Page 36 of 40 and (Tired of) Faking It
Lily felt the burn of tears at the backs of her eyes. “Thank you, Patty.” She set her salad on the desk and turned back to give the woman a hug. “I needed to hear that.”
“Anytime.” Patty headed for the door. “Enjoy your salad.”
“I always do.”
She was still picking at her lunch an hour later when her cell phone rang. Retrieving the cell from her desk drawer, she saw that the caller was JD. She answered, her heart lighter just seeing his name. “Hey, you.”
“Hey, sweetheart. How’s work going?”
Trying not to think that they sounded just like an old married couple, she hesitated. The truth or not? “I’ve had better Fridays,” she finally admitted.
This time JD was the one who hesitated. “I’m afraid I’m not going to make it better,” he said.
“No?” Thank goodness he couldn’t see her face.
“I’m sorry, no.” She could hear him moving around in the background. “I got a call from the office. I’m going to have to make a quick trip back to New York. Someone’s mistake just became a dumpster fire, and I’m the only one who can put it out. Sometimes it sucks being the boss.”
“Yeah, it does.” She cleared her throat. “So you’ll be back in time for the meeting Monday?” She had to tell him what was going on, but God, she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to give him an excuse to not see her again, she realized.
“Hopefully far before that.” His voice dropped, taking on a gravel tone. “Would you mind if I showed up at your place late tomorrow night?”
Relief had her sagging back in her chair. Her first instinct was to shout her agreement at the top of her lungs, but she caught that tiger by the tail just in time. Besides, she had to say something first. Squaring her shoulders, she finally got out, “I would love to see you anytime, but…”
His voice turned cautious. “But?”
She took a deep breath. “But…there’s been some not so favorable reviews of last night’s behavior flooding the office this morning.”
He cursed under his breath. A long silence followed. Finally, “I’m sorry, Lily. I was afraid that might happen, but I honestly didn’t think about that in the moment. I never wanted nor expected you to deal with any cleanup.”
“That’s my job,” she said, striving for a light tone and failing miserably. When he didn’t say anything else, she forged ahead. “So, knowing that, if you don’t want to see me…”
“Why would I not want to see you?”
“JD.” She closed her eyes, hating the prick of tears that she felt. “I would welcome you with open arms, but I don’t want to cause problems for the resort.”
JD snorted. “Fuck problems. If they have a problem with us being adults and having our own lives, I don’t need their support. But that’s not going to happen, Lily.”
“It’s not?”
“It’s not. Believe it or not, when it comes down to money, people aren’t going to turn it away. And I have a lot of it.”
“This is a small town, JD,” she began.
“It is,” he said impatiently. “And that makes what I said all the more true. A chance like this is not gonna come around again, and the planning commission will know that the first time they set eyes on the full plan. What I’m worried about is you.”
“Don’t worry about me.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible, sweetheart.”
Every time he called hersweetheart,she melted a little more. She didn’t want to get used to it. She didn’t want to get used to him and have him walk away. But she wasn’t going to give up a single moment with him because of a little fear.
She wiped a stray tear off her cheek. “Then my door is open whenever you get home.”
Chapter Seventeen
The air was twenty degrees cooler in New York than it had been in Tennessee when JD exited La Guardia Airport Friday evening. Luckily he had a jacket in his carry-on, and he pulled it on after texting Carter that he was outside waiting.
The pickup area was a sea of cars and people and noise. JD hadn’t realized how quiet Black Wolf’s Bluff was—and how used to it he’d become—until now. The sheer cacophony swamped him, and he silently urged Carter to hurry the hell up. Being without his own vehicle sucked. He’d never had to wait for anyone in Black Wolf’s—
