“Are you okay? You look okay. In fact, you look too okay,” she rambles, scrutinizing my face.
I laugh at her words. I’m sure I look certifiable right now, but I feel nothing but content.
“I’m more than okay. She apologized for the entire college situation, and I accepted it. Then told her if she wants to hire us to send me an email and you would get back to her to get on the schedule.”
Ainsley bursts out laughing. “Damn! You shut her down quickly.”
I chuckle along with her. “Yeah, I don’t really know if she had an ulterior motive, but I didn’t want to hear it at all.”
“So, she’s in Vegas and heard about us?” she asks once she stops laughing.
“Yeah. Apparently, a landscaper in her neighborhood went to the conference and was super impressed, so he’s been recommending us for sustainable landscaping whenever it comes up. I probably need to figure out who he is so we can use him as a contractor,” I muse out loud.
“I can do that,” she says, already mentally adding it to her workload.
I look at her and ask the first thing that pops into my head.
“Are you happy, Ainsley?
Chapter 32
Ainsley
For the first time in far too long, I don’t have to think about the answer to his question.
“Very happy.”
He gets a devilish smirk on his face before saying, “Wanna play hooky?”
I burst out laughing. “Hell no! I have shit to do to keep the business running, boss man.” I start climbing out of his lap, but he holds me tight to him.
Kissing my shoulder before he leans his cheek on it, I feel a deep sense of devotion radiating from him. Three months ago, a conversation like this would have sent me off the deep end. I would have been jealous, scared, and fearful things were coming to an end. But right now? I feel nothing but peace. Do I still have things to figure out? Yes, but the way forward is much clearer now.
I don’t feel this crushing weight to figure out what direction my life is going to go immediately. I have a good job and enough time to really think about my career. And I have Ledger.
I quickly peck his forehead before climbing off his lap.
“I really do have a lot that needs to get done today, but dinner later?” As much as I want to stay with him and play hooky, he’s running a business and someone needs to keep the wheels running. I smirk at thethought of having such an integral part in this company when I started with the intention of this being a throwaway job.
Who knew things would change so drastically? Larkin was right that my mindset about the job title needed to change. No longer looking at it as a shitty job and instead taking pride in it. And trying to make sure to lessen the load on Ledger’s shoulders at the same time.
“Dinner sounds great. I’ll see you at my place later?”
I nod and head for the door, counting down the minutes until dinner. Cooking with Ledger most nights is something I never knew I wanted. Never knew would fill me with so much happiness that I just want to scream from the rooftop.
And yet, I’m still forcing him to keep us a secret.
It feels like if I let the town in on our new coupledom, it’ll pop this bubble we’re living in. The outside influence still scares me more than I want to admit, and I worry I won’t be able to handle the attention all the time. I’ve come a long way since moving here, but I still feel like things are fragile.
I definitely need to work on that. Ledger deserves better than hiding.
The quick trip home gives me time to wrap my head around the gossip mill learning about us. I’m nowhere near ready, but just having it in the back of my mind feels like progress.
Plopping down in my office chair, I jump back into emails. I wasn’t lying when I said I had work to do. We’ve gotten an influx of emails for consults, and I need to get a handle on them. If we played hooky, the entire company would be behind on things, and I don’t want that to happen.
It’s nearing five o’clock, and I’m close to a stopping point when my phone rings.
“Ainsley Mathews,” I answer absentmindedly.
