Page 34 of Bitter Rival

Which only goes to show how low I’ve sunk and how much she messes with my head—both of them.

Today her hair is pulled up in a haphazard ponytail with rebellious locks framing her face. The hem of her faded black Led Zeppelin T-shirt skims the frayed edges of her tiny cut-offs, and my gaze roams down her slender, toned legs to the chunky Doc Martens work boots on her feet and back up.

Even in profile, her face is damn near perfect with a small, straight nose, high cheekbones and those damn lips. Bee-stung and rose-tinted.

As if she feels the weight of our collective gaze, she turns to face us and tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear, eyes squinted against the morning sun.

After a moment’s hesitation, she gives us a smile and a little wave, which Caiden returns with a big-ass cheery wave.

Daisy takes a step in our direction, as if she’s going to join us, but has a change of heart. With a little shake of her head, she gets back to work, thinning the vines and tossing the discarded grape clusters into the center of the row.

I remember showing Daisy how to thin vines when she was a little kid, when her hands were still too small to do it one-handed.

She would tire of the chore quickly but follow me up and down the rows keeping up an endless stream of chatter to entertain me.

Now she’s wielding the secateurs like an old pro, methodically working her way up the row.

Meanwhile, Caiden and I are two grown-ass men just standing on the terrace doing jack shit while we ogle Daisy.

Like two cavemen who have never set eyes on a woman before.

“Well, hot damn,” Caiden says under his breath when she disappears up another row. “And you’re living under the same roof, huh?” His green eyes glint with amusement. “I remember when she was just a cute little kid following us around. She wanted to do everything we did. Remember when we got quad bikes and she kept begging for a ride? She’d chase us up and down the dirt trails until we finally gave in. We could never say no to her.”

He gives me the side-eye. “Looks like things haven’t changed much.”

Not sure where he came up with that based on a brief glimpse of Daisy, but as far as I’m concerned, everything has changed.

“I have no problem saying no to Daisy now.”

“Can’t wait to see how long that lasts.” He laughs like he’s in on a private joke as he digs his phone out of his pocket and checks his messages.

“My guys have just turned up,” he says all business now. “Looks like the weather is going to be warm and dry this week, so we’ll get started on the roof. I’ll have a better view of Daisy from up there too,” he says with a smirk.

“Perv,” I mutter.

“It’s sure to be the best view in the house,” he gloats as he waltzes away. “I’m thinking this job is going to take a lot longer than I expected.”

“I hope you fall off the fucking roof,” I call after him, and hear him chuckling as he rounds the side of the house.

Feels just like old times when we used to give each other shit and laugh for no good reason.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Beckett

Unfortunately, I’m not a kid anymore.

The following day, I wake up to a dozen alerts on my phone and spend an hour scrolling through news feeds, hoping like hell this is some kind of sick joke.

By ten o’clock, it’s official. We’re fucked. Royally. Up the ass without lube.

I grab the stress ball off my desk and squeeze the shit out of it while I pace, phone to my ear. Each step I take is heavier than the last.

“I can’t fucking believe this,” Grayson says for at least the dozenth time. He sounds stunned. Shell-shocked.

I can’t believe it either, and out of the two of us, I’m the bigger cynic. Royce Capital is teetering on the brink of collapse, and it all happened virtually overnight. So the deal we’ve been working on for over a year? It fell through.

It feels like I’ve been punched in the gut then kicked in the balls. Repeatedly.

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