Page 47 of Hats off to Love

“Missed me did you,” I tease as his head drops a little, his hair falling forward and tickling my skin.

He lets out a single chuckle, and I feel it straight to my bones. “I did.”

Letting out another exhale, he releases me and takes a step back so I can climb in. As we pull away from the curb, he reaches over and takes my hand.

Always touching me.

I like it.

A lot.

“How was your day?” he asks, quickly glancing at me so he can keep his eyes on the road. “How is Avery’s dress coming along?”

“My day was good. We were busy all day. I was starting to worry that people would not be happy with the inventory I have left since it is kind of picked over, but people are still buying and they’re still happy. Avery’s dress is pretty much done. At this point I’m just tinkering with it.”

With Stokes at the farm last night and Molly out with Austin, I had a quiet evening where I ate leftover Italian and worked for hours on Avery’s dress. I’m so proud of this garment, and I can’t imagine that she won’t love it.

“That’s great. I can’t wait to see it.” He rubs his thumb across the back of my hand, and for some reason, a blush warms my skin. Avery seeing the dress and liking it is one thing, but Stokes is another. I want him to like it. I want him to be proud of me, too. Stupid? Yes, but I still do.

“How’s the farm? Did you talk to Grayson?” The streetlights kick on as the sun is about to set. The fluorescent lights flash throughout the car as we make our way downtown.

“The farm is good, and I did. We sat down with Rick, the head of security, and my mother. Grayson had heard about the Blantons’ horse, but not Bluegrass Fields. They are in agreement that it is one too many incidents to ignore, but we’re going to keep this quiet to not alert anyone that we might be onto something—if there is even something to be onto.” He shrugs his shoulder and shakes his head. “But we would hate to entice anyone to do something more severe. For the next two weeks, the only people who will have access to Ace are the family, Grayson, Jody, his handler, and the veterinarian. Even then, Jody and the vet will be searched out of precaution, and we are adding more security cameras to the barn.”

“That sounds like a good idea, and I’m glad they didn’t think I was crazy either.”

“Never.” He cracks a smile, and then it fades as we come to a stop at a red light. The double lines have dropped into place as he looks at me, and instantly I’m uneasy.

“What is it?” I ask, squeezing his hand.

“The Tea.” He says it like it pains him.

My eyes shift down to my lap, and I look at our hands. “Yeah, I saw it. Molly showed me.”

“Rosie, you and me, we’re in this together. You know I would never, right?” he asks, worry laced between his words.

Do I know this? Relationship Stokes is someone completely different from my-enemy-number-one Stokes. That is, unless he’s ultimately doing all this as one big prank to mess with my emotions. But even then, I’m pretty certain his code of honor to always do the right thing would win out. Plus, he hates change and messy situations. Inserting one person into his daily routine is probably hard enough on him; he could never add two. Also, unless he lied—and deep down in my gut I don’t think he did—he’s made it clear how he feels about Suzy Collier.

My eyes rise to find his. Whiskey and mossy green, my two favorites of the ever-changing colors, are present and swirled together. “I do,” I tell him, and he briefly closes his eyes. His shoulders relax as he lets out a long sigh.

Mostly, I think Stokes couldn’t care less about what people think of him. He knows who he is and he’s worked so hard to be the man that he is, but that simple movement tells me what I think does matter to him. Maybe his feelings aren’t so different from mine.

Maybe this isn’t as fake as it was meant to be.

Then again, I care about what Molly thinks, and I don’t want to be in a relationship with her.

“Good,” he says as the light changes and we’re on our way. “She’s just so . . . awful.” He scowls. “I had Christopher revising something for me, so I offered to run out and grab us a couple of sandwiches. On the sidewalk, she ambushed me out of nowhere and followed me to the deli across the street. To be polite, I offered to buy her lunch, but that’s it. We didn’t eat together, I certainly didn’t touch her, and that picture looked so bad. You’ve seen her—you know how she is.”

“I know her type. I’m not worried about the picture, and you shouldn’t be either.” I pat the top of his hand with my free one.

“It’s not me I’m worried about . . . it’s you.” He looks over at me, concern stamped across his gorgeous features.

I want to ask him why. I should ask him why, but for some reason I don’t. While my revelations about him have made me see things clearer and my feelings toward him have shifted, there’s the possibility that his haven’t. I’d rather live in this fake relationship bubble with him for a little bit longer than have him tell me otherwise.

“Well, you don’t need to. I’m good.” I plaster on a smile I hope he doesn’t see is somewhat fake.

Besides, it wasn’t that this photo was of him and Suzy that ultimately bothered me; it was the photo in general. One day there will be a photo, lots of photos, of him with someone who will not be me. That’s what I saw when I looked at the picture. That’s what got to me.

The rest of the ride to his building is quick and mostly quiet. We park in his underground designated parking spot for the firm, and he slips on a black sweater over his shirt. He pulls out the collar and lines up the cuffs of his sleeves, and then he takes my hand as we enter the elevator and head to the roof.