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‘Because I’ll ask them to You won’t have time to do that sort of stuff after we’re married’

‘What sort of stuff?’ she asked, after a pause

‘You know This stuff Mucking around in the kitchen’

‘Mucking around in the…?’

‘Yeah’ Nick shoved back his chair, stacked the plates, and rose to his feet ‘I know you didn’t do this for the s of their meal into the trash He looked back and flashed her a s around with cookbooks’

Holly folded her hands tightly in her lap ‘Really?’ she said, very cal around with cookbooks?’

‘Well, I don’t know Not exactly But I figured—’

‘You figured wrong,’ she said, in that sa he was

Nick’s eyebrows shot towards his hairline ‘Really?’ He laughed and shook his head ‘Wow I had no idea—’

‘As for doing it for the money…do you build hotels for the money?’

‘I don’t build them, baby, I own them’

‘It was a figure of speech’

‘I know, but—’

‘Answer the question, please Do you build them for the money?’

Nick licked his lips He had the sudden feeling that he was heading into deep water in a leaky rowboat

‘Well, sure I mean, I like what I do Hell, I love it But—’

‘But you like being paid, too Surprise, Nick So do I’ She shtly ‘And, while we’re on the subject, I’ve always liked what you’d probably call “’

‘Yes I know that I—’

‘No No, you don’t know that’ Holly kicked back her chair and got to her feet ‘You never understood that I liked contributing what I could to our rabbed the salt shaker and pepper mill from the table, marched to the counter and slas that I hoped would make our lives more pleasant and take some of the burden, the worry about money, off your shoulders’

‘Sweetheart, that was generous of you I’ to point out that none of that is necessary anymore’