Page 27 of Four Money (Ever and Always 1)

“Of course not.” He squeezed her hand. “I’ll be so happy if something positive comes out of this whole fiasco.”

She sort thought something already had, but she best not forget that this was only a temporary arrangement. After ninety days, she’d be on her own again.

For now…she was going to make the most of it.

Trent must have been thinking along the same lines as her, which seemed to happen pretty often. “Why don’t we go over there and do it together, in person?” he asked.

She chewed her final bits of food too slowly without responding.

“I mean, unless you’re embarrassed of me or ashamed of what we’re doing. I’m not trying to crowd you…”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She winced. “It’s been tough just getting by for now. Our place isn’t really made for visitors. It’s basic and not the sort of place I’m proud of.”

“Holly. I grew up in enormous estates, kept pristine by a sizable staff. We had pretty much every convenience you could hope for, and look where it got me.” He cleared his throat. “My own father despised and disowned me. My mother hasn’t even responded to my texts since he passed away. Even now she’s doing what he says. Hell, his will probably spells out that they’re all to stay away from me lest they be corrupted by my evil ways.”

Holly hugged him and rested her forehead on his neck, giving him the courage to keep going.

“What you and your mom have is way more valuable than anything money could buy. Except maybe a kidney, and we’ve got that covered, right?”

“Right. But...” Holly hesitated. She wished she could let him in, but it was too soon for that. Sex was one thing, the rest… No, not yet. And maybe not ever. “I just don’t think we should do it in person. I don’t want to overwhelm her or barge in without her being ready for more company.”

“Okay. I understand.” Trent put some space between them. He gathered up the dishes onto the tray and headed for the kitchen, Moose right on his heels. “I’ll give you some privacy to talk to her. I have a feeling she might not be as thrilled as we are about the scheme all of us cooked up. Especially not about having a professional gambler for a son-in-law. Maybe you shouldn’t tell her that part.”

“It’s nothing to do with you personally, Trent. I swear.” Holly hated that her own insecurities had stung him with yet another rejection.

“It’s okay.” He smiled sadly at her. “I’m using her daughter. I wouldn’t like me either if I were her. Go ahead, Holly. Call her. I’m going to clean up the kitchen and then take a shower.”

Damn, was he a dream guy or what? Holly made a pact then and there to show him how amazing she thought he was before their time was over.

But first…

She snagged her cell phone off the nightstand and dialed her mom. “Hey, Mom! Yes, last night was incredible. You’re never going to guess what happened…”

11

Trent hovered over his laptop, reading and rereading his patent application for the thousandth time. He was going to take Cooper, Ford, Brady, and Josh up on their offer to review it before he submitted it, but he hadn’t even gotten to the legalese yet and something felt…off.

“You okay?” When Holly put her hand on his shoulder and rubbed, he jumped. He hadn’t heard her rouse or cross to his desk. Damn, he must have been really fucked up to be that out of it. Normally he noticed every tiny thing she did.

“Yeah, just getting the patent stuff ready. But this schematic…”

She came around and leaned her hip on his leg until he scooted his chair back and gathered her onto his lap. “You don’t mind if I look at this, do you? I swear I’m not going to sell your trade secrets to the highest bidder.”

“You’re my wife. I think it’s okay.” He liked saying that more than he should.

Holly grinned like she always did when he teased about it, then kissed him softly. He might have gotten distracted, or said fuck it to the application, if she hadn’t stopped with hardly more than a peck and returned her attention to his screen.

She reached over and took the mouse, zooming in on the schematics so she could inspect every nut and bolt along with the wiring diagrams. Her eyes narrowed and she didn’t ask a single question about the terms or parts he’d described in detail to the person he’d hired to design the schematics with his first six months of gambling winnings.

“Hang on…” He had a light bulb moment. “What was your major in school again?”

“Mechanical engineering.” She grinned. “I haven’t had a chance to actually use my degree yet, but if you don’t mind, I think I could tweak this a bit and make a few improvements.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

She went stiff on top of him and started to stand.

“I meant that in the best possible way, Holly.” He looped his arms around her waist, refusing to let her go. “Of course you can help. I can’t believe I got this lucky. A sexy wife who’s the perfect partner in bed and out… Um, yes, please.”

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