farmland in small parcels with various names on the titles, but they all belong under the Barrett umbrella. She didn’t want the media sticking their nose into things until she was sure she could get what she wants here.”
She tilted her head, her ginger brows pulling closer together. “How do you know so much about all this?”
“Remember that woman who called me, the one who made you jealous? That was Tracy Barrett. CEO of Barrett Foods.”
The smile she gave him could have knocked him down for the count. “God have mercy, Connor, we’re gonna make a fortune.”
“Bingo!”
* * *
Juliana had one nagging thought.
It’s too good to be true.
She and Connor had information that put them in the driver’s seat of real estate sales in all of Hudson County and the surrounding counties. Her head swam for a moment.
Then she sobered. “Once Barrett Foods makes the announcement, Max Schumm will catch up with us pretty quick.”
“I forgot to tell you the best part.”
His mischievous grin sent heat shooting straight to her core. If he ever figured out exactly how much he affected her, she was in a shitload of trouble. All he’d have to do is incline his head toward the house and wiggle his eyebrows, and she’d be grabbing his hand and dragging him right to the bedroom.
Swallowing hard, she kept her mind on business. “There’s more?”
“Since Tracy and I are such good friends, she’s going to start sending her executives directly to me to help them find homes before the factory’s construction even begins. A few of them want to have custom homes built, so we need to investigate local builders.”
Her heart jumped, slamming against her ribs hard enough to make her dizzy as the ramifications started to hit her, one after another. Barrett Foods would impact a whole lot more than her life. “One of my friends builds the most beautiful homes. We’ll have to make sure we put him together with those customers.”
“We’ll have to go out tomorrow and let me look at a few, although I trust your judgment that he’s good.”
His faith in her only made her want him more. “How soon before buyers start coming?”
“Two weeks.”
She nodded, her mind still reeling. “We’ve got so much to do before then. We need to get a good inventory of the available houses and check for lots. We need information from Tracy on where the factory is likely to be built.” She snapped her fingers as another thought bubbled to the surface. “We should talk to Robert right away. He might have some houses already being—”
Connor’s lips covered hers. She’d been so carried away with making plans, she hadn’t even noticed him standing up.
Eyes wide-open, she stared at the face so close to hers. She wanted to kiss him back. But she didn’t, although it took every ounce of her self-control not to.
He finally gave up, sighing against her lips and easing back. “I’m guessing we’re not going to celebrate the way I want to.”
“I want you,” Juliana admitted.
“Then what’s the problem?”
“For now, I really think we need to keep things business only.”
“Why? We’re good together.”
“Too good.”
“That’s crazy. How could we be
too
good?”
She took a seat on the desk and patted the spot next to her.
Connor sighed again and sat down.
“Whenever you touch me,” she said, “I kinda lose control.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“No. And yes. We’re both crawling out on a shaky limb with this new firm, Connor. We need to give it a hundred percent of our attention. For now, at least. Let’s get the business up and running, make sure things are going to work in this partnership, and then we can see if we want something more.”
“Why can’t we try being a couple
and
starting a new business?”
“Because you and I both know that would take more than either of us has to give. Besides, if we hadn’t met the way we did, we wouldn’t even be thinking about anything but business. At
She tilted her head, her ginger brows pulling closer together. “How do you know so much about all this?”
“Remember that woman who called me, the one who made you jealous? That was Tracy Barrett. CEO of Barrett Foods.”
The smile she gave him could have knocked him down for the count. “God have mercy, Connor, we’re gonna make a fortune.”
“Bingo!”
* * *
Juliana had one nagging thought.
It’s too good to be true.
She and Connor had information that put them in the driver’s seat of real estate sales in all of Hudson County and the surrounding counties. Her head swam for a moment.
Then she sobered. “Once Barrett Foods makes the announcement, Max Schumm will catch up with us pretty quick.”
“I forgot to tell you the best part.”
His mischievous grin sent heat shooting straight to her core. If he ever figured out exactly how much he affected her, she was in a shitload of trouble. All he’d have to do is incline his head toward the house and wiggle his eyebrows, and she’d be grabbing his hand and dragging him right to the bedroom.
Swallowing hard, she kept her mind on business. “There’s more?”
“Since Tracy and I are such good friends, she’s going to start sending her executives directly to me to help them find homes before the factory’s construction even begins. A few of them want to have custom homes built, so we need to investigate local builders.”
Her heart jumped, slamming against her ribs hard enough to make her dizzy as the ramifications started to hit her, one after another. Barrett Foods would impact a whole lot more than her life. “One of my friends builds the most beautiful homes. We’ll have to make sure we put him together with those customers.”
“We’ll have to go out tomorrow and let me look at a few, although I trust your judgment that he’s good.”
His faith in her only made her want him more. “How soon before buyers start coming?”
“Two weeks.”
She nodded, her mind still reeling. “We’ve got so much to do before then. We need to get a good inventory of the available houses and check for lots. We need information from Tracy on where the factory is likely to be built.” She snapped her fingers as another thought bubbled to the surface. “We should talk to Robert right away. He might have some houses already being—”
Connor’s lips covered hers. She’d been so carried away with making plans, she hadn’t even noticed him standing up.
Eyes wide-open, she stared at the face so close to hers. She wanted to kiss him back. But she didn’t, although it took every ounce of her self-control not to.
He finally gave up, sighing against her lips and easing back. “I’m guessing we’re not going to celebrate the way I want to.”
“I want you,” Juliana admitted.
“Then what’s the problem?”
“For now, I really think we need to keep things business only.”
“Why? We’re good together.”
“Too good.”
“That’s crazy. How could we be
too
good?”
She took a seat on the desk and patted the spot next to her.
Connor sighed again and sat down.
“Whenever you touch me,” she said, “I kinda lose control.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“No. And yes. We’re both crawling out on a shaky limb with this new firm, Connor. We need to give it a hundred percent of our attention. For now, at least. Let’s get the business up and running, make sure things are going to work in this partnership, and then we can see if we want something more.”
“Why can’t we try being a couple
and
starting a new business?”
“Because you and I both know that would take more than either of us has to give. Besides, if we hadn’t met the way we did, we wouldn’t even be thinking about anything but business. At
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