Page 16 of Yours, Forever

"It's all good, I'd rather go with Eva. Bonding time with my bride, you know? We fell so hard, so fast that we didn't get a chance to actually get to know each other as well as I'd like to know her." They looked disappointed. "But you know what? I'm an investor and I'd love to hear from people around here about business opportunities."

"I couldn't believe it when I heard that Eva had gotten married!"

"Not going to lie," I said, "it took some convincing… but I didn't know how else to get her into my life. My family is a little upset about it, so if you see anyone lurking around, can you text my wife? So that we're prepared."

"Of course! We'll let you know," Janet assured me.

"Max?" Eva showed up next to me with a coffee. "This is yours. Can we talk?"

"Of course, sweetcakes." I took the cup from her. She pursed her lips. "Darling, I mean."

That didn't take away from the mild irritation in her eyes, and it made me smirk.

"Come to the backroom, sweetiepie?" She grabbed my suit jacket and my briefcase. "I'll get your sopaipillas on the way."

I followed her around the counter. Ale had arrived at some point, and I nodded hello to her as I followed Eva through the door to the back.

The rectangular room was simple, with a big industrial fridge, shelves full of supplies, and a working table. We crossed thespace, and she took me to a tiny office tucked away in a corner. A compact desk occupied the end, wall to wall, with a desktop computer on it and a small, polarized window behind it. There was barely any room for the office chair and the door to open, but things fit.

She put my briefcase on the chair and hung my jacket from the back.

She turned to me and backed against the chair. "Sorry it took me so long to get your coffee. Between you offering to pay for everyone and the people who came in just to spy on you, I had no time."

"Is that what they were doing?"

She arched an eyebrow at me. "A new person in town, who's telling fantastical stories about falling in love at first sight and who pays for everyone's breakfast? Catnip for the gossip mill. Everyone wanted to see you with their own eyes."

"Oh, I see." I tried the coffee and almost melted into a puddle of delighted goo. "Oh wow. This is delicious."

"Thank you." Pride shone in her eyes, though she remained mostly serious. "But I called you here to talk. Is this how it's going to be?"

"What do you mean?"

"You came in here and put on a show around saying good morning and meeting people. You announced you're looking for business and spent almost a thousand dollars to endear yourself with everyone."

"What's the problem with that?"

"You can't keep it up, and it's disruptive."

"If we're talking about keeping it up… yes, I could. For a long while. You know how much money it takes to be a billionaire? It's ridiculous."

Her eyes opened wide. "You're a billionaire? Not just… rich?"

"I'm a filthy billionaire, darling. It's a big part of why I'm doing all of this."

She paled. "What did I get myself into?"

"Don't think about that, okay? We're going to make it work, you'll see. I won't disrupt your life, I promise. Once I get some proposals going for local businesses, I'll go to them for meetings— I won't be stepping on your toes if I can help it."

She crossed her arms and stretched her neck, as if readjusting her vertebrae would readjust her worldview.

She let out a slow, measured breath through her nose. "The kiss on the temple was a bit much, though."

"You're not into PDA? I'm supposed to be utterly devoted to you. Why wouldn't I kiss your temple hello?"

"I've never been into PDA."

"I could kiss your hand?"