“Wren,” I said, her name coming out harsher than I’d meant it to.
Her shoulders stiffened at the greeting.
Neither of us used the nicknames we’d always called one another.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, because she just continued standing there staring at me like she was working up the nerve to say something.
I knew Wren. Hell, I knew Wren better than I knew myself most of the time.
At least I used to.
She cleared her throat, tipping her chin up and meeting my gaze.
“I’m here for the job.”
I arched a brow. “Is this a joke?”
“I’m not laughing, am I?”
“You haven’t spoken to me in two years, and you show up here looking for a job?” I shook my head with disbelief. “Does that not strike you as a little odd?”
I saw the way her shoulders drooped.
The way those dark brown eyes fell, the same ones that still haunted my dreams most days.
And I did everything I could to prove that I didn’t care.
I’d worked hard to turn off my feelings for Wren, ever since the dayshe’dleft me.
two
. . .
Wren
I knewhe wouldn’t make this easy for me. I hadn’t expected him to, but a small part of me hoped that he’d be able to look at me and know that I needed a break right now.
I was at the lowest point of my life.
Axel Chadwick knew me better than anyone.
But he just stood there, arms crossed over his chest, as his gaze hardened when it met mine.
“I didn’t know the details about the job. I certainly didn’t know that I’d be working for you.” I shrugged. “I did a remote interview with Brenner Layton. I signed on with a temp agency, and I was only given the details about the actual job requirements. How was I supposed to know that it was your company?”
“And when you got the address, it didn’t sound familiar? I believe the last time you were here, you were sitting right there in that barn making plans with me. I’d say that you’ve spent enough damn time on this property to know that the address was mine.”
I squared my shoulders. I was not going to let him see how difficult this was for me. I hated asking anyone for help. I alwayshad. I made a point to never put myself in a position to have to do it.
But desperate times called for desperate measures.
Otherwise, I would have bailed on this job the minute I saw who I’d be working for.
“I recognized the address last night. Would you have preferred that I just no-show for the job?” I cleared my throat, trying to keep my composure.
“That’s kind of your thing, isn’t it?” He gave me a look. “It’s not like it would be the first time you bailed on me.”
His words were a punch to the gut.
