Page 145 of Rough Around the Hedges

Luke tilted his head to the side. “It’s her birthday, isn’t it?”

“Which just proves my point that it’s not exactly locked down,” I replied. “So, thank you for that.”

He grunted. “I’m not surprised. She has so much chaos in her brain she probably can’t remember any other combination of numbers. It’s probably her PIN on her bank card, too.”

I would have to check that.

And if it was, make her change it.

Surely only idiots made their PIN their birthdate.

ME: Is your PIN your birthdate, too, by any chance?

Her response came a couple of minutes later.

ROSE: How much did you actually uncover about me? Do you even know my preferred size of speculum in the nurse’s room?

ME: All I know is that my cock is your preferred size, and that’s all I NEED to know.

ME: Also, change your PIN. Using your birthdate is just asking for someone to steal all your money.

ROSE: But I’ll forget it.

ME: Use the date we met. I bet you won’t forget that anytime soon.

ROSE: Yeah, ’cause it haunts me in my dreams.

ME: So you DO dream about me.

ROSE: Only in nightmare form. Don’t be too flattered. You have three eyes, stubby fingers, and no penis. Totally useless to me.

Another laugh burst out of me, and I put my phone down, covering my eyes with my hand. She could say that all she wanted—last night proved that I wasn’t the only one harbouring these feelings.

I’d pretended not to notice at the time, but I’d seen the tears in her eyes. I’d seen her squeeze them shut and hold me tight in a desperate attempt to hide them from me, and I’d let her have that moment.

Because for a second, we’d been so close, so intertwined with one another, so irrevocably connected that if I saw her cry, I might have done the same.

“Will you just focus on your work?” Luke said dryly. “If you don’t, you’ll never get your precious ‘princess’ those papers. If she doesn’t have them, how do you expect her to ever fall in love with you?”

I shot him a dark look before rolling my eyes. “Relax. Piers hasn’t sent them back yet. He’s got a meeting then is doing that clause.”

“Oh, the one that covers all possible owners of the Hanbury estate? So that only the committee can break the contract?”

“That’s the one.”

He shook his head. “You are down so bad for her. Next thing I know, you’ll be asking her to marry you and giving her the keys to this estate.”

“Can’t say I haven’t considered it,” I replied, refreshing my email. “But I need to be sure she isn’t going to snatch the ring box and throw it at my face first.”

“Are you ever going to be sure of that?”

“No, so I’ll probably end up flipping a coin, but it is what it is.” I shrugged. “That’s what makes her interesting. I never know what she’s going to do.”

“That’s what you say about a character in a TV show, not about the woman you’re in love with and want to marry.”

“Why wouldn’t I say that about her? Wouldn’t it be boring if I could predict her every move? She’s kept me on my toes since the moment we met, and I like that about her.”

He shook his head again. “You’re so far gone all I can do is watch as this unfolds.”

---