I laughed, the sound bright and free and full of possibility. “Deal.”
And as Kyle led me to his kitchen, his hand warm in mine, I realized something. I’d walked into his office less than a week ago, ready to defend my work. I was walking out of this with something so much better.
A partner. A future. And the absolute certainty that I’d made the right choice.
EPILOGUE
AVERY
The conference room at Ashworth Consulting was buzzing with the low hum of chatter, twelve people packed around the table while Stephen clicked through Q4 projections. Numbers. Charts. Growth metrics. The kind of important stuff I should’ve been absorbing.
I wasn’t. I was watching my husband.
Kyle leaned back in his chair, dark sweater sleeves pushed to his elbows, forearms that were criminally distracting in a professional setting. His wedding ring caught the overhead light when he lifted his coffee mug, and something low and insistent twisted in my belly.
Damn hormones.
Six months pregnant, and apparently my body had decided that a random Tuesday afternoon meeting was the perfect time to remind me exactly how impossible my husband was to resist.
I shifted in my seat, telling myself to focus on Stephen. Something about client acquisition. Market expansion. The words blurred around the edges as Kyle’s gaze flicked to me, sharp and knowing. Just for a second. Enough. That corner-of-the-mouth twitch said he knew exactly what I was thinking.
I pressed my thighs together, willed my pulse to slow, and failed spectacularly.
“So that’s where we are,” Stephen concluded, shutting his laptop. “Any questions before we head out?”
Silence. Then Joan, our lead developer, raised her hand. “Just to confirm—Kyle and Avery, you’re both staying behind?”
“Someone has to hold down the fort,” Kyle said smoothly. “You all go represent at the conference. We’ll handle things here.”
A chorus of agreement followed as the team packed up laptops, badges, and tote bags. Ashworth Consulting had grown from me scribbling notes in my living room to a fifteen-person operation in three years. I should’ve been glowing with pride. I was—but right now, I was glowing for a completely different reason.
Kyle stood as the last of the team filed out, shaking hands, clapping shoulders. Leadership came effortlessly to him. Winterscape and Ashworth Consulting had merged seamlessly, and he’d transitioned from investor to co-owner like he’d been meant to be here all along.
In business. In everything else.
When the door clicked shut, the quiet was sharp enough to hear my own heartbeat. Kyle turned to me, one eyebrow arched. “You okay? You seemed…distracted.”
“I’m fine,” I said, smoothing the front of my maternity dress. Fitted enough to show the bump, professional enough for a client meeting. “Just thinking.”
“About?”
“Things.”
I stepped closer, close enough to feel the heat radiating off him. His eyes dropped to my belly, then back to my face, smoldering. My pulse spiked.
“Actually,” I said, letting the tension thicken, “your office has those new Christmas decorations up, right? The ones the building installed last week?”
He smirked. “It does.”
“I haven’t seen them yet.”
“Haven’t you?”
“Nope.” I closed the distance between us, heart hammering. “I thought maybe you could show me. Give me the full tour.”
Kyle’s hand settled on my waist, thumb brushing over the curve of my bump through the fabric. “A tour. Right now.”
“Right now.”
