Page 60 of Wild Love
She hums thoughtfully. “What’s that saying about keeping your enemies closer?”
“We’re not enemies, Rosalie.”
“Things might be a lot simpler if we were.”
Her words hang in the air between us. I’m not sure what to make of them. I wish I could see her face right now.
“I wasn’t making a reference to the signing bonus.”
Her head moves in a brisk nodding motion again. “Okay.”
“I wouldn’t mock you about that.”
“Only other things?” Her voice sounds almost hopeful as she asks the question.
I swallow. I only mock Rosie to cover forother things.But I also never tell her no. “Only other things.”
“Okay.”
“You’re qualified for this job, you know? It’s not a handout.”
She scoffs. “Please, Ford. I practically begged you.”
I shrug. “Be that as it may, I could pay you and not entrust any part of my business to you. But I haven’t done that. You’re an asset. Your work has value. And you’d be a fool not to take an opportunity like this. Let no one make you feel otherwise. Especially not me.”
Silence descends between us. Perhaps I took it too far, but I hate seeing her second-guess herself like this. I hate how someone made her feel like her value was wrapped up in the way she looks.
“You confuse me,” she blurts.
I chuckle dryly and scrub a hand over my jaw. “The feeling is very mutual.”
“Do you think…” She trails off and I wait for her words, leaning her way to hear what she might say next. “Do you think under different circumstances you and I might have been?—”
A click and a flood of light cuts Rosie off as Cora yanks the door open. “So? Did we work out our differences?”
I can’t believe I’m being scolded by a twelve-year-old. I can’t believe I’m wishing she’d lock us back in a dark closet together.
When I turn my attention back to Rosie, I’m struck by her wide eyes and her perfect cherry lips popped open. God, I so desperately want to know what was at the tip of her tongue.
More. Might we have beenmore? I wonder if that was her question.
It’s one I’ve asked myself many times over the years. But it’s never the right time to ask. There’s always too much at stake.
And this moment is no different.
I don’t look back at Cora when I respond with, “Yeah, we called a truce.”
Then I leave the pantry before I can spend too long analyzing the confusion painted on Rosie’s face.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
ROSIE
I’ve spentthe last three weeks working my ass off to deserve the hundred thousand dollars Ford handed me, like it was a few bucks change to go buy a Slurpee at the corner store.
I create truly magnificent spreadsheets and projections and financial systems for Rose Hill Records.
I bring Ford a cup of hot tea anytime I make my own— especially since he stocked the kitchen at the office with my favorite blends from the Bighorn Bistro.
