Page 89 of The Back Forty
I swipe a chip from the basket and pause before answering, giving her time to look up at me and see how serious I am.
“Nah, sweetheart,” I say, voice low and even. “Because I couldn’t look at any of them without thinking aboutyou. It didn't feel fair to them, so I stopped.”
She swallows hard, and I see the way her throat moves, the way that her mouth parts just slightly like she’s going to say something and then doesn’t. Instead, she grabs her beer and drains what’s left, wiping her hand across the corner of her mouth like she needs a moment to recover. I'm not crossing any lines, just telling her the truth.
“Well,” she finally says, voice a little breezier than it was a second ago, “tonight was good. Another couple million for the Marshall empire.”
I shake my head, smiling because she’s deflecting, and we both know it. She's flustered. “It wasgood.”
“You ready to go?” she asks, sliding out of the booth and smoothing her hands down the front of her suit pants.
“Yeah. Let me settle the check, and I’ll meet you by the front door.”
She nods and walks away slowly, heels thudding lightly on the hardwood floor.
And I sit there for a second longer, staring at the spot where she was sitting, wondering when exactly I started falling in love with her and how I'm going to keep working with her and not be able to tell her that.
Chapter 35 – Dani
“We’re very sorry about this, Mr. Marshall. It’s extremely unfortunate, but the plumber is working on it now, and there’s simply no way you can sleep in that room tonight.”
Lawson drags a hand along the back of his neck and then lets out a slow, frustrated breath. “Alright. Can you help me find another room?”
The hotel receptionist taps furiously at her keyboard, her long acrylic nails clicking like tiny hammers on glass. She winces, then shakes her head no. “I’m afraid we’re completely booked, and the nearest hotel with availability is about thirty miles away.”
Lawson mutters a quiet curse under his breath. “Well, damn.”
She gives us both a sympathetic look, like she feels just as bad about the awkward suggestion she’s about to make.
“I know you’re here on business, but if it’s just for the night, there’s a pullout couch in the room that your coworker is staying in. Not ideal, I know, but… it’s an option.”
Lawson glances at me, then exhales again—like just theideaof sleeping in the same room as me is physically painful.
Ouch. That stings more than it should, but I get it. I haven't exactly been warm and inviting to him. Probably shouldn't have brought up the women that he's hooked up with before me over dinner, either.
“Don’t think I have a choice,” he grumbles.
I open my mouth to object. I could probably sleep in the rental car if it’s that uncomfortable for him, but he puts up a hand to stop me.
“Don’t worry,” he says firmly. “I’ll shower and go straight to sleep. I promised you I wouldn’t cross a line, and I meant it. You can trust me.”
I nod and chew on my lip, but it’s not himI don’t trust. It’s me. Because after twenty-four hours of being around him again, of seeing him in his element, quietly commanding, endlessly thoughtful, unbelievably good, I’ve realized that I’ve had this whole thing wrong from the beginning.
I’ve been pushing him away to protect myself, but maybe all I’ve been doing is hurting us both.
We take the elevator upstairs in silence. When we reach my room, Lawson opens the door and gestures for me to go in first.
“You want to shower before me?” he asks.
I shake my head, needing the space to think and prepare my apology. “You go ahead.”
He disappears into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. I perch on the edge of the bed, heart pounding, mind spinning.
I’ve spent months compartmentalizing, drawing a line so thick between us that I thought I couldn’t cross it. But now… he’s told me he wants this. That the hook-ups we had weren't just a one-time thing for him. And he’s proven over and over again through his actions, through his restraint, through his quiet steadiness, that this isn’t some passing infatuation for him. It’s real. We could be real. And maybe I’ve been in love with him longer than I’ve allowed myself to admit.
And maybe he's felt the same way.
Because Lawson isn’t like my ex. He doesn’t manipulate, gaslight or try to own me. And he isn't like Elijah was as a boss either. He respects me. Listens to me. Sees me.
