He rubbed his lips as he nodded.
“Quality time.”
“Yes. We don’t have to do anything special either, like no extravagant dates. I just like being with you. Even if we’re both sitting in the same room reading different books, that’s time we’re together. I think… that’s what was missing. I’d have these short moments of time with you, but it wouldn’t be enough, and I’d be left hurt. So every minute we did spend together, I’d be trying to get over my feelings and not enjoy us.”
Connor sighed and ran a hand over my shoulder before cupping my face. “Thank you for explaining that to me. That helps me a lot.”
“What’s your love language? I know it used to be physical touch, but—”
“You.” He smirked. “My love language is you, Laney. Everything.”
“That is cheesy, although a little romantic.” I blushed at the intense look in his eyes. “You’re not kidding?”
“Not in the slightest. I want your touches, your time, your thoughts, your sighs, all of it.” His face was serious. “What time do you have to get ready for today’s events?”
“Uh, in an hour. Hence, why I wanted to sleep.”
“‘Hence,’” he mocked, his dimples popping out. “So fucking cute.”
My pulse raced as he leaned forward, tugging the shirt up as he said, “Can I have some quality time between your thighs, wife? I promise you’ll feel better than if you had slept.”
I shuddered as I nodded.
Yeah, I was feeling hopeful about our future. Especially when he made good on his promise.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CONNOR
Father:CALL ME OR YOU WILL REGRET IT.
Father:I will do everything in my power to remove you. This behavior is appalling.
Father:You’re dead to me.
Never thought my dad would go as far as to be that dramatic, but there was always a first for everything. Seeing him like this made me long for what our family could’ve been if my mom had survived. Neighbors always told me how she leveled him out to be a little less of a prick. The way he treated me made me want to work twice as hard to not be like him. If I wanted my marriage to last forever, then distancing myself from my father was the right choice.
The past weekend had been a dream come true. I’d been living in my Laney fantasy, spending the last two days laughing, naked, or both, but it was back to reality this Monday morning.Back to the world where I could either lose my job or fix my life to get what I wanted—more time with my wife.
My insides turned to acid at the thought of my dad actually removing me as CEO. He could. And while the idea of walking away from all this bullshit still felt like a good idea, I wanted to do it on my terms. Not his. And after years of catering to him, I had called him on his bluff.
“It’s getting bad, Connor.”
I snapped my gaze to Petra. She paled and tilted her laptop toward me.
“The board is demanding a meeting next Wednesday night. You’re expected to be there. Two agenda items. The first… my new position, and the second… evaluating the CEO and expectations.”
A little more than a week away.
“Love that for us.” I sipped the black coffee she had brought to the rental house and stared at the kitchen counter. Thoughts of Laney had me smiling but not enough to fix the dread. I’d hid it from her all weekend, enjoying our quality time together, but I had no idea what to do if the board removed me.
We had good savings, sure, and I could form a new business, but that would be starting over. More late nights. It’d be all-hands-on-deck for whoever joined me. It would mean less time with my wife, which was the whole fucking point of this.
“Petra, what can we do?”
“Your three meetings with the board members in favor of this went well. They were pleased with your vision for growth. Dennis will absolutely try to turn everyone against this idea. Bruce will also go against you. Ryan is the wildcard.”
“Three votes get us what we want.”
