I cross my arms, quietly fuming. “Go on then. Tell me,” I bite out.
With a sigh she rubs her forehead, then lets her arm fall to her side. “I didn’t sign the NDA. I didn’t accept the position, even though he wants to pay me over a hundred grand a year.”
My jaw hangs open. “Seriously?” What the hell is Park up to?
“Yes, seriously. But I don’t want to work for Park. Your father has been nothing but kind to me since I met him. I don’t want to risk making him mad, you know?” Her shoulders slump
and she looks so defeated, so sad, I give in to impulse and pull her into my arms, holding her close.
“You did the right thing,” I murmur against her soft hair, running my hand up and down her back, loving the feel of her so snug in my arms. “I’m glad you turned him down.”
“He really tried to guilt me into it too. Well, more like bribe me into it. He kept talking about my salary and perks of the job.” Her voice is muffled against my chest and I strain to hear her. “I don’t get what he’s trying to do, Rhett. I don’t know why he wants me involved.”
To get back at Dad and me? But why me? What did I ever do to him? I’m keeping his and Diane’s secret, and it’s a big one. A life changer.
Why would he want to piss me off?
Of course, he already pissed me off at Addie’s party when he called out Jensen for her job. That was utter bullshit. He’s being so careless, like he just doesn’t give a damn.
One day, his carelessness is going to bite him in the ass.
“He hasn’t been making the best decisions lately,” I say.
That’s an understatement. He’s been screwing up left and right.
Jensen pulls away so she can look up at me. “After I left the interview, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. And how I needed to tell you the truth.”
I frown. “The truth about what?”
She seems to hesitate, taking a deep breath and letting it out in a shaky exhale. “The truth about…” Her voice drifts and she closes her eyes. Shakes her head once. “About this. About what your brother asked me to do.”
Maybe she was trying to tell me something else. I don’t know why I feel this way, but I do. There are more secrets here. I have them, she has them, and I don’t know how to confess mine.
Maybe she feels the same exact way.
Jensen
Because I’m weak, I let Rhett stay the night. We sleep wrapped around each other on the tiny double bed in Savannah’s even tinier second bedroom that I’ve been using, my head on his chest, his steady heartbeat lulling me to sleep. Nothing happens sexually, which is fine by me. I’m emotionally exhausted and I think he is too. I can’t keep up with the lies and the outlandish requests.
Worse, after much discussion with Rhett, neither of us can figure out Park’s motive in asking me to be his assistant, beyond his odd “you know how to keep a secret” reasoning. That’s not good enough.
There has to be something more.
I wake up in the morning to find my face still pressed against Rhett’s now bare chest, his thick arms holding me tight, our legs tangled together. I’m sure I have wicked morning breath and I bet he does too, so I’m trying to disengage myself from his hold so I can go brush my teeth. But my pulling away seems to make him only hold on to me tighter, and when I lift my head to check on him, I find that he’s awake, watching me with narrowed eyes, a tiny smile curving his perfectly sculpted lips.
“You can’t get away that easily,” he murmurs, his sleep-roughened voice extra sexy, making everything within me tingle with awareness.
Of course.
“I wanted to go brush my teeth,” I admit, going for honesty. If we’re really going to make this work, I need to be open with him.
One step at a time though. One step at a time.
“I probably should too.” He doesn’t let go of me, though. It’s like he’s not going anywhere and I squirm against him, trying to slither out of his grip. “Not yet, babe. You’re so warm.”
Aw. My heart does a flip at him calling me babe in that sleepy-sexy voice of his. I push thoughts of bad breath out of my brain and snuggle in close, enjoying his warmth, the smooth skin of his chest, the reassuring sound of his heartbeat. I could go back to sleep if I wanted to. Escaping the pressures of reality for a few more hours sounds awfully pleasant…
But then I feel Rhett’s large hand on my butt, caressing me there, his fingers tickling, making me wiggle. It feels like his hand is actually on my skin, burning me, lighting me up inside, and when he slides his hand to the front of my shorts and dips inside, I suck in a sharp breath at first touch.