Page 36 of Love Off-Limits
I shrugged dismissively, hoping I sounded more nonchalant than I felt. “Thanks for saying so.” I tapped the side of my head. “Logically, I know that.” I moved my fingers to my heart. “But emotions are tricky.”
She chuckled. “Yeah. You can say that again.”
I felt the heaviness of her words as much as I saw it reflected in her eyes.
This farm was important to her. She had something to prove, and I knew better than anyone what that felt like.
Iwouldplay by her rules this summer. Even if I didn’t want to.
If it was what was best for her? For her family? I couldn’t stand in her way.
I cleared my throat. “I, uh, I better get going. I still have to go to Feed ’n Seed and get farmified before dinner.”
She moved around her car and opened the driver’s side door, pausing long enough to run her eyes up and down my body. “I can’t wait to see the results.”
I widened my eyes in mock horror. “OliviaDoveHawthorne, I thought you said no flirting.” She wasn’t the only one who remembered middle names.
Her cheeks flushed pink, and her mouth dropped open. “I was not...”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, whatever. I’m leaving.” She shook her head and climbed into her car where she slipped some sunglasses onto her still-blushing face before cranking the engine.
She tossed a fluttery wave in my direction as she pulled away. I stood at the back of my Wrangler, smiling like a fool as I watched her car make its way down the tree-lined drive of the farm until it rounded a bend and disappeared from sight.
“Rules, Marino,” I said to myself as I climbed into my car. “You’d best not forget them.”
Chapter Eleven
Olivia
“Knock, knock.” Kelly stuck her head into my office. “You busy?”
I dropped the wedding portfolio I’d been reviewing onto my desk, happy to have a break from the details of a massive catering order. “Busy enough to want a distraction. What’s up?”
She came fully into my office and dropped into the chair across from my desk. “Oh, nothing. Just thought we could chat about the new farmhand.” She raised her eyebrows suggestively.
I leaned back into my chair like I didn’t know exactly how much the rest of the staff had been talking about Tyler’s arrival. It had already been a week since he’d started, and he wasstillthe main topic of conversation in the kitchen.
For starters, one of the event staff was a hugeRandom Ifan and so had recognized him immediately. Word of his connection to Isaac Bishop had quickly spread. Then there was the fact that he was just so fun to look at.
I’d gotten pretty good at finding reasons to walk past the goat barn, where he’d been repainting the exterior, and the chicken coop, where he was helping Kelly expand the chicken yard. Feed ’n Seed had been good to Tyler Marino. He wore Carhartt canvas well enough to model it in the spring catalog.
Still, I’d managed to keep my distance. We’d waved a few times, and he’d smiled at me over his shoulder enough to make my insides swoop and twist, but that was the extent of our interactions.
I frequently took advantage of the meals provided for the Stonebrook summer staff, but since his arrival, I’d been skipping lunch and asking Chef to make me a to-go box to take home so I wouldn’t have to eat with everyone else. It was possible I was only afraid that ifanyone—especially Perry—saw Tyler and me in the same room, they’d immediately know we had a connection. Plus, the chatter was distracting. Because I cared what people thought. What they were saying about him. Whether or not they were saying anything about me. If I let myself fall into it? I might not ever get out.
“How’s he doing?” I asked Kelly, all casual-like.
She shrugged. “He’s a little green. But he’s a quick learner. And so far he hasn’t said no to even the grossest jobs.”
“Even the pig barn?”
“Ohh, I haven’t given him that one yet, but that’s a good idea.”
“Is he getting along with everyone?”
“Are you kidding me? They’re all treating him like a celebrity. He obviously hates the attention—hopefully it’ll die down in a week or two—but he’s still nice about it.”
