Page 74 of One Little Mistake
“No, but I’m gonna learn.” The smirk on his face glows in the moonlight. “Here’s the thing, Lex. I thought about it a lot on the plane. I’m invested.”
“In what?”
“In you. And, that’s scary as fuck because I don’t normally give a shit about anyone.”
“That’s not true, and you know it. You love your family.”
“You’re right, but I’m all in with you, Locket. I haven’t cared about anyone since Vanessa, and I care about you. Whether or not we end up together, I’m invested, and I will not allow you to suffer alone if I can help it.”
“What do you mean if we end up together?” My voice is almost shrill. “We have to get divorced, Easton.”
“We’ll see.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
I don’t know what to say to him, so I roll over in a huff. I feel his eyes on my back, and it heats my core. I don’t want to have this reaction to him, especially when he’s being an impossible prick, but apparently, I’ve lost all control over every aspect of my body.
He’s invested.Who the hell says that.A good man, Lexi. Too good for you.
When I wake up in the morning, East is already up and pouring over files at the kitchen table.
“What are you doing?”
When he raises his gaze to meet mine, blood rushes to my head. He’s so stinking gorgeous it hardly seems fair. Self-consciously, I attempt to tame my hair with my fingers, and he grins like he knows I’m doing it for his benefit.
“I happen to be a big fan of your bedhead, Locket.” Then he winks. Full-on winks at me, the asshat. “But, to answer your question, I called Mason and told him to step into my position for a while. Then, I snooped until I found GG’s receipts. After that, I snooped again and found her banking statements. Now, I’m about to make an appointment with this Fontaine guy because I think he’s a crook. Once that’s done, I’m going to have a chat with GG and hire some licensed contractors.”
That’s a lot to handle at seven in the morning. A Taylor Swift song plays in my head, and I almost laugh until my brain catches up with the first part of his spiel.
“Wait, why is Mason taking your job? How long do you plan to be here?”
He eyes me as he weighs his words. Then, standing to his full height, he crosses his arms over his chest as if daring me to argue. “Indefinitely.”
“You can’t do that.” My voice comes out about ten octaves too high.
“I just did. Invested, remember?”
“Fucking insane is more like it,” I grumble.
“Only because you make me that way, sweetheart.” His chuckle is already grating on my nerves.
* * *
Igo into the meeting with Easton, and I come out with the Westbrook Beast. I hate to admit that he might be right, but Mr. Fontaine was not happy to see us. Easton’s questions made him uncomfortable, and he couldn’t get rid of us fast enough.
“Did you know your grandfather leased that land to the town?”
“Well, yeah. It was kind of a joke. He wanted his own national park, and he wanted the town to have a place to hike and camp that wasn’t always full of tourists.”
“I mean, seriously, Lexi, who puts their land up for auction like that without a safety net in place? Did you know about the development clause? If the town chooses to lease your land to developers, it’s as good as gone.”
This is news to me, and will be a devastating blow for GG. It crushes what’s left of my heart to know this is going to hurt her.
“No, I didn’t. It shouldn’t surprise me, though. Gramps was always looking out for people. Not just for himself, but for everyone in town.”
“Yeah, well, that’s up for debate. Who makes a contract that leaves something this important up to the sole discretion of the mayor?”
