“Look,” he continues quietly. “What happened with your parents, the hotel, all of it—that’s not on you.” He pauses. “And it didn’t change anything for me.”
My breath stutters. I keep my eyes pinned to the floor like itcan save me from drowning. He slows his steps, forcing me to do the same. “Mads,” he says softly, “you don’t need to act weird around me.”
We reach the corner of the hallway where my desk is, and I hover like an indecisive squirrel. He waits.
“I’m not acting weird,” I whisper.
He gives me a look that says he doesn’t buy it. “Okay. But I just want you to know that you don’t have to.”
Before I can respond—before I can embarrass myself further—someone appears behind us, softly clearing his throat.
“Hey, sorry to interrupt,” says the man, who I recognize from the accounting team. “Jesse, I just need you to sign-off on this by end of day.”
Jesse nods, giving me a last, lingering look before motioning for the guy to follow him toward his office. And just like that, I can breathe again.
At my desk, I replay the conversation in my head. Jesse had picked up on it, my quiet spiral into humiliation, the way I’d folded into myself without meaning to. But he didn’t seem to judge me for it, he didn’t try to force me into reacting a different way.
Maybe Jesse is different. Maybe Icanjust be me—awkward, emotional, and bruised in places I never show—and he’ll still look at me the way he did in that ballroom. The same way he had looked at me just now, steady and sure, like nothing about me scares him off. Not even my parents.
I feel the knot in my chest loosen for the first time in a week.
TWENTY-THREE
Jesse
I toss my phone aside and let my head fall back against Ford’s couch. Every muscle in my body feels locked up, coiled too tight. Poppy is asleep, out cold after our day together. I tried to be present, to focus only on her, but the truth is I’m emotionally exhausted. I spent the week at work being hyper-aware of Madeline’s every move, despite the fact that she tried desperately to avoid me. She seemed dead set on giving me the cold shoulder when all I wanted to do was pull her into an empty boardroom, close the blinds, and have a repeat of last weekend. And if that wasn’t stressful enough, I decided to top off the week by paying a visit to my dad last night. He took another chunk out of me, the way he always does. The way I always let him.
The front door opens, and a moment later, Landyn and Ford appear. Landyn looks at me like she’s deciding whether to scold me or hug me. “You look like someone siphoned the will to live right out of you. Did you and Poppyseed get into that much trouble today?”
“My niece was an angel, as always,” I tell her, pasting agrin on my face. “We made grilled cheese, played with the dog in the backyard, and now she’s sleeping. How was your day?”
Ford drops onto the arm chair across from me with a groan, stretching his legs out, taking up way too much space because he’s incapable of sitting like a normal human.
“Good, thanks,” Landyn says, smiling. “Thanks for watching her for us, Jess. Poppy was so excited to hang out with you. When I told her you’d be baby-sitting today she practically pushed us out the door.”
My brother pats his knee, and the look he gives Landyn is pure adoration. I feel the same way about her—without wanting to have sex with her. Landyn is a force in the boardroom, but she’s also thoughtful and caring and she listens to people in a way most people don’t. She’s become someone I can confide in, and that means a lot.
Ford lets out a low growl, catches her wrist, and hauls her straight into his lap. She laughs as she settles against him, draping an arm around my brother’s neck before turning her attention back to me.
“So, Jesse,” she says, head cocked to one side as she assesses me.
“Yes, Landyn,” I answer, suspicion in my voice. “What do you have up your sleeve?”
Her smile widens. “Oh nothing,” she says. “I just wanted to tell you that we are planning the first ever Cove staff party.”
“At our house,” Ford adds.
“Okay,” I say. “So, you’re inviting me to my own company party?”
“Exactly. Ford wanted to host it at the golf club but it’s under renovation, so we’re going to do it here.”
“She volunteered the house without asking,” Ford adds.
Landyn beams at him. “I knew you’d say yes.”
“I always do,” he sighs. And he’s right. He may complainsometimes, but it’s half-hearted. In the end, we all know he will happily let Landyn have her way. That’s Ford.
I tilt my head. “Who’s coming?”
