Page 122 of In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes

“You bet.” Aiden sat back down with a curious expression.

I took a deep breath, forcing air into my tight lungs. Emmett sat back and watched with interest.

“I’d like you to run the new project,” I told Aiden. “If you’re interested.”

He reared back with a big, beaming smile.Ken doll, I remembered Sadie saying, and my mouth twitched.

“Yes.” He blinked. “I would love to.”

I nodded once. “You’ve been doing good work.”

We talked for a few minutes about the project, the team he wanted to use, and the schedule before he headed out for lunch. Emmett pivoted his chair back and forth, studying me.

“What?” I snapped my laptop closed and stood.

His grin hitched and he leaned back in his chair. “That was unexpected.”

“Don’t get any ideas. I’m still not interested in bringing on a partner.”

A sharp laugh burst out of him. “Yeah, I figured. You’re a stubborn control freak.” He tilted his head as if something occurred to him. “But I guess that was before Sadie.”

My heart squeezed. “Yeah.” I shrugged. Why hide it, especially from Emmett. “Things are different now.” I cleared my throat. “Thanks for picking her up last night.”

He waved me off. “It’s nothing. I’m glad she was okay.”

I nodded and ignored the twisting tension in my chest at the memory of what happened. “Yeah. Me too.”

“So.” He raised his eyebrows at me, eyes glittering. “She’s staying with you now?”

I grinned and his eyebrows went higher.

“Interesting,” he said, smiling back at me. “Very, very interesting. You’re in a pretty good mood today.”

I smiled back at him with a shrug. “Just happy she’s safe.”

“I bet.”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t wipe the grin off my face.

“I like seeing you like this,” Emmett said, rubbing his jaw and studying me. “And I like Sadie. Everyone does. She doesn’t put up with your bullshit.”

I scoffed. “What bullshit?”

“When I run down Main Street in the evenings, I don’t see your office light on.”

“I go to the bar until she closes. I still work at home some evenings.”

He tilted his head. “As much as before? You spend every weekend with her.”

“Not as much as before,” I admitted. “I like working at the inn. It reminds me of the old days.”

His expression turned solemn and guilty. “Before I left.”

I shook my head. “Long before you left. When we first started the company. Do you remember that first house we did?”

He grinned and his head fell back. “Oh, god. That project.”

It had been problem after problem. The walls ended up having asbestos. The foundation was cracked. There was a surprise oil tank from the fifties buried in the backyard, leaking toxic oil into the ground.

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