My One And Only (Very Irresistible Bachelors) Read online

  David: Yes, boss.

  I knew it would take a while until he came, but I wasn’t in the mood to go to the brownstone and get my laptop.

  Instead, I called Tess. She answered after five rings.

  “Hey!”

  “You sound flustered. Were you hurrying from searching your phone again? Was it under a pile of panties...again?”

  “Umm...no. I’m trying on bras right now.”

  A visual of Tess in a mouthwatering bra popped into my mind. I barely stifled a groan.

  “Tess, you’re going to kill me one of these days.”

  “No, no, no. Not my goal at all.”

  I grinned. “What is your goal?”

  “Like I’m just going to tell you.”

  “You’re determined to make me work for everything, aren’t you?”

  “Well, to be honest, you don’t have to. But it’s so much more fun.” She said that last part in a lower voice.

  “Why are you whispering?”

  “I don’t want the sales associates to hear me.”

  I felt even more relaxed than before. How could just hearing her voice affect me like this?

  “I’m at the coffee shop where I took you for breakfast. I ordered your drink.”

  I heard her suck in a breath before whispering, “Why?”

  “I don’t know,” I replied, but that very second, it became clear why I did it. I missed her. I was searching for the right words to tell her, because I wasn’t used to expressing feelings. I’d been raised that way, and it was fine by me, but I wanted Tess to know.

  “I miss you.”

  “Oh, wow.”

  “And I wanted to taste things from your perspective. I’d much rather taste you.”

  “I can’t believe you’re so good at flirting even at ten o’clock in the morning. Especially after getting so little sleep last night. I’m still half asleep, and you’re in top shape. Are you trying to melt the panties off me?”

  “No. Only when I’m in the same room.” Last night, we’d both been too tired to make plans, but I wanted to rectify that. “I want to see you, Tess.”

  “Today?”

  “No, but soon. I have a standing date with my grandmother tonight. I wanted to check in with her anyway.”

  “Oh, let me know how she’s feeling. Tell her hello. And that I’m jealous.”

  Only Tess could say that in a conversational tone.

  “Everything okay with you? You sound a bit different.”

  She’d picked up on that? I debated telling her about Albert but decided against it. She’d worry for no reason, and that ass had nothing to do with her or her business. The fucker was my problem.

  “Now, as much as I’d like to keep talking to you, handsome guy, I just spotted a teenage girl entering the shop. She looks intimidated, so she’s going to need me to ease her into this. Oh, poor thing, she’s not even going near the bras.”

  I couldn’t believe she cared so much for every customer. I’d never met anyone with so much empathy.

  “Go charm her, Tess.”

  After hanging up, I searched for a place to take Tess tomorrow. I wanted to please her, pick something she’d really like. She completely lit up when she was happy, and I wanted to bring that out in her as often as possible.

  On impulse, I texted Skye, asking her if Tess would like anything in particular.

  After that, David arrived. His grim expression instantly brought me back to the problem at hand. I was going to call our lawyer today too, double-check that Albert’s hands were tied by the contract he signed. I also wanted them to dig into everything and come up with something we could hang over his head in case he really did want to come back.

  When I told him that I protect the people I care about, I didn’t mean just Becca and David but all our partners. They put their faith in us, not Albert.

  I grimaced just imagining Tess’s disappointment if Albert managed to weasel his way back into the office. I wasn’t going to let her down.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Tess

  After a busy morning at the store, Skye and I met with the realtor, signed the deal, and got our keys.

  “I can’t believe we’ve finally signed the lease!” Skye exclaimed as we left her office. It was in Soho too, and we headed straight to our favorite ice cream shop to celebrate. As we sat down at the table, Skye pointed at me.

  “So, it’s super cloudy and overall shit weather, and you’re usually moody when it’s like that. You’ve been grinning the whole day. Did something more happen with Liam yesterday?”

  I grinned as I got out my laptop. We were supposed to be working on our post-investment operational list.

  “Well...”

  “Wait a second.”

  My grin widened. We’d only sat down a few minutes ago, and she was already on my case. Today was going to be fun.

  “I’ll make you a deal. Let’s blow through our to-do list, and then I’ll tell you everything in a lot of detail.” I lowered my voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “A. Lot.”

  Skye pressed her lips together, nodding, and we both focused on our screens.

  Honestly, our to-do list was insane, because we were also putting everything in motion for the second store. But for now, we were focusing on blasting the news about our investor to everyone. If I’d learned something from the fashion show, it was that even people who turned up their noses at us before would take a second look now.

  We were also putting together a list of all the functions we wanted our new website to have. Midway through making the list, I received a text.

  Kevin: Saw you passing with Skye by the food truck. Something special bringing you to this side of SoHo?

  Tess: Yes, we just signed the lease to our second store.

  Kevin: Wow, that was fast.

  Okay, no congrats? Whatever. I pushed him out of my mind.

  Forty minutes later, Skye cleared her throat.

  “Sorry, I can’t focus. I tried, but my attention span is nonexistent. I’ll focus much better if we get this out of the way first. Pinky promise. I swear on my ice cream.”

  I laughed, attempting to steal her cup, but she moved it out of reach. My sister had good reflexes.

  “Okay. You win,” I said, barely keeping from laughing. To be honest, I’d been about to spill my guts the second we met, but I wanted to amp up the anticipation a bit.

  In a low whisper, I told her in exquisite detail about yesterday.

  Skye finished her ice cream halfway through my story.

  “Wait. I want to restock. This is so good that I need another ice cream with it.”

  I laughed as she practically ran to the counter, asking for two more scoops.

  The owner immediately gave her a refill.

  His parlor was practically our office, and we made sure to buy enough beverages, ice cream, and the occasional snack to make up for occupying a table the whole day. We didn’t like staying in the back room if it wasn’t creative work.

  “Okay, continue,” Skye said the second she sat down.

  I was super-giddy recounting everything. I mean, what was there not to be giddy about?

  It had been so long since I had anything other than silly pickup lines to share, or epic date failures.

  “I like that huge smile on your face,” Skye said.

  “I like it too.”

  “I’m happy that you aren’t letting the fact that he’s our investor deter you.”

  I sighed, pointing to my temple, then to my heart. “I’m still worried about that, but the heart won.”

  “And the hormones.”

  “Those too.”

  It was more than that, though. I could resist purely physical attraction but not a deeper connection.

  “Just promise me one thing,” I told Skye. “Don’t let me talk about Liam during the working lunch.” Once upon a time, we’d done our working lunches with the family weekly, but lately we only managed to all gather every three weeks or so.

 
“Why not?”

  “Because I might get carried away and go into even more detail than now, and that would be too much information.”

  We had a no-secrets policy, but sexy details were definitely outside the scope.

  “Duly noted.”

  “Now, let’s get back to work, please.”

  “Sure thing, boss.”

  I worked on making a to-do list for store number two. I searched in my archives for the master to-do list from when we opened the first one. Opening it, I scrolled all the way down, then broke out in a cold sweat.

  “Holy shit, I’d forgotten how much work opening a store is,” I murmured. We could cross off a few things, since we already had payment and stocking systems in place, but that still left us with a truckload of tasks.

  “Tess, we have assistants now, remember? We don’t have to do everything by ourselves. Plus, we can hire more. We have money.”

  Yeah, but I had a control problem, so that was going to be a challenge. I was much better now than a few years ago when I micromanaged absolutely everything, but delegating still wasn’t my thing. I had this bad habit of double-checking everyone’s work, which took longer than if I just did it myself.

  The two of us set up a timeline. Between ordering furniture, and the factory producing all the extra merchandise we needed, we couldn’t open any earlier than December.

  At lunchtime, Skye and I headed to lower Manhattan, to Cole and Hunter’s office.

  Since we were running late, we asked them to order for us so we wouldn’t wait a million years for the food to be delivered. Sometimes, lunchtime deliveries at some of these restaurants could be super slow.

  When we approached the meeting room, I smiled at the sounds of their voices. Ryker and Hunter were bickering. Cole said something in a voice too low for me to hear, but my money was on him putting more gasoline on the already heated discussion. When both Hunter and Ryker exploded, I laughed to myself. I knew my siblings well. Which was why I was fairly sure I knew exactly how today would go.

  “Hello, hello,” I greeted, entering the office.

  Ryker, Cole, and Hunter were sitting next to each other. Looking at them, you wouldn’t say they were related, except for their height and well-built physiques. Where Ryker’s hair was dark-blond, Cole’s was jet-black, and he had more angular cheekbones.

  Hunter smiled, pointing at the chairs in front of them. His wife was sitting on the other side. I was happy that Josie was also here.

  There were two plates with burritos for me and Skye. I ate mine the second I sat down. I hadn’t been in the mood for ice cream, which was weird for me.

  “Someone skipped breakfast,” Josie said disapprovingly.

  Of course she was immediately on my case. I had no choice, because a certain seductive someone kept me up until late, and I’d been in too much of a hurry to eat.

  I confirmed with a nod, then wolfed down another burrito.

  “You look like you want to tell us something, Tess,” Cole said.

  I glanced at him, startled. Holy shit. Cole was usually the last one to catch on about anything.

  Cole laughed. “Shit, that was a shot in the dark, but you really have something on your mind, huh?”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. A shot in the dark, huh? That was akin to confessing that he’d been actively trying to shift the focus from him onto me.

  “Hmm, you know, I actually do, but I’m going to keep you all a bit in the dark. It’s just more fun,” I declared.

  Ryker glanced at Skye. “You know something about this, don’t you?”

  Skye bit her lip. “No. I don’t think so.”

  He cocked a brow. “How can you not think so?”

  She winced, turning to me. “Help.”

  “Don’t gang up on her!” I exclaimed.

  “Someone’s got to give in,” Hunter said.

  “There’s nothing for you to worry about.”

  Cole winked. “That’s not how this works, Tess.”

  And didn’t I know it?

  Skye straightened up, glowering at the table. “We do have news, so lay off Tess. She’ll share when she’s ready.”

  Hunter leaned forward, looking at Cole and Ryker. “I don’t remember Tess granting us the mercy of sharing when we’re ready.”

  My brothers shook their head.

  “Yeah, I don’t remember that either,” Josie added. “But let’s hear their news.”

  “Well, as you know, we’re moving forward with the investor,” Skye said quickly, standing super straight and smiling from ear to ear. “And we just signed the lease for the second brick-and-mortar shop.”

  There was a chorus of congrats, and then chairs screeched as everyone came to hug us. I sighed, just soaking in all their affection.

  “I already knew that,” Ryker said. “I spoke to Mom before coming here.”

  I grinned. We called Mom the second we signed the lease today.

  “Just let us know if you need anything,” Hunter said. They’d been very supportive every step of the way, from helping us get the first store ready for launching to actually taking shifts on Sundays so Skye and I could take a day off.

  “We’ve got things under control this time,” I said. “At least, we think we do. We might have to cut back on our tasks for the galas, though.”

  That was breaking my heart a little, because I loved those with a passion, but until we got the store up and running, I couldn’t split my focus.

  “We’re going to tell the event planner immediately,” Hunter said.

  Cole frowned. “Tess, why didn’t you say that? You don’t have to do anything for my wedding.”

  I shook my head. “No, that’s okay. Your wedding is next summer. With the first gala already behind us, the next one will probably be in January, and we’re hoping to open the store at the beginning of December, so...”

  The first gala was always in the beginning of September, and it had been a success. We raised a lot of funds. But with everything going on, I couldn’t spend any time on the organization.

  “Are you sure?” Cole asked.

  “Yes.”

  “So, anyone else have news?” Skye asked, glancing around the table.

  Everyone shook their heads, but I thought Josie looked a little guilty. Hmm...I could push, but it wasn’t right after she took my side.

  We just chatted about the store, then about Cole and Hunter’s expansion in Europe. Their real estate company was huge in the US, but they’d just branched out in Europe, building a shopping center in Rome. They were kicking ass, and I couldn’t be prouder.

  One hour later, Skye, Josie, and I left the office. As usual, these lunches seemed too short.

  “Hey, girls, can I talk to you?” Josie asked while we were in the elevator.

  “Of course.” I was all giddy, wondering if she was letting us in on whatever she hadn’t shared before.

  “So, Isabelle is trying to organize some events for her clients and asked me for ideas. I’m terrible at this stuff, so I was wondering if it’s okay for her to ask you?”

  Isabelle was a dear friend of ours. She was also Josie’s sister. She’d moved to New York a couple months ago and was still adjusting. As a freelance therapist, she had some trouble growing her client base. I sympathized with her, as I knew all too well what it meant to struggle with your business. Skye and I worked fifteen-hour days in the beginning trying to kick it all off. We were lucky enough that it took off and that we had so much demand that we actually needed an investor to expand. But I didn’t forget those early days, and I wanted to help Isabelle in every way possible.

  “Of course,” Skye answered. I nodded excitedly, even though I was 100 percent sure this wasn’t what Josie held back before. Instinct told me not to push on that topic, though.

  “Are you sure? Because you two are super busy—”

  I linked an arm with hers. “Yes, but giving advice to a friend is no biggie. I’m a bit upset Isabelle didn’t just outright ask us.”

&n
bsp; “I think she just doesn’t want to bother you.”

  “Hmmm...so she hasn’t gotten the memo yet that she’s part of the family,” I said as the elevator doors opened and we stepped out. “No worries. I’m gonna change her mind.”

  We always had a close relationship with Josie’s siblings, Ian, Dylan, and Isabelle, and since she moved to New York, we all embraced Isabelle, but clearly she needed more proof.

  “I’ll call her,” Skye offered. “Okay, girls, I’ve got to go pick up Jonas from Mom’s place.” She got into an Uber, and then Josie flagged down a passing cab.

  As she waved to the car, she placed a hand on her belly in an oddly protective way, and I was pretty sure I knew what the secret was.

  She’s pregnant! Oh my God, oh my God. My eyes became a little misty, and I blinked rapidly, hoping she wouldn’t notice anything. I barely refrained from saying anything and hugged her quickly before she opened the door to the cab. Ryker’s wife was pregnant too, which meant we’d be having a baby boom soon.

  I was grinning from ear to ear at the thought of having a new niece or nephew on the way.

  After we said our goodbyes, I ordered an Uber to SoHo. Holy shit, I was just so happy you’d think I had a full night’s sleep. Lunch with my family usually had that effect. Add Josie’s potential news to that and I was bursting with energy.

  I went straight to the store, helping our sales associates in the afternoon in between managerial tasks. Around closing time, I got a text message from the shop next to our new one, informing me that UPS had dropped a package with them. Crap. I’d scheduled it to arrive tomorrow, when I was also going to be there. After texting her back, I noticed I had five missed calls from Liam. I dialed his number right away.

  “Hey, Tess.”

  “Hi, sorry. I just now saw the missed calls.”

  “I was starting to think you were kicking me to the curb.”

  “No, no. I just didn’t look at my phone. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to hear your voice.”

  Wait a second. He’d called five times just because he wanted to talk to me? My lips stretched into a grin all on their own.