Page 51 of Deal Breaker
“Yeah.” He taps his thumb against the wheel. “I think we should get to know each other again. You can ask me whatever you want. I’m an open book.”
That makes me snort. “Since when?”
“Since you walked back into my life.” His tone is casual,but there’s a thread of truth under it. “Go ahead, Sinclair. Hit me with your best shot.”
I can’t help but smile. “Alright. What’s your guilty pleasure TV show?”
He groans. “You’re gonna use this against me.”
“Probably.”
A beat of silence, then, “The Great British Bake Off.”
My jaw drops. “You’re kidding.”
“Dead serious. The show is stressful, but in a cozy way.”
I burst out laughing. “That’s…unexpected.”
“See? You’re learning things already,” he says, shifting in his seat. “Alright, my turn.”
“Should I be nervous?”
“Probably,” he grins. Then, casually—but not really—he asks, “What’s your biggest weakness”
I frown, confused. “My what?”
“Your biggest weakness. The thing you can’t seem to resist, no matter how hard you try.”
I raise a brow. “Trying to psychoanalyze me now?”
“Absolutely.” His grin is quick, dangerous. “It’s for professional purposes, obviously.”
“Obviously,” I echo, fighting a smile. “Not answering that one.”
“Why not?”
“Because then you’d know how to use it against me.”
He grins, eyes still on the road. “Come on, tell me.”
“Fine, coffee. I’m useless without it.”
He huffs out a laugh. “That’s not a weakness. That’s a requirement for survival.”
“I guess you’re not wrong,” I say, shifting in my seat. “Okay my turn. What’s your tell?”
His hands flex on the wheel, but his voice stays smooth. “My tell?”
“Yeah,” I shoot back. “The thing you do that gives you away.
His jaw tightens, and I can see he’s in his head, turning something over before he decides whether or not to say it out loud.
“I go quiet.Withdraw.” He cuts me a look. “But you already know that.”
Rather than risk looking at him, I turn my gaze out the window, pulled back into memories from what feels like a lifetime ago. At first it frustrated me, the way Ford would retreat when he was stressed or anxious, but eventually I came to understand that it was just his coping mechanism. Over time, we learned to navigate each other’s habits and idiosyncrasies. A lot changed in seven years, but the more I get to know this version of Ford—the CEO, the entrepreneur, Deep Cove’s success story—the more I realize that at his core, he’s still the same boy I fell in love with.
“Okay, serious question,” he says, snapping my attention back to the present. “What did you miss most about home?”
