His High-Stakes Holiday Seduction (The Hightower Affairs #3)(25)
Author: Emilie Rose

She flinched. “I didn’t sleep with him.”

“I know that now. But from what you said that day I thought you had. Brent’s wife has threatened him with a very nasty public divorce too many times to count, and he’d recently signed over half his HAMC stock to her. All I could think about that day was the bottom line and how much his screwup was going to cost me.

“I want to expand HAMC. To do that I needed board support, but the board is of the opinion that if I can’t control my family members and keep them from making stupid mistakes, then I probably can’t control a company the size of HAMC, either.”

“You’re not your family’s keeper, Trent.”

He slowed his step and faced her. “I know that now. Because of you. But then…” He shrugged. “I tried to control them. You’re right. I needed to let go and let them learn to sort out their issues or learn from their mistakes. While I was scouring Vegas for you I let Brent handle the board meeting. I’d never given him that kind of responsibility before. He pitched my expansion plan and he did well. He probably sold the package better than I could.

“Paige, I lied to you. By omission, yes, but it was still a lie. A relationship should be based on total honesty. When Brent came on to you he and Luanne had separated. He was nursing his wounded ego by trying to pick up women. But if you want my sister-in-law to know what happened I’ll make Brent tell her.

“But please keep one thing in mind. They’re happy. They’ve worked out their problems, and they’re expecting their first child.”

“Why would I want to destroy that?”

“I’m hoping you won’t.” He reached out and took her hand and her breath caught at the zing of electricity between them. “I’ve fallen in love with you, Paige, and I want a future with you—one based on truth and honesty. And in vein of full disclosure, you need to know I’ve been called a control freak. Other than my wealth and my success as CEO of Hightower Aviation, I’m not a great catch. But I’ll do whatever it takes to convince you to give me a shot.”

His beautiful eyes glowed with sincerity and…love. She pressed her fingers over her mouth.

“I love you, too. And you’re wrong. You are a great catch, Trent Hightower. You’re sexy and funny and smart, and you’re the only man I’ve ever met, other than my daddy, who cares as deeply for his family as I do. You might claim you’re bossing them around for selfish reasons, but I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit. You do it to protect them.”

He cupped her face and she burrowed her cheek into his palm. Her heart was so full it felt as if it might burst.

“You taught me something else, Paige McCauley. Confronting my fear makes me stronger. You challenged me to ride the roller coasters, and today, my sister made me fly my jet. It felt good to conquer what I’d considered a weakness.”

She glanced up and down the street and smiled at the quickly dropped curtains of her nosy neighbors. “Conquering demons is something I’ve had to work on myself.”

“I want to be strong for you, Paige, but I don’t want to smother you. I know you love your job, and we’ll find a way to make us work if you want to stay in Vegas. But I’m hoping you’ll let me use my influence to help you find a position in Knoxville. Then during our vacations I’ll show you the world. Marry me and let’s spend the next few decades facing the rest of our demons together.”

Happiness welled inside her, making her want to laugh and cry and sing with joy simultaneously. “I’d like that very much.”

“We could always fly back to Vegas and do the deed. That is where we met.”

She couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “I don’t care where as long as our families are there.”

“You got it.” He snatched her into his arms and kissed her in front of her entire neighborhood.

Let ’em talk.

She threw her arms around Trent’s shoulders and kissed him back, pouring her love into the embrace for all the world to see.