for a lot of years but now my eyes are wide open and I’m not sure I can settle for anything less than all of her.
But how do I risk what we have?
To go from best friends to realizing I was in love with her then becoming her daughter’s uncle was hard but Chris was always in the mix and kept my mind where it needed to be. I can easily envision what a relationship with her would look like. It’s my future. The thing stopping me? Not knowing if she’s in the same place as me, even with the sexual tension between us that’s impossible to miss.
Our relationship hasn’t really changed over time, we’ve always been affectionate and flirtatious with each other, so it’s hard to differentiate between a desire for more and the same friendship we’ve always had.
“Thank you,” I say, voice a little rough. She nods and seems to force her eyes off my mouth. Maybe I’m reading everything correctly. Maybe she feels for me the same as I feel for her.
But then she abruptly moves away from me, tucking hair behind her ear. Her face is flushed and she looks like she’s gonna be sick, and all thoughts of her wanting me vanish into thin air.
Once we’re both seated and no longer, unfortunately, draped in each other’s arms, she asks me more about expanding the business. Likely to shift the focus off our hormones.
“I’ll work out of my home for a while. One of the reasons I’m looking for a place with some extra buildings.”
“So you’ll work when you’re not playing farmer?” she teases
I chuckle. “Exactly. I’ll make sure to roof a few houses and run a business when I’m not trying to take care of donkeys and goats.”
“You’re seriously considering getting animals?”
“Of course I am! Why wouldn’t I?”
She shakes her head laughing lightly rather than answering. “I won’t even go there. Anyway, have you hired anyone yet?”
“A few people asked to come with me. They’re closer to home here and I already know they’re hard workers, so it’s a win for all of us. Plus, I trust them which is obviously a good thing for more reasons than just I’ll be paying them.”
She looks at me and smiles. “Boss man Beau Aikin. I always knew I’d see this day.”
She did? I never saw myself as a business owner — or partner, rather. Helping Grant run his business? Yes. But never one of my own. It was one of those far-fetched dreams I never could see as a possible reality. Found that I was a great manager for Grant and was satisfied. Now I’m realizing simply being satisfied isn’t enough. “Quite the fortune teller, aren’t you?”
“Nah. I just know you.”
Man, if that isn’t the truth. Sometimes I think she knows me better than I know myself. Though, there are parts that I’m certain she knows nothing about. Like the fact that I’m in love with her.
“That you do,” I admit to her. “But, remember, I know you, too. All your secrets, right?” I tease, reaching up and lightly tugging on a lock of her dark blonde hair.
She bats my hand away. “Gah, do you ever stop picking at me? And, no, you cocky shit, you don’t know all my secrets.”
“Oooh, do tell.”
“No way,” she says, standing from the couch and bending over to pick up the pizza box.
I want to press, partly because I want to know all her secrets, but I don’t because if I demand to know hers, she’ll demand the same out of me. And I only have one to tell. And she’s not ready to hear it.
Addy
I dump the pizza box in the recycle bin in the garage and come back inside. I’m about to turn off the kitchen lights when the container of oatmeal fudge bars catches my eye. I’d forgotten all about them. I grab a napkin and pick out two squares of chocolatey goodness. These things are so addicting I could eat the entire container by myself. Taking only two is displaying quite a bit of self-control, to be quite honest.
I take a bite and moan. “Holy crap.”
They taste a little different than usual but in a really good way. I finish the first bar and turn off the lights in the kitchen.
“Beau?” I holler.
“In here! Just brushing my teeth,” he replies from the bathroom.
“Okay!”
Since it seems he’s getting ready for bed, I decide to do the same. But not before I eat the other chewy bar.