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He chuckled for a while before blinking and bringing himself back to the present. "You're right, I can't do both," he admitted. "Not when I think the pub needs its own restaurant and hotel. Both businesses need to expand and that's a fuck ton of work. That doesn't mean our business has to close."

"What does it mean then?" I asked. My mouth was suddenly dry. "You're not going to close the pub, or sell it?"

The surprise on his face told me he hadn't considered either of those options. Of course not; it was his father's legacy we were talking about. Not to mention, the heart of the town. Closing the place would devastate Aurora Hollow.

"I was thinking of hiring a manager," he said. "Someone to run the pub. If Leah can come on board, I'll have more time to look at expanding both, while you and I run the tours."

My jaw dropped open like it was on a hinge that suddenly failed.

"Oh."

He grinned. "Yeah,oh. Unless you'd prefer to take over the tours and be the boss?"

Now it was my turn to admit I hadn't thought about something so big. Did I want that? To make all the calls? To be in charge of the staff? To be able to make the decisions about any expansion?

I sat back and scrubbed a hand over my face. "I think I like your plan better."

He grinned. "Me too."

"Prick," I said teasingly. "You like getting your way."

"No, I fuckinglovegetting my way." His adorable grin made my heart flip. It beat even harder when he added, "But you have to be happy with it too. Otherwise, what's the point?" He raisedone shoulder and dropped it slowly. "We're a team. Teams work together."

"You're not going to say ‘there's no I in team,’ are you?" I grimaced.

"Have I ever been that cringey?" he asked. He looked as disgusted by the suggestion as I was.

"Not yet." I tried to hold back a smile, but failed. I failed even harder when he picked up a pencil and threw it at me.

"Fuck off," he said with a roll of his eyes. "I'll never be that cringey."

"Never say never." I picked up the pencil and threw it back in his direction. It landed on the table, slid across the surface and clattered onto the floor.

"I'll absolutely say never." He leaned and put it back where it belonged. "Dumbass catchphrases like that should be beheaded and set on fire."

"Like teamwork makes the dream work?" I deleted a couple more spam emails before glancing back at him.

"Now who's been cringey?" he asked. "How many of those do you have, exactly?"

"I think the correct answer is too many," I said. "But I'm happy to be athoughtleaderin my chosen field."

"Next time we go rafting, I'm taking away your lifejacket." He reached over to pick up his water bottle, open it and take a sip.

"You wouldn't do that," I said. "You love me too much."

His gaze lingered on mine, saying more than words could.

"Not if you use phrases likethoughtleader," he said. "Or teamwork makes the fucking dream work."

"That is accurate though," I pointed out. "We're a team and we're over here making our dream work."

"I guess so, but don't put it that way." He put his water bottle back down on the table. "Let's get this finished. Then we can head over to Leah's and ask her if she wants a job."

"Work, hand or blow?" I asked.

"Yes, yes, and yes." He flashed me a grin before focusing back on his laptop screen.

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