Page 27 of So Wrong It Must Be Right

She shook her head sadly and Dinah felt strangely like crying. Kayla had always been her partner, her co-dreamer. They’d hadplans. How could she walk away from them?

“If I did feel that way, that feeling died, but I think mostly I just wanted to belong somewhere, and you were the only one willing. This was always the thing you wanted, so I convinced myself I wanted it too. But I never felt what you felt. Not really.”

Dinah had to lean against the desk to keep herself upright. She couldn’t believe this. She couldn’tunderstandthis. “Is something else going on? What aren’t you telling me?”

Kayla rolled her eyes. “I’m telling you everything. I’m sorry if it’s not what you want to hear, but it’s a truth I’ve been ignoring for a long time. I’m tired of ignoring it. I’m most definitely tired of this.” She swept her hand around the office as if she didn’t see what Dinah saw.

History and belonging andtheirs.

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell my father I’m looking elsewhere until I’ve secured something else,” Kayla continued, all polite businesswoman.

Dinah swallowed, hurt not just at Kayla’s decision—wrong decision—but hurt she’d think Dinah would ever tell Craig anything they’d discussed. “I still love you, Kayla. I’d never hurt you.”

Kayla smiled thinly. “Good. I hope . . . I hope it stays that way.”

“Kay—”

But Kayla shook her head, looking close enough to tears to make Dinah feel perilously close herself.

“I’m going to go home. If Dad comes by, feel free to tell him I took off early. And you don’t have to worry about coming over tonight. I won’t be wallowing. I’m not wallowing anymore.” With that, Kayla reopened her office door and left.

Dinah blinked, inwardly cursing herself for having forgotten she had plans with Kayla in the first place. Maybe Kayla was right and she’d gotten too deep in the Gallagher’s nonsense . . .

Except how could thatbe? She was meeting with Carter tonight. Pretending she had two separate sides of her. Kayla’s estimation was wrong, and if she didn’t understand what Gallagher’s meant, that wasn’t Dinah’s failing or Dinah being wrong.

She couldn’t believe Kayla had been lying to her all these years, or just convincing herself she cared about Gallagher’s; she was just scared. Craig was a bully, and he wasn’t afraid to bully his own daughter.

Well, let Kayla look for a new job; Dinah was going to keep fighting. Even if she had to do it alone. She would prove to Kayla it was worth it, that Gallagher’sdidmatter, and when Kayla came to her senses, Dinah would welcome her back without oneI told you so.

Because no matter what was going on with Kayla or Carter or her father or Craig, Dinah would never, ever doubt Gallagher’s was hers. She’d fight until the bitter end—and the only acceptable end was her running Gallagher’s.

* * *

Carter cursed himself as he walked toward Gallagher’s in the quickly darkening twilight. Jordan’s visit had been a thorn in his side all day, one he couldn’t get out of his skin.

Of course, that was exactly how Dinah—D—affected him too. Something about her had an unshakeable grasp on him.

No, Jordan’s words were a thorn. Dinah Gallagher was a tick in the center of his back, a parasite who’d dug in and couldn’t be ripped off without help.

He should be super charming and lead with that comparison.

Except as he reached Gallagher’s imposing form and turned the corner to the back parking lot, Dinah was stepping out of the heavy door. Both the fading light and the orange glow of the parking lot lights bounced off the reds in her hair and made her look a little bit otherworldly.

Witchorfairywas far more fitting. Something so beautiful and spellbinding, his brain and reason had gone completely and utterly missing.

When she caught a glimpse of him and smiled, something inside of him shifted and lightened. She walked toward him, her legs looking impossibly edible in that tight knee-length skirt and killer heels.

Nothing in his entire life had ever snuck under the defenses he’d built to keep himself moving forward to reach his goals. Nothing had ever wiggled through even a crack to take his focus fromfarm, farm, farm.There was no way to articulate why this woman was the person who made him forget.

The biggest part of the problem was that when she was in his sight, he didn’t care. He didn’t care why or how she was in his life, he only cared about touching her. All rational thought died, and he was left with . . . D.

“Good evening, C. Fancy seeing you here.” She grinned up at him and it was odd that after only few short encounters he could discern that despite the flirtatious greeting and the easy smile, something wasn’t quite right with her.

“Rough day?”

She turned her back on Gallagher’s and linked her fingers with his just as they’d done yesterday when he’d come over.

“Yes, actually. It was not a particularly fun one.”

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