Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 95273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
I lift an eyebrow. “Which one?”
“With a view like this, we need two stories. I want the main bedroom on the second floor, with huge windows so I can look at that view every single morning as the sun comes up.”
“You can have whatever you want, baby.” I kiss her back, relieved that I didn’t ruin the best thing that’s ever happened to me. “We’ll get started right away.”
“Wait.” Her face falls. “We’re going to need a mortgage, and I don’t know if my credit—”
“We don’t need a mortgage,” I reply with a smile. “You really don’t pay attention to the rodeo stuff, do you?”
“Uh, no. I’m sorry, I don’t.”
“Trust me. No mortgage needed.”
“Oh, I can’t ask you to just pay for everyth—”
I cut her off with my mouth and pick her up, sit on the log, and settle her in my lap. Finally, I pull back and smile at her.
“I’ve got this, Abs. Trust me, okay?”
She sighs and leans into me, turning her head so she can stare at her new view.
“If you insist, I won’t say no.”
“Good. I insist.” I kiss her shoulder and watch the view with her. “It’s a damn good view, isn’t it?”
“The best one I’ve ever seen.”
I look up at her gorgeous face and smile. “My thoughts exactly.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
ABBI
The Iconic Women’s Collective ranks in the top five things that I’m most proud of in my life. Together, with my four best friends, we founded this collective to help other women in business, whether they already own their own company or want to or simply need mentorship, and it’s done so much more than we ever anticipated.
We meet monthly for a two-hour lunch at a local restaurant to network and listen to a guest speaker. It’s my favorite day of the month, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
With Brady in Santa Fe for the next couple of days at his second show, I need the distraction.
“It’s so nice that the rooftop is open for the season,” Summer says, tipping her head up at the sunshine as she takes a break from setting out flower arrangements on the tables.
Old Town Pizza is one of my favorite restaurants in town. The plaque on the door says that they’ve been here for forty years, and they recently went through a renovation, adding a rooftop area for the warmer months.
Since it just opened, we decided to hold our monthly meeting up here, and we couldn’t have chosen a better day for it.
“Montana is so interesting,” I comment as Erin and Polly join me. Millie’s on the other side of the patio, making sure the microphone works, but she can hear me. “The seasons are so distinct. As soon as the calendar turns to the solstice, it’s like the Universe flips a switch and that season is off and running.”
“It’s true,” Erin says with a laugh. “In Washington, it’s usually just rain or sun. Mostly rain. So it was interesting to adjust to the change of seasons here, but in the very best way.”
“Exactly,” I reply with a nod. “Anyway, this is a fun change for the luncheon. And this way, Heather can join us.”
Heather and her family have owned this restaurant since its inception all those years ago, but she usually can’t attend our meetings because she has to be here.
This time, we brought the meeting to her.
“I’m so excited for today’s speaker,” Polly says with a little shoulder shimmy. “Sophie Montgomery-Harrison is a powerhouse when it comes to social media advertising, and she’s gorgeous, and she’s married to the hottest quarterback in the league. Talk about an overachiever.”
“And she’s my cousin,” Erin reminds her with a laugh. “They should be here soon. I know that she and London were on their way this morning.”
London is married to another of Erin’s cousins and is the owner of the team that Ike Harrison plays for. Erin’s family is intimidating. Full of celebrities and wealth that I can’t even dream of, and we’ve met most of them. Everyone I’ve spoken with has been kind and welcoming and funny. They’re also good at putting people at ease, so I know that Sophie will be a great speaker today.
“We’re still good on time,” Millie says, checking her phone. “We have almost an hour. You guys, I’m exhausted.”
She sits in a chair and braces her chin on her hand, blinking slowly.
“Are you finally going to tell us if you’ve been screwing around with Bridger Blackwell?” Summer demands. “Because if you and Bridger are visiting Pound Town on a regular basis, good for you. That fire chief is smokin’.”
“For fuck’s sake.” Now she drops her head on her arms. “No. I’m not screwing around with Bridger. We’ve been friends for a million years, and he needs my help.”
“Help with what?” Erin asks, pulling out a chair and sitting across from Millie. The rest of us follow suit, wanting to be front and center for this tea party. “Come on, Mill. You’ve been at his place on the regular for weeks. Maybe months. We all know that he has his daughter, but what’s really going on? He’s been a single dad for a while now.”