Page 106 of Fall for You
“Tell us what?” Bailey pinged straight, her eyes flashing with annoyance until Brandon warned her off with a glare. She huffed, forcing a tight smile. “Tell us what?”
Giselle worried her lip for a second, glancing at Brandon, who gave her a patient nod and a kind smile. “It’s okay.”
“Well…a while back, I saw Willow. In No Man’s Land. Brandon was giving me a tour of the property, and I spotted her behind your back.” She looked up at her fiancé with an apologetic wince. “She begged me not to tell anyone. But I think she must go there a lot. She wouldn’t say why or anything, just that it was her secret place.”
“So, that’s where she’d been running off to,” Dallas growled. “I knew she’d been sneaking around.”
“Do you think she’s meeting up with him?” Ronnie asked, shocked by the idea. “Why would she do that?”
“I don’t know.” Dallas fisted his fingers on the counter, his entire body tensed in obvious rage. “He’s probably trying to manipulate her. Maybe he’s playing nice, and sweet Willow, who never thinks badly of anyone, is being caught in his trap. Maybe he thinks he can use her to win us over or something. Try to turn this thing around and claim the land without a fight.”
“To targetWillowof all people?” Bailey’s brow furrowed. “I wish I could say nobody could stoop that low, but we all know Eric Spencer would!”
“Exactly,” Dallas hissed. He and Bailey shared a long, meaningful stare.
Ronnie watched the twins with more than a little fascination. She’d always found them to be highly entertaining, but right now she was seeing a whole new side of their strange relationship.
Each was formidable in their own right, but she straight-up pitied the fool who had to face them as a team.
“What are you thinking?” Brandon asked, because he, too, seemed to realize that the twins were currently sharing a brain and were holding a conversation the rest of them weren’t included in.
“We have to protect Willow,” Bailey said. “From him…and maybe even from herself.” She winced, rubbing her forehead.
A surge of protectiveness hit Ronnie and she nodded, coming to stand next to Dallas. If anyone noticed that he placed a hand on her lower back, they didn’t say anything.
But honestly, she loved Willow like her own sister. And the Lord knew, if anyone ever messed with Margot like that…
She shook off the thought. It would only make her angrier. And this conversation didn’t need any more hot tempers.
Dallas was nodding slowly, his expression so serious it made Ronnie shiver. He looked at each of his siblings in turn. “It’s time we stop playing defense and let it be known that we won’t just lie here and take it if the Spencers are going to let their little prince go rogue and hurt our sister in the process.”
Chapter Fifty
Ashower was exactly what Willow needed to clear her head.
Oh sure, she was still drowning in guilt over her family and spiraling in confusion over her feelings for Eric. But at least now she had a game plan for right this second.
She towel-dried her hair and met her own gaze in the mirror. Studying her reflection, she tried to make sense of everything that had transpired this morning, her lips involuntarily twitching as she relived the feel of Eric’s lips pressed against hers, then the tip of his tongue softly exploring…awakening something inside her that no man had ever managed to do before.
Snapping her eyes shut, she shook her head, guilt charring those tendrils of warm pleasure.
How was this ever going to work?
If she wasn’t careful, she’d be right back to spiraling and need another shower!
“First things first, Willow,” she muttered, walking back into her room to get dressed.
She had to keep her promise to Eric. It was an easy action she could take. Something simple. He’d put a lot of trust inher, handing over those letters they found on his property. And hiding them in No Man’s Land would not only be a much-needed distraction, but it would also be an enjoyable one. She’d fallen in love with that patch of land and felt her spirits rise whenever she went there.
And now that she could picture Rose dancing between the trees and singing, the place would only feel more magical.
With that in mind, she hurried to zip up her jacket, then find her old boots in the mudroom. She wasn’t sure what was up with the family pow-wow in the kitchen, but she was grateful her siblings were all together and distracted so she could slip away without being caught.
She made record time getting to No Man’s Land, and she was grateful she had her winter gloves on so she could brush aside the dusting of snow that covered the box.
Without even realizing it, she started humming, “Someone to Watch Over Me.” She smiled, then tried to sing the words, although she didn’t know half of them.
But still…
