Page 85 of Roar for Me
“She thinks you hired a private investigator.”
“Ha! I didn’t need to go that far. But that’s funny.”
Aurora pressed her delicious curves into him and hugged him tightly. “I’m so proud of you.”
Duncan leaned over to hug her and inhaled the sweet earthy scent he’d missed so much. “I’m meeting with him tomorrow.”
“That’s wonderful!” She squeezed him tighter, then released him. “Duncan, there’s something else you should know.”
He stood, his hands still on her back in a loose embrace. “What’s that?”
“I love you.”
His heart burst with wings and rose from its ashes. “Youdo?”
“Yes, but you have to understand. I still love Jeff. I always will. He’s a part of me and Katie, and—”
He placed a finger over her lips. “I would expect nothing less.” He brushed a loose strand of hair back behind her ear. “And I love you for it.”
Confusion crossed her features. “You do?”
“Roar, loyalty and heart like yours are one-in-a-million. Of course you still love Jeff. I love that you do. So don’t worry about it.”
Since the night of her nightmare, Duncan had realized how lucky he was to get a turn with her, and he was going to make her as happy as he could while he had her. He and Jeff had something in common.
Her eyes filled with tears again, and he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. “Since you already know I got a hold of Ryder, that leaves one other little surprise for you.”
She blinked up at him. “What’s that?”
“Remember that project I told you about?”
She nodded.
“Are you familiar with Kaiser?”
“Of course, they’re the biggest healthcare network on the West Coast.”
“They have contracted EcoPlastic to make medical supplies for them. We’re starting small, but we’re working with their researchers to ensure even the bags for body fluid can be made out of our hemp plastic.”
Her face lit up.
“Oh my God, that’s incredible! You’re going to change the face of medical plastics!”
“It’s all thanks to you, Roar. I would’ve never had the idea if you hadn’t gone off on your soapbox the night before the gala.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a finger.
“There’s more. Our factories are at capacity, and it’s going to be too expensive to get any more land in California to build a new one for the medical products. So, I’ve got a lead on an older factory about a half-hour outside Riverton that we can convert for our needs. I went to tour it last night, and we’re going to make an offer on it. I’ll be coming back to oversee everything myself and staying in the area for oh …” He shrugged. “Six months to a year?”
“Really?” She gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. “I was going to ask if you could wait for Katie to graduate for me to start looking for jobs out there.”
Now his mouth dropped open. “You mean …”
“Once Katie graduates, there’s no reason for me to stay here. My family and friends will still be here to visit. But I can’t stand the thought of the two most important people in my life being on the other side of the country. No one loves their job thatmuch.”
He couldn’t wait another second to kiss her. Gripping her in his arms, he threaded his fingers through her hair and slanted his mouth over hers, slipping his tongue past her lips. She gave it right back to him, her tongue reacquainting itself with his mouth as his did the same to hers. Her arms wrapped around his neck as they lost track of time. All was right with the world. Then the back door opened, and Dave stuck his head out.
“Uh, guys? If y’all need a room, I got an air mattress upstairs. Otherwise, get your butts back in here and sing ‘Seasons of Love’ with us.”
