“Tate took the kids to your mom’s place, and they won’t get home until later. I thought I could get some lessons outlined so I can relax a little for Friday.”
Halloween was this Friday. No one was getting anything done. The school had their fall festival and the kids could get dressed up. There was an art fair in the gymnasium and families were invited for the last two hours to tour the projects and have hot chocolate.
“Mama will send you home a plate of food.”
She put her hand on her stomach. “I’m counting on there being dessert too.”
I laughed. “There will be. If Mama doesn’t remember, Tate will.”
She put her elbow on the edge of the desk. The chair was so short her head barely reached her hand when she rested her chin in her palm. “I take it it’s going well?”
“So well.” A heat wave crept up my neck. “I really like him, Scarlett.”
“I hope so. You married him.” There was a slight question in her tone.
“I know you don’t think it’s real.” It felt legitimate. Each day that went by, my dream was becoming more of a reality. I liked going home to him. I loved waking up to him—and that was before he made me orgasm before work. But the calendar continued to tear a page away with each day. Slowly, we were creeping up to the closing date.
I didn’t want to wonder if he was waiting to go back to his plush penthouse and his runway-ready CFO and fuck buddy. That wasn’t part of my fantasy. Neither was him unpacking that suitcase of his and actually hanging something up in a closet. As long as he kept folding his clean laundry right back into his suitcase, I had no delusions.
“I think...” She ran her lower lip between her teeth. “I think your brothers are terrified it’s not real. They seeyou as the little sister they were supposed to protect. I see you as a smart and savvy woman who might drool at the sight of Gideon but would see through a facade.”
I stiffened. Scarlett was also intelligent and observant. I couldn’t tell her about the deal and ask her not to tell Tate. I wasn’t risking the only chance Gideon had, and I refused to put that kind of strain on my friend. “We must look like an odd couple.”
I was plain; he was a god. I was short; he was tall. I was wealthy in family connections, and he isolated himself. How could we be truly in love when he ran a company that earned over a million a day, and my late nights were filled with paste and construction paper?
Sympathy registered in her eyes. She sat back and wobbled intentionally side to side on her stool. “You two look adorable and I wish you knew it.”
I stuck my tongue out at her. Not even my students did that. “You’re supposed to say that. You’re my friend.”
“Do you think I feel like I belong next to Tate? The CEO turned single dad mountain man?”
“He’s a rancher. And you’re gorgeous.” I knew how she felt. We rocked the same style and it normally didn’t bother us. But we were only human.
“Good thing the cows don’t care he’s grumpy half the time.”
“He’s grumpy because he’s not with you.”
Her expression went dreamy. “Yeah.” She blinked, back to the mild teacher I knew. “He is worried about you, and it’s because he doesn’t trust Gideon, not you. I’m staying out of it, but I’m worried about you too. Why don’t you talk to Tate?”
Why didn’t Tate talk to me? “I don’t think it’d help.” I might as well sidle up to the wall and have a longconversation. If Tate didn’t want to budge on anything, he wouldn’t. And since he was head of Bailey Beef and this deal was going through the ranch, then his mind was made up. He was the oldest. He’d always been in charge. Teller and Tenor would follow his lead.
She put her hands up. “I’m not going to wedge myself in the middle. Just know you can always talk to me. I won’t go to Tate with everything.”
I lifted a brow.
She rolled her eyes. “I do keep some things from him.”
I kept the brow arched.
“Fine. I’m an open book with him, okay? But I’m still here for you.”
“Thank you.” I had been hesitant to be my usual self with Scarlett, unsure of what she’d report to her husband.
“What I really came here for, other than a check-in, is to see if you were going to be home tomorrow night for trick-or-treating.”
“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”
“Maybe you have a hot date? Or maybe you’ll be in flagrante?”
