“Stop.” Her hand trembled around her glass. “You need to go. I don’t want to hear that you’re sorry we didn’t work out. I don’t want to hear that you loved the house we built together. I just want you to leave.”

“Never. Do you hear me? I’m not leaving you, Morgan, never again. I love you. I never should’ve walked away last night, but I’m stupid enough to think I needed time.”

Her shoulders slumped. Cal’s heart sank in his chest at the defeated look on her face, a look he’d never seen before. “I understand. You needed to be honest, and it’s best if we part ways. I don’t belong here anymore. I need to deal with the fallout and go back to Charleston for a while. Decide what my next move is.”

“Oh, no, you’re not.” He spun her around and forced her head up. “You’re not going anywhere, not without me. This is the deal. You made a very reasonable argument last night about making sure I have no regrets. The truth is simple. If I let you go, I’ll never forgive myself. It will be the biggest regret of my life. I need you, Morgan Raines. I love you. I don’t give a damn about children, because you’re my family. You and my crazy brothers and my goofball dogs. If we decide to adopt, great. If not, I don’t care. I want you by my side every day. That’s all I need to be happy.”

“You said you didn’t know.” Her lower lip trembled. “You left.”

“I came back. I needed a few hours, okay? When you find the love of your life, sometimes it takes a slap in the head to remind you not to be a jerk!”

A small laugh escaped her lips. “You are a jerk sometimes,” she muttered.

“Agreed. But I’m the man who loves you. You’re just going to have to forgive me. Then you’re going to marry me.”

“Not with a proposal like that,” she grumbled.

He cupped her cheeks and tilted her face up. “God, you’re sweet.” He paused. “God, you’re everything.”

He kissed her, long and deep and slow, until she softened in his arms and clung to his shoulders and surrendered. Breathing in the scent of wildflowers, he gave her all that he was in that one kiss and promised her everything he’d ever be.

When he finally broke away, she closed her eyes and leaned against him. “I ruined my career. I built them a house they don’t want. I’ll never work for Hollywood again.”

He closed his arms around her and pressed his lips to the top of her head. “We’ll fix it,” he said. “Whatever we need to do, I know it’s going to be okay. One house is not going to ruin your career. You’re too talented.”

“This is such a mess.”

“It’s our mess,” he said. “You just need some time to figure things out. Where are the Rosenthals?”

She gave a shuddering sigh. “Staying at the Plaza. I don’t know what they’re going to do. My contract is ironclad, so they can’t come after me for the money, but they can certainly ruin my reputation.”

“Did they like the structure? The outside? Did they give you specifics of what worked and what didn’t?”

She seemed to consider his question for a while. “They loved the outside—that was a total win. The deck, the hot tub, the property. All of it worked.”

“Good, that’s something that’s harder to change. I think we should go over everything in each room. Item by item. By listing each separate problem, we can get a handle on the possibilities.”

“Cal, I don’t want you to worry. You delivered on the contract and met the delivery date. Pierce Brothers gets full payment.”

“I’m not worried about that now,” Cal said. “Let’s get the team together and construct a plan.”

She pulled back and frowned. “What team?”

“Baby, Tristan and Dalton and Brady won’t let you do this alone. That’s what family is about. Took me a while to realize it. But as I admitted, I’m slow sometimes.”

She laughed, leaned in, and hugged him tight.

chapter twenty-three

The next day, Morgan met with the Rosenthals in the conference room at Pierce Brothers. The chilly distance in the air set the tone. She didn’t blame them. Morgan had sold them on herself and failed. Now it was time to make things right.

“Thank you for meeting with me,” she said in greeting. Back to polished perfection in her power suit and heels, she handed them a folder that contained the proposal. “My job is to make sure you love your home, and I failed. I’m requesting you give me a short extension to fix it.”

Slate narrowed his gaze. Those movie-star eyes and that masculine intensity were made to intimidate, persuade, or demolish. Morgan refused to cower beneath him. “Why should we trust you?” he challenged. “We can find ourselves in a bigger hole, and I refuse to give you any extra funds. Shooting schedule begins within the month.”

Petra remained silent.

Cal squirmed beside her. She’d already been clear she didn’t need him to defend her. Morgan dealt with celebrity clients on a consistent basis and prepared herself for some stinging comments. Cal was there to back her up and answer any questions. She loved him even more when she saw how he struggled not to jump and defend her honor. “I understand,” Morgan said. “I take full responsibility, and I’m requesting ten days to make the necessary adjustments. Our original meetings had been clear, and I didn’t listen when you informed me you had made adjustments to your vision of the house. When you mentioned minimalist, and specific colors, I assumed you didn’t want me to stray from our course and tried to bring the theme in on a limited basis. I won’t make that mistake again.”

Petra tapped a bloodred nail against the folder, considering.

“These are my proposed changes. There will be no further cost to you. The structure and outside will remain the same. We’re looking at redoing the kitchen, expanding the film room, and changing the decor to suit your tastes with a more modern spin. I’ve included some photos of designs I think you’d like, and already have some specific pieces lined up for you if you approve.”

She waited in silence while they glanced at the new contract. Petra nibbled on her lower lip, and Slate kept a bold silence as the minutes ticked by.