"But…?" I prompted.
When she looked up, the smile was gone. "But I don't know anything about marinas. I mean, what if I do a bad job?"
The offer – it wasn't for her old position. There were two very good reasons for this. One – the person who'd taken Lexie's place was a good fit and didn't deserve to be shuffled out because I'd had a change of heart. And two – there was no way on Earth I could have Lexie working directly under me.
I had a terrific feeling about us, and I didn't want to ruin it by changing the dynamics of our relationship. I loved her too much to risk it.
Me – I was a serious guy, but she brought out a different side, a lighter side that I was still settling into.
Plus, there was a simple truth.I didn't want to be her boss.
I wanted to be her everything.
In reply to her concerns about doing a bad job, I assured her, "You won't. The guy who runs the marina, he's been looking to fill that position for a while."
She hesitated. "So you don't run it yourself?"
I smiled. "Nope."
"So…how can you offer me a job?"
"I didn't," I said, pointing to the document in her hand. "The offer – it's from Pete, the manager. When I showed him your credentials, he couldn’t wait to get his hands on you."
Her eyes filled with mischief. "You don't mean that literally, do you?"
I reached out and pulled her close. Into her hair, I said, "Hell no. You'reallmine."
She snuggled tighter against me. "But you must've pulled some strings – to get me the job, I mean."
"No strings," I said. "But yeah, let's just say you came highly recommended. And trust me, you'll be a great fit." As I said it, it wasn't lost on me that she fit perfectly againstme, too – not only against my body, but also into my life.
Thanks to Lexie, I'd smiled more in the past few weeks than I'd smiled in the past few years. Even my sister had noticed the difference.
Yesterday, just before leaving town, Jenny had given us her sisterly stamp of approval. I hadn't needed it, but it was nice to have just the same.
I'd also been getting to know Lexie's sister, and I was liking her more with every passing day. Loyalty – they had in in spades. And that included their cousin, too, who could be surprisingly fierce when it came to the people she cared about.
So far, I was liking what I saw. But more than anything, I was loving the girl in my arms. And I loved her even more when she pulled back to say, "But wait…it doesn't seem fair. I mean, I wasn't the only one who quit like that."
It was time to tell her the rest. "Yeah, and you're not the only one getting an offer."
Her face broke into a happy smile. "Really? What are you saying? You hired back the people who quit?"
"Not all of them," I said. "If you want the truth, a lot of them were dead weight, and the company's better off without them. But yeah, there were a few good people who quit because Grampkin lied to them.Theywere the ones who got offers."
She hesitated. "Does that include Mitchell."
I smiled. "Yup."
"Oh, wow," she breathed. "I'msohappy to hear that. If you want the truth, I was kind of worried about him." Her voice softened. "That's really nice of you."
"Nice?" I laughed. "Not a chance."
"But itisnice," she insisted. "I mean, they're gonna be so happy."
"Probably," I agreed. "But that doesn't mean I’m doing it to be nice."
"Sowhyare you doing it?"
