Page 79 of Tempting Promises
I can’t.
I won’t.
It’s a bad idea.
I open my mouth to say those things. To tell him that we are enemies and I’m not vulnerable now. I’m going to get the contract, save my farm, and then I won’t be weak again. I’ll be stronger than ever and ready to rebuild into a force that can’t be stopped.
“Word,” I say instead, and I let him carry me inside to start a different kind of fire.
“How was your meeting with Carson?” Rowan asks as I’m lying with my hand on his chest, head resting atop it.
“He’s a weird guy.”
I laugh at that in my head. “He’s very serious.”
“He would have to be since he’s a billionaire and all.”
I’m not sure that all billionaires are like that, but given that he’s the first one I’ve met, I’ll take his word for it. “How did you even find out about this contract? It’s supposed to be strictly organic farms.”
This part always made me curious. I found out through the certified organic letters. They often put notices and opportunities there, and Rowan and I both know he is not certified, no matter what he feeds his cows.
“I’m working on becoming organic.”
Great. “It’s not easy.”
In fact, it’s a pain in the ass and took me almost two full years to get the paperwork through.
“I know, and it probably won’t happen for another year or two,but Carson knows I can produce and while it won’t be technically organic, we will be able to make claims on how we handle our cows.”
I inhale deeply. “Well, that right there puts you out of the running.”
Rowan chuckles. “You’d like that to be true.”
“Considering you can’t just be like, ‘oh, look, I’m an organic farm’,” I say in my manliest voice. “I know it’s true. The contract clearly states it must be a certified farm. They want to be able to slap organic milk on the carton.”
I feel so much better now. I thought maybe Rowan was close to being certified and I just hadn’t heard about it. Knowing he’s just at the beginning, there’s no way Knight Food Distribution can choose him, it would be completely stupid.
“Well, he hasn’t completely cut me out of the running since he came to my farm today too. He liked the facility and he works with Grady.”
“And that’s how you know about the contract.” I roll onto my back, staring up at the ceiling.
Rowan follows me, hovering over me, and playfully bites my shoulder. “It’s how I heard about it, yes. Grady was doing a job for Carson and he mentioned it.”
Nothing I can do about it. “You think you’ll get the contract?” I ask, running the tip of my finger up his side.
“Not sure, but it’s good for either of our business.”
No, it’s not good for mine, it’s essential. If I don’t get this, I’m going to lose everything. “That it is,” I say, not wanting him to know just how bad things are here.
“And you know what else will be good for either of us?” he asks, his eyes going soft as his lips move to mine.
“What’s that?”
“The angry sex that’ll follow when the other wins.”
Not wanting to even think about it, I wrap my arms around him and kiss him to shut him up and end the conversation.
nineteen
