Page 77 of Reckless

He scoffs. “No, she’s helping because she loves me.Duh.”

Swear to God, my brother is such a dipshit sometimes. He means well, but it’s like he’s operating on a half-tank ofgas.

Tori tries to hide a smile. “How about this?” she replies gently. “I’ll grab breakfast with Kat Saturday morning, but I’ll be back by noon to organize your office, and I’ll split whatever you wanted to pay me withJoey.”

This girl is too cool. I give her a big, dumb smile, because yeah, she’s awesome. She stares back at me with those beautiful eyes, and I swear my heart skips abeat.

Logan clears his throat again. “You guys done eye-fucking?”

I reach over and punch him in the arm. “Have somerespect.”

He chuckles and rubs his arm. “After this weekend, I figure we could get you some time occasionally to help manage the chaos in the office. Maybe when the kids nap. Not sure what we’re gonna do at the end of the summer when you head back to Austin, but I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we getthere.”

His words toss a bucket of ice water on me, and I look up to find Tori with the same disconcerted expression that’s probably on myface.

Silence hangs in the air, thick and uncomfortable. She shakes her head. “I, uh, I guess I don’t know what I’ll be doing this fall.” Her eyes shift away. “Your mom will be back soon, and I’m guessing y’all won’t need me aroundthen.”

I don’t know what to say. I don’t want her to go, that’s for sure, but I have no idea what my mother’s plans are once she returns, or if it’s financially feasible for me to keep Tori on staff once Mila’s inschool.

If Tori heads back to Austin, will I ever see her again? Brady got her car running again, but it’s a piece of crap, and I still can’t get her to drive my truck. If we do long-distance, it’s not fair to ask her to do all the mileage. I’m just not sure how I’d be able to get to Austin more than every other weekend when the kids are with theirmom.

The idea of going from seeing Tori daily to twice a month wrecksme.

I shoot Logan a pained look. Couldn’t he let me be happy and blissfully ignorant for one fucking day? Because I don’t have the goddamnanswers.

For all I know, next Wednesday the judge is gonna make me sell this place to pay back my ex-wife. Although my attorney said that’s highly unlikely, he couldn’t rule it out entirely, especially since Allison’s counsel already requested it. She swore up and down after the hearing that wasn’t her idea, that she was surprised by how aggressive her attorney was being, but I was too shell-shocked to process herwords.

Since then, I’ve thought of little else. The only thing that’s brought me any reprieve isTori.

And I might be losing her too at the end of thesummer.

My brother glances back and forth between us and laughs awkwardly. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to open a whole can of worms here. Especially since you guys are in this ooey-gooey phase that makes me want tohurl.”

Leaning on my desk, I groan and drop my face into my hands, needing to block out everything for two minutes. A steady pounding beats in my temples, but I don’t have the energy to hunt down painrelievers.

There’s some shuffling of feet, and I’m guessing Logan just hightailed it outtahere.

“Hey.”

I look up and find Tori standing next to me. She slides into my lap and presses her face into my neck. I pull her legs up over mine, wrap my arms around her and stick my nose into herhair.

How did she know I neededthis?

“We’ll figure this out, okay?” Her soft words settle over me and soothe all the anxiety riffling through my nerves. She might be younger, but I swear she’s an old soul. “I’m here as long as you needme.”

Always. I’ll always needyou.

I’m shocked at how fiercely that sentiment resonates in me, all the way down to my work boots. Have I ever felt this way about another woman? Never. Not evenAllison.

Part of me is shouting this is insane, to fall for this girl when I’m barely out of mymarriage.

While I can list a million reasons why Tori and I work as a couple, none of them negate the issues my brother brought up or the fact that I can’t afford to keep her on staff come thisfall.

Squeezing her tight, I decide I need to find a way to make this happen. She’s too important to let go. I’ve lived with enough regrets in my life. Tori won’t be one ofthem.

35

Tori

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