Tara smiled. “Yeah. I still might if he pisses me off.” She slanted a mischievous glance at Joe.
He smiled. “I don’t think so, sweetheart,” he drawled.
The authority in his voice made her melt. Damn, she was not going to be a doormat for any man, was not going to let him walk all over her, but it was so damn hard to resist him. And yet she knew he wasn’t her keeper, her commander, her master…but rather, her protector. Partner. Lover.
Grandpa rubbed his forehead. “Jesus. What the hell is happening here? Sasha goes out and gets a job. And you tell me you’re in love with Joe. There must be a damn full moon or something.” He shook his head. “Or I’m just getting old.” Then his amber gaze sharpened. “On the other hand…”
Tara sent Joe a sideways, dubious glance. “What, Grandpa?”
He barked out a laugh.
They stared at him.
“This is perfect!” he said. “Joe can run the company and you can stay home and have babies.”
Tara gritted her teeth. Joe’s thumb moved over her hand in a soothing gesture. She relaxed a little. “No, Grandpa. We never said anything about getting married.” They’d talked about it, at the ranch, over the weekend, but it was too soon to let him know that. “Or babies. That will be up to us. In the meantime, I’m not going anywhere.”
Joe leaned forward. “Tyrone. You know damn well if Tara left, this company would be devastated. We need her drive, her passion, her vision—and her knowledge.”
Tyrone stared back at Joe. He leaned back in his chair, picked up a pen and shifted it between his fingers.
“Yes,” he said. “You’re right.”
Tara swallowed a gasp and turned wide eyes to Joe. He smiled.
“Thank you,” she whispered, not sure who she was directing it to more—Grandpa or Joe.
“Tara and I are a team,” Joe said.
Her heart expanded in her chest and she took a big breath. She felt accepted, cared for, as if she could totally be herself and it was fine. In giving herself, she’d gotten so much. Respect. Love. She’d found herself, her true strength.
Now she had what she really wanted.