Page 14 of Fall for You
“Yes, ma’am.” He waited two whole seconds before starting in again. “You know I’m just here because I could sense you needed my help?—”
Bailey groaned and smacked her forehead. And Dallas heard Willow giggling behind his back as the doors swung shut behind them.
Chapter Five
The second the kitchen doors swung shut, Willow slumped against the counter.
What. Was. That?
She shook her head, trying to calm her racing heart. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what had left her so rattled.
She hadn’t loved the accusatory tone when Dallas had first started questioning her. And yes, perhaps guilt had played a part in her initial discomfort.
It wasn’t like her to keep secrets from her family. And sharing a hidden treasure with their archenemy was a big one. The fact that it could be used to determine the fate of the inn and the future of this property…?
She swallowed hard and tugged the saucepan off the lit stovetop before it could burn.
The problem was, it wasn’t guilt that had shaken her.
For better or worse, she’d gotten somewhat accustomed to evading the whole truth of where she’d been or where she was going when she stole off to No Man’s Land.
It was Dallas’s talk about her dating that had caused her pulse to spike, and then all that talk of secret love affairs that had her heart hammering.
Did he say “secret love affair” or had she?
She pressed the back of her hand to her forehead and took a few slow, steady breaths.Get a hold of yourself, Willow!
It was just…
She let her hand drop to her side.
It was the mere mention of dating. The suspicion that she was running off to meet some secret lover.
Willow’s cheeks burned all over again, and she backed away from the stove. She only stopped when her lower back brushed against the opposite counter, and she leaned back with a sigh.
She hadn’t been lying about not dating. She never dated. Nothing serious, at least.
So why had it felt like she’d been lying?
And why had she felt such a rush of disappointment as she’d spelled it out that there was no secret love affair?
Her head fell back, and she found herself studying the ceiling.
She had a secret, yes. But not a secret boyfriend.
There was a difference.
The secret would end soon enough. Of course, she wasn’t sure how or in what way. But eventually she and Eric would come clean about what they found, right?
Once they knew what it meant?
Her brows were furrowed so tightly, her head started to ache.
The problem with this whole plan to keep a secret was that they’d never discussed how it would end. Or even what would end it.
Definitive proof that one family had the rights to the land?
Finding the legendary contract that allegedly made it so that neither family could touch the land?
