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“I don't control everything.”

He didn't say anything. Which somehow said everything.

“I delegate.”

“Sure you do.”

“I run a multinational corporation. Delegation is literally part of my job.”

“Uh-huh.”

I narrowed my eyes into the darkness. “You're very annoying.”

“So I've been told.”

I rolled onto my back. The ceiling was much less judgmental.

The worst part was, he wasn't wrong.

I did need control. Schedules. Budgets. Contingency plans. Backup contingency plans.

I liked knowing what was coming. I liked being prepared. Because when I was little, I'd learned that surprises usually came with overdue bills and cardboard boxes.

And when I'd gotten older, I'd learned that sometimes the people you trusted most were the ones keeping the biggest secrets.

Control wasn't about power. It was about safety. But I wasn't about to unpack all of that with a shirtless man whose existence was already causing significant disruptions to my nervous system.

“Go to sleep, Damon.”

His low chuckle filled the darkness. “I'll take that as a yes.”

“Take it however you want.”

“Good to know.”

I pulled the blanket up to my chin. “Goodnight, Damon.”

“Night, Mickey.”

I turned away from him. And smiled. Which was ridiculous.

Nothing about this situation was funny.

My cabin was uninhabitable. My mother was flying in tomorrow. Damon had somehow volunteered to pick her up. I was sharing a bed with a man I was only pretending to date.

A man who'd noticed I was struggling before I'd managed to say a word. Who'd taken care of me without making me feel helpless. Who'd asked about my childhood and listened to the answer. And who, apparently, could see straight through the armor I'd spent most of my adult life building.

I stared into the darkness.

For the first time in a very long time, I wasn't thinking about tomorrow's schedule, unanswered emails, or everything that could go wrong.

I was thinking about the man lying beside me.

And how, for someone who needed to control everything, I was starting to enjoy the feeling of letting go.

Which was absolutely terrifying.

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