“Maybe,” Kelly said, grinning, before taking a sip of her wine. The last time she had talked to Monica had been to tell her about Mr. Perkins’ phone call.
“Hey, no fair that you two can drink wine and I can’t,” a woman said, coming up behind them.
They turned and smiled at Victoria--a very pregnant Victoria. “You have two more months to go. And you’re sure you aren’t having twins?” Monica asked.
Victoria grinned. “The doctor said I’m only having one baby, and I’m taking him at his word. There are enough twins in the Masters family already.”
Kelly knew that Colton’s cousin, Quinn, was a twin, and that he and Alexia had twin sons, eighteen-year-old Bennett and Blake. The two, who were home for the summer after their first year at college, were very handsome young men who favored their father. Their only daughter, Idella, was twelve, and it was clear that she was a daddy’s girl.
“So how long will you and Colton be in town?” Alexia asked, walking over to join the group.
“Only until the end of the week. Then we return to Boston and put our heads together to come up with a recommendation to give to Lake.” Their heads wouldn’t be the only things they would put together. The past two weeks with Colton had beenthe stuff of fantasies, and she couldn’t see anything changing in that regard.
“Tough decision,” Victoria said.
“But you can’t go wrong with either location,” Monica added.
“I don’t see why he can’t just open an office in both,” Alexia commented. When everyone looked at her, she shrugged, then grinned. “There’s nothing wrong with thinking big.”
Kelly laughed. “I guess not.”
“And speaking of big… What’s this I hear about the two of you, along with Hansen and Pratt, inheriting a huge piece of farmland in Missouri from some great-uncle of Mr. Perkins?” Victoria asked.
Kelly wasn’t surprised the news had gotten around. That was usually how things worked in the Bennett family. So she told them of her phone conversation with Mr. Perkins. “Can you believe he expects us to sign over the land, as well as everything that goes with it, to him?”
“Of course, that’s not going to happen,” Monica added.
“It was good of your mom to make sure all of his kids got a piece of the pie, Kelly. Ms. Mallory didn’t have to do that. She could have just looked out for your interest,” Victoria said.
Kelly smiled. “Yes, she could have, but you know Mom. She has a heart of gold. She’s always thinks of others.”
“Yes,” Alexia agreed. “Even at Monica’s wedding, Mallory pitched in and helped out any way she could. I know Monica considers her like a second mom, and I think that’s wonderful.”
“Now, it’s her time,” Kelly said, smiling brightly.
“What do you mean?” Victoria asked.
Other than her siblings and Colton, Kelly hadn’t told another soul. “Mom got engaged,” she said excitedly.
A huge smile covered Alexia’s face. “Wow! That’s wonderful for her! And hopefully, this will make Lorenzo Perkins finallyleave her alone. I believe he always thought that eventually, he would get back in your mom’s good graces.”
Unfortunately, Kelly had seen him try. And her mom was just too nice to tell the man where to go. “Well, he’ll just have to get over it. Because now she has a fiancé named Vernon who’ll put him in his place.”
**
“I hope you enjoyed yourself tonight?” Colton asked when they got back to the hotel. “Quinn and Alexia are two of my favorite family members.”
“I can see why. And yes, I had a wonderful time,” Kelly said, sliding down on the sofa in her suite. “And Monica and Landon’s surprise visit made it even more special. I would say this has been a very productive trip in more ways than one.”
Colton was glad she thought so, because he agreed. For business reasons and for personal ones. He hoped she’d figured out by now that he intended for their relationship to continue even after her work ended with Masters Unlimited. It didn’t matter to him that she lived in Atlanta and he was in Boston. Several airlines provided direct flights between the cities daily.
A part of him wanted to tell her how much he loved her, but the last thing he wanted to do was to scare her off or make her feel trapped in any way. She was just beginning to enjoy how it felt not to be so consumed with work. He wanted that for her, but he wanted to continue to be a major part of her downtime.
“Colton? Is something wrong?”
Her forehead was creased with concern. “What makes you think something is wrong?” he asked.
“It seems as if you have a lot on your mind.”
