Page 40 of Bitter Rival

“I meant what I said. If you leave, I’m leaving too.” Her eyes meet mine, gaze unwavering, chin lifted in defiance. “We’re either in this together or not at all.”

“You’d walk away from tens of millions of dollars?” I ask skeptically. She nods. “Why?” I prompt.

She swallows, her gaze drifting to the window. “It wouldn’t be right to end up with something that should have rightfully gone to you,” she says quietly. “I don’t need that kind of bad karma in my life. And…”

Daisy bites her lip, brow furrowed like she’s trying to solve a complicated equation. “Your father wanted this to be yours but for whatever reason, he didn’t give it to you outright. He should have but he didn’t.” Her eyes meet mine and she arches a brow. “Why do you think I agreed to do this in the first place?”

The answer is so obvious I can’t believe I even have to say the words. “The money. Why else would you be here?”

“Oh, haven’t you noticed?” She plants her fists on her hips. “This is just an extended summer vacation for me. An unpaid vacation where I’m working six days a week but who cares about the details?”

“Don’t worry. You’ll be cashing in soon and your three months of hardship will all pay off.” Just saying the words leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

“There you go again!” she cries, throwing up her hands. “Not everything is about money, Beck.”

“Next you’re going to tell me you don’t care about money.”

“I don’t,” she says. “I’m realistic enough to know that money is a necessary evil but I’m not chasing the almighty dollar. I’m not here for the money. I’m here for you.” She stabs her finger at me. “I’m doing this for you.”

I huff out a laugh. “You can’t honestly expect me to believe that.”

“God, you’re such a cynic. But just stop and think about it.” She starts pacing, gesticulating with her hands. “If I was just in it for the money, I would have tried to cut you out. I would have told Harold you’re not lifting your weight around here.”

She spins on her heel and glares at me. “If I was anything like my mother, I would have found a way to prevent you from even showing up. And I would have ensured that you never walked away with a dime. But I didn’t resort to any of those tricks. I didn’t do any of that. Because I am not my mother,” she says, enunciating every word, her voice escalating until she’s yelling.

She takes a deep breath and lets it out, relaxing her shoulders. “I can’t force you to keep this vineyard. But if you want the money, stay. If not, let’s go. Because I have better things to do with my time and I’m guessing you do too. So what’s it gonna be, Beck?” She lifts her chin, eyes defiant. “Are we in this together or not?”

Are we in this together or not?

I tilt my head and study her face. Those rose-tinted bee-stung lips. The sharp cheekbones. The golden blonde hair with lighter platinum strands that are a hundred percent natural and don’t come from a fancy salon.

There’s no point in pretending otherwise—Daisy is beautiful. But she drives me insane. Challenges me at every turn. Tempts me beyond reason.

She’s unpredictable. Chaotic. A perfect storm.

Spending the next two and a half months living and working with her will be a special kind of torture. That much has already been proven in the past two weeks.

I’m tempted to throw in the towel. Walk right out the door and leave this whole mess behind, if only to preserve my own sanity and save myself the hassle.

“So if I told you I’m going to walk away right now, you would walk away.”

“Yes,” she says without a moment’s hesitation.

She sounds so sincere that she almost has me convinced she’s telling the truth. I stroke my jaw, trying to figure out what her angle is. “What’s the catch, princess?”

“No catch. But if we walk out, fair warning. I’m stealing the truck,” she says breezily. “I’ll need a getaway car.”

I quirk a brow. “Planning to rob a bank?”

She shrugs, a small smile playing on her lips. “Only if it’s on my way.”

“On your way to where?”

You don’t care. Why are you asking?

“My next adventure.”

“What kind of adventures do you go on, Daisy?”

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