“Why are you smiling so much today?”
I shrug like I haven’t a clue what Logan’s talking about and try to focus on the bills in front of me.
“Nah, don’t give me that. Hmm.” He rubs his chin like he has wisdom to spare and looks me over. “Let’s see. You didn’t yell at me for being late or accidentally spilling coffee on your desk. And I caught you whistling this morning.” A smirk spreads on his face. “If you ask me, you look like a man who finally got laid.”
“Good thing I didn’t ask.”
That smirk widens. “And you didn’t deny it.”
“What are we, in high school? You wanna compare dick sizes now? We got shit to do. Stop being an ass and get to work.”
He snorts. “We both know I’d win in the dick compartment.”
“In your pea-head dreams, bro.” Laughing, I shake my head and reach for a pen on my messy desk.
A soft knock on the door makes me look up. Tori peeks in my office, and I have to force myself to not charge toward her and pin her to the wall for a kiss. “Hey, honey. What’s up?”
She gives me one of those smiles that sends prickles of heat all over my body. “Just wondering if y’all wanted some dinner. I know you’re waiting for that client, but I made some stew. I can bring it in here if you want.”
God, this woman.
Logan taps a pencil on the desk. “Actually, can you come in here a sec? I wanna ask a favor.”
Sighing, I sit back in my chair, wary of whatever harebrained idea my brother’s concocted.
“Sure.” She smiles hesitantly and sits in one of the chairs opposite my desk, next to my brother.
He motions toward the kitchen. “Joey’s still here, right?”
She nods, and he darts out of the room for a second and then returns, settling back into the chair. “Joey’s gonna watch the kids for a sec. Okay, so you see this mess?” He waves at the mountain of paperwork in front of me and the files behind me, stacked in precarious piles on the cabinet. “Think you can help us get organized in here?”
What the fuck? “Logan, really? What did we just talk about the other day?” I specifically told him he’s not allowed to ask her to do any more around here.
He jabs a finger on a pile of bills. “I said I wouldn’t give her more work on her current salary, and I’m not. I mean, not really. Hear me out.”
Turning back to Tori, he breaks out one of his flirty smiles that makes me want to punch him in his pretty face. “I was thinking that Ethan and I are great with the horses but shitty with organizing all of this, and we really need to get our act together before that court date this week. I’ve gathered our tax returns and supporting docs for our attorney, but we’ve been so overwhelmed with that and our clients, I’m afraid we’re gonna miss paying one of our vendors or a tax bill or the vet. Who knows? We have a million things we’re not on top of right now, and I generally leave all of this to Ethan, but he’s working at max capacity right now.”
Internally, I cringe, because he’s right. If I’m being honest, I could cut out the few hours of baseball Tori and I watch. Except, fuck, when will I ever get a break? Even after enjoying a few innings, I head back to the barn to get all the horses to bed if I haven’t yet. Yes, even horses get tucked in too. Some require blinders. Others might need blankets if it’s raining. All of them like a little soothing talk. A few scratches behind the ear. Some TLC.
She nods sympathetically. “Makes sense. You guys have your hands full. What would you need me to do?”
Logan practically wags his tail, he’s so pleased with himself. “You worked at a law firm for a while in college, right? You probably have some office experience we could use here.”
Her face is blank, and she licks her lips. “Yeah, I mean, I didn’t work there long, but I can organize your bills if that’s all you need.”
“Cool. Your sister mentioned it when she first brought up you working here, and I thought maybe some of those office skills might be handy right about now.”
“Oh.” She seems to breathe a sigh of relief but then furrows her brow and looks down at her hands. She swallows. “I, uh, I should tell you that I got fired from that job.”
Logan and I look at each other, and he lifts an eyebrow. Shit.
I rub my forehead again. This is what happens when I let my brother run the background check. Half-assed as usual.
Not that I’d change anything. Tori is amazing with the kids, and I’m pretty damn fond of her myself. She’s done nothing to make me question her character. Even that one argument we had when we met isn’t really her fault. I was being an asshole.
I almost smile at the memory. Her all feisty and pissed. I love her fiery side. It’s different than Allison’s rage, which is always mean and manipulative.
No, unless Tori stabbed a coworker with a letter-opener, I don’t care that they fired her. It’s their loss.
He clears his throat. “Mind if I ask why?”
She gives me a sheepish smile. “I told off my boss.”
I laugh. “Did he deserve it?”
“Of course. I think in legal speak it’s called sexual harassment, but everyone ignored his behavior. Boys will be boys and all that.”
“He harassed you?” I don’t disguise the anger in my voice. The thought of some fuckhead being disrespectful toward Tori makes me want to kick that loser’s ass.
“No, thank God. He was perving on his secretary who put up with his behavior. I called him out on it one day, and he had me fired for insubordination and a lack of professionalism.” Her eyes tilt down again, and pink tints her cheeks. “I was just a college student, and I couldn’t afford the kind of expensive clothes they expected me to wear. He used that against me. Said I didn’t uphold their standards, and since I was a lowly paper-pusher and he was a senior partner, no one cared what I had to say about any of it. But the real kick in the head is the secretary I stood up for denied anything shady happened because she was afraid of losing her job.”
“Oh, darlin’, I’m so sorry.”
Another shrug. “Anyway, I wanted to be honest about my level of experience. I’m probably better at mixing drinks than anything requiring a suit and heels, but I can try my best. When do you want me to get started?”
I’m curious about this myself since, aside from a few hours of baseball a week, we’ve been working around the clock lately.
Logan gives her a big, charming smile that makes me roll my eyes. “I was wondering if I could pay you extra to stay this weekend and get a jump start.”
I let out an unamused laugh. “What do you plan on paying her with? Pizza and beer? Come on, Logan. Get serious. She works enough, going above and beyond every day. Now you want her to give up the time she spends with her sister? That’s not fair.”
“Chill, man.” He scowls like I’ve insulted him. “I have my own money, you know. I’ve been saving. Besides, Joey said she might be able to help us watch the kids this weekend, so it’s the perfect time.”
“So you’re planning to pay Joey too?”
He scoffs. “No, she’s helping because she loves me. Duh.”
Swear to God, my brother is such a dipshit sometimes. He means well, but it’s like he’s operating on a half-tank of gas.
Tori tries to hide a smile. “How about this?” she replies gently. “I’ll grab breakfast with Kat Saturday morning, but I’ll be back by noon to organize your office, and I’ll split whatever you wanted to pay me with Joey.”
This girl is too cool. I give her a big, dumb smile, because yeah, she’s awesome. She stares back at me with those beautiful eyes, and I swear my heart skips a beat.
Logan clears his throat again. “You guys done eye-fucking?”
I reach over and punch him in the arm. “Have some respect.”
He chuckles and rubs his arm. “After this weekend, I figure we could get you some time occasionally to help manage the chaos in the office. Maybe when the kids nap. Not sure what we’re gonna do at the end of the summer when you head back to Austin, but I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
His words toss a bucket of ice water on me, and I look up to find Tori with the same disconcerted expression that’s probably on my face.
Silence hangs in the air, thick and uncomfortable. She shakes her head. “I, uh, I guess I don’t know what I’ll be doing this fall.” Her eyes shift away. “Your mom will be back soon, and I’m guessing y’all won’t need me around then.”
I don’t know what to say. I don’t want her to go, that’s for sure, but I have no idea what my mother’s plans are once she returns, or if it’s financially feasible for me to keep Tori on staff once Mila’s in school.
If Tori heads back to Austin, will I ever see her again? Brady got her car running again, but it’s a piece of crap, and I still can’t get her to drive my truck. If we do long-distance, it’s not fair to ask her to do all the mileage. I’m just not sure how I’d be able to get to Austin more than every other weekend when the kids are with their mom.
The idea of going from seeing Tori daily to twice a month wrecks me.
I shoot Logan a pained look. Couldn’t he let me be happy and blissfully ignorant for one fucking day? Because I don’t have the goddamn answers.
For all I know, next Wednesday the judge is gonna make me sell this place to pay back my ex-wife. Although my attorney said that’s highly unlikely, he couldn’t rule it out entirely, especially since Allison’s counsel already requested it. She swore up and down after the hearing that wasn’t her idea, that she was surprised by how aggressive her attorney was being, but I was too shell-shocked to process her words.
Since then, I’ve thought of little else. The only thing that’s brought me any reprieve is Tori.
And I might be losing her too at the end of the summer.
My brother glances back and forth between us and laughs awkwardly. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to open a whole can of worms here. Especially since you guys are in this ooey-gooey phase that makes me want to hurl.”
Leaning on my desk, I groan and drop my face into my hands, needing to block out everything for two minutes. A steady pounding beats in my temples, but I don’t have the energy to hunt down pain relievers.
There’s some shuffling of feet, and I’m guessing Logan just hightailed it outta here.
“Hey.”
I look up and find Tori standing next to me. She slides into my lap and presses her face into my neck. I pull her legs up over mine, wrap my arms around her and stick my nose into her hair.
How did she know I needed this?
“We’ll figure this out, okay?” Her soft words settle over me and soothe all the anxiety riffling through my nerves. She might be younger, but I swear she’s an old soul. “I’m here as long as you need me.”
Always. I’ll always need you.
I’m shocked at how fiercely that sentiment resonates in me, all the way down to my work boots. Have I ever felt this way about another woman? Never. Not even Allison.
Part of me is shouting this is insane, to fall for this girl when I’m barely out of my marriage.
While I can list a million reasons why Tori and I work as a couple, none of them negate the issues my brother brought up or the fact that I can’t afford to keep her on staff come this fall.
Squeezing her tight, I decide I need to find a way to make this happen. She’s too important to let go. I’ve lived with enough regrets in my life. Tori won’t be one of them.
