Page 63 of The Undercover Cowboy

He shook his head. “No.”

“I was going to tell you last night. Loretta and I had a long talk. I was just so afraid you’d think less of me. I can call Jefferson Laker and you can talk with him.”

“Who’s Jefferson Laker?”

“Finn’s father. He had hired me as an escort, but I couldn’t go through with the sex part.”

“I’m sure the last thing Jefferson wants to do is talk about hiring escorts with me.”

Dolly stifled a chuckle. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But he can at least tell you I never went through with it. I never slept with anyone for money. He can vouch for me.”

“You don’t need to prove anything to me. The choices you made, the things you had to do to get where you are. I can only imagine the strength that took. The grit. I know you’ve worked your ass off to build yourself up from nothing. So don’t sell yourself short. You’ve been through a lot, and you did your best. That’s all anyone can ask for. You’re strong. Stronger than you realize. And I’m proud of you.”

“That means a lot.”

“Even if you had been a full-service escort, it doesn’t matter to me.” He tilted up her chin so she could look into his eyes.

“But you’re a rule guy and sleeping with people for money is illegal.”

“I know. But maybe I’m learning that if it doesn’t hurt someone else, it’s sometimes okay to break a rule. You being an escort only hurt you. And I hate that. But at the end of the day, you were doing what you thought was right and what you had to do. That’s none of my business, especially since it happened long before I met you.”

“So you’re really okay with this?”

Nash nodded. “I’m not okay that Jackson Blevins sent you that gift and got you upset.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“I understand why you didn’t. But in the future…”

“You’ll be the first one I come to.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” he said. “And now it’s my turn to tell you something about my past.”

“Were you a hooker too?”

He gave a half-laugh. “No.”

“Let’s sit down,” she said and sat next to him on the couch.

“Miles Garrett was my partner when we worked at the FBI. It ended badly between us.”

“Badly how?”

“Miles wasn’t following the rules. I reported him. More than once. He got his wrist slapped and then requested a transfer, which was granted. And I was encouraged to retire or get used to riding a desk.”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” she said.

“It wasn’t. So Miles and I have history and I’m having a hard time trusting him because of his past. I know the world isn’t black and white, but operating in the gray still seems wrong to me.”

“What’s he investigating? Is it Blevins? He can’t screw this up for us.”

“Forget Blevins for a moment. He’s a nonissue.”

“How can you say that?” she asked, staring at him incredulously.

“Because this is more important. You and I are more important. I’ve spent so much time trying to pin something on Blevins, I missed out on a lot of opportunities. Opportunities to be with you.” Nash stroked her hair. “I lost everything once because I couldn’t compromise. I don’t want to lose you too.”

“Fat chance that’s going to happen.” Dolly took a deep breath. “I think I love you.”

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