“Were you able to find out anything?” she asked.
“Nothing major, but I think I confirmed some of the stories that are common knowledge.”
“You did? Is anyone willing to say anything publicly?”
“Not yet. But I’m working on it.”
“Oh. Okay.”
There wasn’t a damn thing about that conversation that even remotely sounded like it was related to home searches or decorating.
But why would Connor lie?
And did he really want to find out?
For two days, she’d been working her ass off at the Lakeview Harbor Resort. It didn’t seem possible for so much furniture to be delivered, unpacked, assembled, and placed in the rooms, but it was happening.
Fast.
Once Walker had informed her that the carpets were installed and the painters were done, she had pushed the deliveries through, and to see it all coming together was like a thing of beauty. She felt energized and exhausted in the best possible way every night when she went back to that crappy little hotel.
Like tonight.
Basically, she was only here to sleep. Connor had been feeding everyone who was moving the furniture, and she’d been eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner there. It was so nice to be around people who were just genuinely decent.
But she’d barely seen Axel.
She didn’t want to come right out and ask where he was, but she heard Walker and Connor mention how he was putting in a lot of time making sure all the cabins were ready for when their furniture arrived.
Which would be next week.
As for meals, she couldn’t say where he was, just that he wasn’t eating with everyone else. It bothered her that he was clearly avoiding her after they had seemed to part on good terms. Of course, it was possible that he truly was busy and he was making his own meals, but it seemed silly considering literally everyone else working on the property was up in the lodge.
Sighing, she kicked off her shoes and took the elastic band out of her hair, shaking out her ponytail. Rubbing her scalp, she slowly padded to the bathroom and opted to take a shower just to wash the grime of the day off. She wasn’t doing any of the lifting, but it was a lot of running around and answering questions about where things got placed, and there were a few issues with some pieces that came in damaged.
Still, it felt great to be working.
And it felt even greater to step under the hot water and just let all her sore muscles get a little relief. There was no need to rush, so she simply let the water do its thing while she thought about everything she wanted to accomplish tomorrow at the resort.
Like finding Axel and making him talk to her.
It was foolish, and she knew she should just let it go, but she couldn’t.
Connor’s advice at the wedding came to mind.
“Just don’t mess with him, okay? Axel’s had a hard life. Like…a really hard life. I get that the two of you hooked up and maybe it didn’t mean anything beyond the moment, but…if he knows about your real life, it’s going to seriously screw with his head. He’s going to take it personally.”
The thing was, it did mean something beyond the moment. And if Connor would just dig up the dirt on Bryce so she could get out of this situation, she knew that she and Axel could have something. Even with her revealing her true identity and telling him everything about her family, she still believed they could have something.
“Especially if I’m disowned,” she murmured, but pushed that thought away quickly.
In a perfect world, she would be rid of Bryce and have control over her life and still have access to her family’s money and connections. She had a trust fund coming to her when she turned thirty, but that was still three years away. Then, she’d really feel secure in her own life.
She just wasn’t willing to wait three years to have a genuine relationship with Axel.
Why couldn’t things be simple?
Why couldn’t she just have normal parents and a normal life?
