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“I’m having a good day is all,” I tell him simply, barely able to keep the smile off my face. I have no idea what Daisy and I did on the weekend. Maybe it was some of her voodoo magic, but sitting on the fucking grass, holding her heart in my palm, like I was a fourteen-year-old boy again, was a moment I want more of. I’ve never done anything like that before. Sure, it was somewhat calming, got my mind off work, and I was able to relax. But it also gave me a raging hard-on, a new understanding for connectedness, and an appreciation for the work she does in this wellness space she seems to love so much.

It threw me at first, because I wasn’t really sure what I was doing. I didn’t want to be awkward or have her look at me like I wasn’t capable, but then when I got hold of my racing thoughts and felt her heartbeat under my skin, all I could feel was charged. Charged for her. It was a good test of my self-control, one which I think I mastered well. Although I had to leave her almost immediately after; otherwise, I would have kissed her again. That and the fact that she hadn’t even seen the contract yet had me tangled in a bundle of nerves like never before. I’m not ashamed to say I called Sawyer straightaway to confront him over telling her it wasn’t urgent. All he did was laugh at me, like a schoolboy who couldn’t control his giggling, leaving me even more frustrated and him with too much ammunition on me. But I will pay him back. I didn’t want to push her on it, so I left her thinking it wasn’t too urgent, preferring that she reads it through in her own time. Now, as I run my hand down my beard, I feel jumpy, nervous, wondering when she’ll sign it, or if she’ll sign it at all.

“Our crops are dead, our bottling machine needs a major overhaul, and I just spoke to Lacy. She’s going to be away for a little longer than we first thought. What the hell is good about any of that?” he grumbles like the grumpy old man he is, and I grin.

“Yeah, but I’ve got a plan for new crops, bottling will only be down another day because I’m flying in a new engineer from Germany to take a look at it, and don’t worry about Lacy’s workload. I’ve got it.” I’m feeling cocky and pumped. Pumped for more yoga with the woman down the hall. One who may end up in a downward dog of my own creation.

Dad’s eyes narrow on me. “You organized that all this morning?”

“Yeah, I was up early, went for a run, did some yoga on the weekend that had me feeling good, too, so I started work early.” Now that he lives on his new ranch, he isn’t in as early as he used to be.

“Yoga?” My dad’s eyebrows shoot to his hairline.

Fuck, probably should have skipped that detail.

“Yeah, just some meditation… mindfulness…” I say, fobbing it off like it’s nothing, but like a shark that smells blood in the water, my dad smiles.

“Oh, meditation, huh?” he asks, a shit-eating grin on his face, and I shake my head.

“It’s good for stress.” I try to tame his humorous thoughts.

“Well, hell, I’m feeling pretty stressed. Maybe I should get up early tomorrow and come join you—”

“No,” I cut him off, sounding like an overprotective asshole, but I don’t care. Dad starts laughing at me. I know he’s deliberately trying to get under my skin, but there’s no way that Daisy is doing anything like we did on the weekend with another man. It was raw, it was vulnerable. It was one big foreplay session that I couldn’t finish and that has now made me so worked up that my energy is firing into work because there’s no other way to let it go. Not until she signs that contract, then we might have a different outcome.

“No? I’m sure Daisy would like to teach others her ways. I heard it’s something that requires a lot of flexibility?” Dad continues, and I grind my teeth. Maybe I’m already too possessive. But hell, I want time with Daisy all to myself for as long as I can get it.

“You’ll just have to wait for the classes to start then,” I tell him with a shrug.

“Classes?” he quizzes.

“Yeah, I thought Daisy could stay on a bit longer, run some regular classes, you know, for the staff as a free benefit, and maybe even for the townspeople and community.” I only thought of it this morning, but I’m trying hard to think of anything that might get her to stay a little longer. As it is, she’s now staying on for the full two-month term. The spa, although going well, isn’t going to be ready for her to leave at the end of a month's time. Something I’m secretly happy about, even if it pushes our plans back a little.

“So only you get the one-on-one attention, then? Teacher’s pet?”

I shake my head. He’s letting me off easy. The times I made fun of him when he was courting Victoria, he has so much payback to deliver, but deep down, I don’t care. I’m doing all I can to stop grinning like a fool about the thought of it all myself.

“What’s going on between the two of you?” he asks seriously, watching me.

“Nothing.” It’s as honest as I can be right now.

“But you want there to be something, right?” he asks, and I look him in the eye. I can’t lie to him. He’s my dad but also my best friend. We’ve been through a lot together, so I nod, remaining tight-lipped.

“Are you concerned about the business? The working arrangement?”

I lean back in my chair, not expecting this conversation, yet here we are.

“Yeah. It’s something to consider. But I had Sawyer draw up a contract that protects her and the business.” I’m a smart businessman. I’ve seen too many companies go through negative press or legal consequences because their leaders couldn’t keep it in their pants. I don’t want to be like that, and I don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable. Hell, kissing her was already a step too far. But if she signs this contract, then I’ll know where to take things. And I’m hoping I can take her—in the shower, in my bed, on the desk here in my office. I look down at the desk, already imagining her perfect voluptuous body and wondering how she’ll jiggle as I thrust into her.

“Did she sign it?” he asks. My gaze flicks to his, and he nods in understanding. My expression must be as pained as I feel.

“So that’s what’s eating you alive, then? She hasn’t signed it. How does she feel about it all?” His eyes narrow.

I want to tell him that she feels fucking fantastic in my arms. That her body when I pull her close fits just right. That I’m insanely attracted to her brain as well as her beauty. That her sassy personality that comes through lights a fire in me that I haven’t felt before.

“I think we’re aligned,” I tell him the safest thing I can without spewing my true thoughts.

“I’ve never seen you this worked up about a woman before.”