and over as he somehow managed to tickle them with his one or two free fingers.
June and Ella were in stitches. When it was time to sit at the table, neither of them let him put them down. Instead, they both squeezed onto his lap, and Ella put her head on his shoulder. Duke, being the fucking magical human being he is, leaned his cheek on her head. He let both girls continue to sit on his lap throughout the meal, and it was all I could do not to burst into a fiery ball of want as I watched him coax them into eating their “pea peas.”
Somehow, I managed to work for a few hours at the New House afterward. I blame the nice chunk of change that hit our business checking account earlier today for the burst of motivation. Because the presale for the Aspen trunk show did so well, we decided to try it again for another pop-up we’re doing in Nashville.
It sold it out inthreeminutes. The best part? We just got a five-figure payout.
A growing sense of certainty—of peace—settles in my center. Maybe I was crazy to start a boot company with my best friend, but it’s working. More than that—Mollie and I and our business arethriving.
For so long, I wasn’t nearly as successful, financially speaking, as my peers who became lawyers or bankers. But I’m getting there.
“I’m so damn proud of y’all,” Haines says.
I decided to give him a call on my short drive from the New House to Duke’s cottage. I want to check in on him—how his last couple days with Mom were—and I also want to share my good news with someone.
“I’m proud of us too.” I hit the brakes when I see a snake slithering across the dirt road. Despite how warm it is, I shiver. Not sure I’ll ever get used tothat.
“Not that I’m surprised. Between Mollie’s creative talent and your brain power, I always knew y’all would knock it out of the park.”
My center—hell, my entire being—glows. “I’m learning, slowly but surely, to have that kind of faith in myself.”
“I hope you know how much I admire you for chasing your dreams. You think you took the easy way out by not going to law school, but I beg to differ. Think y’all will be hiring this time next year?”
I grin. Haines is taking an extra year at college to graduate with dual degrees in business and history next May. Like me, he doesn’t want to follow in Dad and Preston’s footsteps and pursue a career in corporate law. Problem is my younger brother isn’t sure what else he’d want to do.
“I love the idea of you coming to work for us.” I mean that. Haines is smart, well-spoken, and hardworking. He also lovesfashion as much as I do. “If business keeps going in the right direction, we can definitely talk about it.”
