Page 61 of It's a Widow Thing

“Double?” Lucy nearly collapsed against the display behind her.

“Double.”

Lucy stood straighter and looked around the store. It was like she was trying to envision this larger role for herself. Sabrina hoped like hell that she had enough confidence and drive to make that an easy task.

Finally, she turned to Sabrina. “Yes. I want this.”

Sabrina flung her arms around Lucy and lifted her off the ground. Even she was surprised by how happy this made her. It not only felt good to give her friend and trusted colleague the boost she deserved, it was amazing to take some pressure off herself. She couldn’t juggle as much as she was and still be happy. The last few months with Michael had been so amazing, but she wanted more time with him. That would mean convincing him to shift his priorities, too.

“I’ll talk to the lawyers about drawing that up in our counter-offer,” Sabrina said to Lucy.

“So you’re definitely going to take the deal?”

“There are some terms to work out, but yes. I am.” Sabrina glanced at her phone. “I’m supposed to meet Michael in a minute. We’re going to do some Christmas shopping at the pop-up gift market in Bryant Park. Are you staying longer?”

Lucy’s smile was ebullient. “Are you kidding? I’m walking on cloud nine right now. Just try to stop me from holding down this beautiful fort.”

Sabrina gave her one more quick hug. “You’re the absolute best.” She grabbed her coat. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, you will.”

Sabrina made her way through the masses of shoppers streaming into Echo Beauty, then out through the revolving doors and onto the sidewalk, which was bustling with people loaded down with shopping bags. She could see Michael coming up Broadway, his phone pinned to his ear. It was a brisk but beautiful night. Absolutely perfect.

“Hey, beautiful.” Michael tucked his phone into his pocket. Despite his greeting, he didn’t seem quite his normal, chipper self.

“Important call?”

“My brother.” He waved it off, then pulled her close and pecked her on the cheek. “Ready to do some shopping?”

She decided now was not the time to pry. She had other things she needed to talk to him about. “Absolutely.”

Hand in hand, they strolled down 42ndStreet, exactly as they had the night of the Echo Echo ground-breaking. Looking back, she could see that had been a turning point. It was the first time she’d seen the full depth of Michael’s generosity and his kind soul. It was the first time he’d had to watch her ride on the winding path that was widowhood. The important thing was that they’d come out on the other side, so much stronger. That day paved the way for them to fall in love.

Even from nearly a block away, the park was impossible to miss. It sparkled with countless strings of twinkle lights, while glass and metal vendor kiosks, all arranged in tidy rows, were lit up like jewel boxes. As they got closer, holiday music played. Andy Williams, if memory served. Sabrina tugged Michael closer. She loved that they could share this. The holidays meant something to her again, now that they were together.

“Looking for anything in particular?” she asked as they walked up the stone steps into the park.

“Alyshia told me there’s a jewelry vendor here that Zoe likes. She wants a necklace with a unicorn on it.”

“Sounds like the perfect gift for her uncle to give her.”

“That’s what I’m thinking. I’m hoping it’ll give me some serious cred. Or at least make her think twice before she beats my butt at Go Fish.”

“One can only hope.” Sabrina decided now was as good a time as any to bring up the subject of the Chelsea Mayhem deal. “So, the lawyers are drawing up my counter-offer for the Echo Echo negotiations. Will you give me your two cents on it?”

Michael came to a stop. “They’re asking for more money?”

She nodded. “They are. Although not as much as you think they should.”

“Sabrina…”

She held up her hand. “Hold on. Before you get ahead of yourself, the money’s not the most important part to me. I want to install Lucy as CEO. She doesn’t have corporate experience, but I know she can do the job beautifully.” She further explained her plan to stay on as founder and head of product development. “So, I just figure that we might not ask for a massive pile of money, and instead get a smaller pile and I’d get the situation I really want.”

He jutted out his lower lip and nodded. “You didn’t tell me that you wanted that.”

“Well, it’s part of the bigger picture. And it didn’t really occur to me until a few days ago. I wanted to talk to Lucy before I brought it up. What do you think?”

“I think it’s brilliant.”