‘Nothing’s happening here,’ she refutes. ‘We slept together. That’s it. Tomorrow you go back to being you, I go back to being me, and we get down to the work I’m supposed to be doing.’
I let out a sharp laugh at that.
‘Why’s that funny?’
‘Well, sweetheart, it almost sounds like you think this was a one-time thing?’
When she looks at me now, her defiance slips for a moment, and she looks … something. Something I can’t quite explain. ‘I think it kind of has to be.’
‘Why?’
She stubs her toe across the carpet, her gaze dropping to follow the line she draws. ‘There’s just too much at stake for me, you know?’
‘Who the hell would care that much?’
‘I’ve told you, the people I work with?—’
‘Why’s your sex life any of their business?’
She compresses her lips. ‘For starters, there’s a code of ethics, Beau. None of this is simple.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘It means I have to work out what my duties are here.’
‘You’re saying you’re not allowed to sleep with me?’
Her cheeks glow pink. ‘No. But I probably have to tell someone. I don’t know. Can you just leave it alone?’
‘I’m trying to understand.’
‘You don’t need to understand. It’s my life, and I’m telling you this is the right decision for me.’
Irritation at the whole situation arcs inside of me, but I know she’s right; I have no choice but to respect what she’s saying, even when it seems like she’s blowing things way out of proportion. ‘Okay, look, let me just say this.’ I lift my hands and hold them palms out, in the universal gesture of appeasement. ‘I said you can trust me, and you can. I’ve got no interest in having my business out there either.’
She snorts.
‘What?’
‘You’re a fucking social media star.’
I laugh at that. ‘I’m really not.’
She rolls her eyes. ‘You have like millions of followers.’
‘The ranch has millions of followers.’
‘Because of you.’
‘And Mack and Nash and everyone; it’s the whole family.’
She shakes her head. ‘I can’t do this.’
‘We said behind closed doors?—’
‘Yeah, well, you keep opening them.’
‘What does that even mean?’
