“Oh, stop. We’ll figure this out. That is …” She pauses.
“That is what?” I ask, confused about where she was going with her thoughts.
“That is, if you actually want to date this guy. Does your work have ano datingclause? Have you thought of that?”
“No!” I sit up and cover my mouth with my hand. “It hasn’t even crossed my mind. I have no clue. What if it does?” Now my emotions really get the best of me, and my voice cracks.
I hear her let out a breath. “Well … I see two things now. One, you just answered your own question about how much you really like this guy, and, two, you need to figure out that dating clause before you go any further. I know this is your dream job, but some companies put the smackdown on that real quick.”
I plop back down on the bed. “I’m so screwed,” I say barely above a whisper because it’s all I can get out.
“Yes, my dear. Yes, you are.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
David
The next morning, I walk down to the breakfast buffet to grab some coffee and see what else they have. As I turn the corner, I see Zoe already sitting there with her laptop open and a plate of food sitting in front of her. She doesn’t see me from afar, so I wait this second to take her in while I walk to where the food is.
She’s wearing a pair of black dress pants and a silky-looking white tank top with black flats. I glance down at my Ariat jeans and cowboy boots and laugh. I look Montana professional, while she looks New York professional. She’s definitely in for a treat today. I hope she doesn’t care too much about those shoes though.
After yesterday, I’m starting to see her in a different light, but I’m not sure if that is a good thing or not. She was always this little spitfire, and I had no problem giving her flame right back, but now, for the life of me, I can’t figure out why things have changed between us. It’s not like we physically did something to one another that warranted the way we acted toward each other. We just did.
I pour myself a cup of coffee, grab a banana and a muffin, then head over her way.
“Can I join you?” I ask.
She visibly jumps in her seat, then looks up at me with a blank expression.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” I sit down, not waiting for the answer to the question I asked, and make myself at home at her table.
She moves her laptop to the side and closes it, which I take as a good sign. If she didn’t want me here, she would have kept it open, working on whatever she was reading so intently.
“Morning,” she says before taking a bite of her waffle.
“How did you sleep?” I try to start our morning with civility.
“Good, considering it’s a hotel. The bed wasn’t too bad. How about you?”
“Same. The first night is always so weird because you don’t really know where you are, you know?” I open my banana and take a bite. I chew a little, then take a sip of my coffee, loving the way they taste together.
“I can see that. I don’t go a lot of places, so I didn’t think about it that way. What’s on the itinerary for today?”
“Once we leave here, we’ll go to the farm to meet Samantha, and she’s going to give us a tour. We’ll have lunch there, and then we’ll go to where they are actually making the product.”
“It’s all done here?”
I don’t know why that surprises her, but it does.
“Yeah, when there aren’t crazy ingredients, they can make it just right there on the farm. And there is no reason to ship the tallow somewhere else. She’s still in the building-out process, but the manufacturing process is pretty much complete.”
We finish our breakfast before heading back up to our rooms, deciding to meet in the lobby in ten minutes.
When I arrive downstairs, she’s sitting in a chair near the front door, applying lip gloss. The way her lips shine from the light spilling in through the big windows makes me pause while my chest unexpectedly tightens at the sight.
Before I can gain my composure, she sees me and gives me the cutest smile, which only makes this feeling inside of me worse.
I inhale a deep breath and continue making my way toward her. “Ready?” I try to say as nonchalant as possible.
