Page 96 of Cameron's Contract

I took her hand. “You don’t need me for that to be true.”

Her frown line deepened and something told me she was thinking of us, our future, and where that might lead her. We’d both been faced with such profound changes lately and in many ways we were still reeling.

My once reluctance to take up the challenge of running Cole Tea gripped me with the fierceness of a maddening fugue. I had surrendered to my future, and with Mia by my side I knew anything was possible. Taking the business to the next level filled me with the kind of passion I never realized I was capable of.

“I’m happy you’re coming with me,” I said. “I don’t take it for granted.”

“Silly.” She reached out and her hand rested on my thigh. “Where are we going today?”

I chuckled. “Life is a journey. Enjoy it.”

She settled back and sighed contentedly. Seeing her relaxed and feeling safe warmed my heart and brought the peace I yearned for.

Arriving at our destination, I pulled off the road.

She shifted in her seat, sensing we’d arrived, her excitement tangible.

After parking, I took a moment to savor this, making sure I remembered every single second of being here with her.

I strolled around to her side and held the door open.

A seagull flew over us and I watched Mia’s expression, her fingertips trailing over the edge of the velvet blindfold. She breathed in the fresh air.

I knew she’d guess our location from the yachts shifting on their mores and the lapping water.

A couple of pedestrians strolled past us and reacted when they saw Mia’s blindfold. Two kids on bikes whizzed by.

Taking Mia by the hand, I guided her toward the harbor and we made our way along the wharf.

“Ha! I know where we are.”

“Silence, Ms. Lauren.”

My life had changed irrevocably the moment I’d met her. Her sweetness, her love had been what I’d needed all along. Before her I’d spent my days dedicated to making those around me happy, and some part of me had doubted I deserved that same contentment.

She was the greatest reward, but I knew we couldn’t continue like this. Change lingered in the air. And I welcomed it, craved it.

There, secured at the end, was my 57m Remington RIO luxury yacht, once named La Ricochet. This boat, along with the rest of my life, was going to be transported to our new home in the Hamptons. A quick helicopter ride from Cole Tower.

And there it would stay, right up until the moment the Cole skyscraper was completed in Los Angeles, and we’d be able to move back.

For now, we’d be calling New York home.

Mia leaned against me and nuzzled into my chest. She fit so perfectly there. This meeting of minds and hearts was more then I’d ever imagined possible.

“Ready, Mia?”

She nodded.

I eased off her blindfold and tucked it into my pocket.

She squealed. “Are we going out on it?”

I grinned at her. “Mia…look at the name.”

“The name?”

I gestured toward the starboard—