It must have been the way he was smiling down at me or the feel of my hand lost inside of his, but I became acutely aware of how close we were. I could smell hay and earth and sunshine on him, could feel his warmth radiating off of his body.
I rolled my eyes to cover. “One of these days, you’re going to need me to sign off on something, and I’m gonna make you kiss my pink rain boots as a condition.”
He groaned. I laughed.
“And we’re going to compromise,” I added. “Otherwise, we’ll never get anything done.”
A pause. A sigh. “All right.”
“Okay,” I said with authority, stepping back and extending my hand with no small amount of moxie. “Partners?”
Jake looked down at my hand, that hint of a smile on his face. When he took it, he met my eyes again. “Partners.”
“Great! So about Fourth of July—”
“Goddammit, Olivia—”
“If I promise there will be no loud noises other than the crowd?”
His eyes narrowed.
“It’s not a trick, I swear.” I held up a hand and crossed my fingers. “Scout’s honor.”
With a chuckle, he undid my fingers and formed them in the Girl Scout salute. “It’s not really convincing if you don’t do it right.” His eyes caught mine again. “How about you come to me with a list of what you want to do for the Fourth?”
“And we’ll collaborate?” I asked too eagerly.
“If you want to call it that.”
“And you won’t fight me?”
“I won’t fight you. Your ideas aren’t all bad.”
My face broke open. “That was almost a compliment. I feel like I won some kind of award.”
At that, he full-on laughed, that sound I loved so much, even when I hated him. Warmth flickered low in my belly, and before I knew it, I’d launched myself at him, flinging my arms around his neck. He barely had time to catch me. I felt him chuckling through his chest, through mine.
“Thank you,” I whispered next to his ear.
“I’m sorry,” he answered.
I loosened my arms, signaling him to set me down, which was really a long slide down the length of his body. The honest remorse on his face at the apology broke my heart.
“I’m sorry too,” I said.
“Now don’t make me regret it,” he joked.
I slapped him in the slab of granite he called a chest. “And I’ll repaint the door.”
He glanced behind me at the door, then back at me. “Leave it. I was wrong about Pop—he would have let you. He’d let you do anything you wanted, so I don’t have any place to stop you.”
A squeal that turned into a giggle bubbled out of me as I bounced like a little kid. “Thank you, Jake.”
“You know what? Don’t mention it.”
I beamed.
“No, I mean it. Don’t tell anybody—I’ll deny it with my last breath.”
With that little smile on his face, he turned, and this time I let him go.
Because I’d take what I could get.
And now that we’d be working together, he’d given me more than he knew.
15
Pajama Party
OLIVIA
“I’m just saying, based on your social media, farm life looks like it involves a lot of bullshit, literally and otherwise,” my aunt said on the other end of the line.
“Is it weird that I’m enjoying it?” I asked as I folded my laundry.
“Yes. I mean, maybe not the big, hunky bullshit. I could probably find a way to enjoy him.”
“I’m optimistic that we might have turned a corner. More bunny shit than bull. He’s even helping me with our Fourth of July festival.”
“I’ve been watching your Instagram. I’d say I was surprised at how well you’ve done with the farm’s marketing, but there was no way you could fail. This is your domain, and you reign absolute.”
“Trust me, I could have failed. I could still fail. I don’t have long to turn a profit, and if Jake changes his mind again, he could make it impossible.”
“And if you lose, you’ll come back to New York?”
“That’s the deal.”
“I probably shouldn’t root for him.”
“You definitely shouldn’t,” I said on a chuckle.
“Would it be so bad, coming back?”
“Coming back would mean I failed the farm and Pop too. I don’t know how I’d live with myself, Annette.”
A sigh. “You’re missed here. I didn’t realize that you were the glue holding your team together. The last month has been a shitshow and not just at the office. It’s been a long time since I’ve lived alone, since before you came to me. My next phase is cat lady, and I’m not sure if I love that look for me.”
“I don’t know. I could see it. Maybe get one of those hairless cats.”
She made a disgusted noise. “They look like ballsacks with eyes, Livi. I’d never sleep again with one of those things lurking around my house.”
A laugh bubbled out of me.
“What? I’m not an animal person.”
“Oh, I know.”
“Which is why you won’t be surprised I think you should come back. Leave the farm to the farmers and come take a senior marketing position at the firm.”
My hands paused over an open drawer of underwear. “Jill left?”
“She’s moving to Seattle with her new husband, and I’ve got a spot to fill.”
I was stunned silent for a moment. “That’s a big career jump.”
“Well, how else will I lure you back?” she asked on a laugh.
“Annette …”
“Don’t say no. Just think about it, okay? If things don’t work out there, Jill leaves in October. The spot is yours, if you want it.”
I didn’t argue like I wanted to. Instead, I said, “Thank you. I’m honored, really. Jill has my dream job.”
“For now. Just saying. I miss you, kid. You … well, you’re all I have left of Sarah. I didn’t realize just how much you filled your mom’s space in my heart until you were here. I wasn’t ready to let you go. I thought I had more time.”
My heart twisted in my chest. It didn’t matter what I did—I was abandoning someone.
“So did I,” I said quietly. “I miss you too. And New York. And people.” She laughed, and the sound made me smile. “But I’m not coming back unless I lose.”
“I’ll take what I can get. You don’t want to come back right now anyway—it’s a thousand degrees and hasn’t stopped raining for four days. Enjoy California while you’re there. And that big, smelly jerk while you’re at it.”
“The one who hates me?”
“You know what they say—that line between love and hate is thin indeed. Maybe you two need to just bang it out.”
“Oh my God.” I giggled, closing one drawer to deposit some tees into another. “On that note, I have some goats to milk.”