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“I don’t give a damn about Richard,” he growls. “Your happiness comes first, and I’d gladly step down as Chief Operations Officer at Stafford Holdings if it would appease the board. Hell, I could live in the jet for a while. Now, that would be an adventure.” He gives my hand a squeeze before leaning back in his seat.
I stare at him in stunned silence as he takes a drink of water. He has a gift for making everything seem so simple. No matter how bad things get, he always has a smile on his face and finds the silver lining. It’s a sharp contrast to my bleak outlook.
Would it be so bad to stay married to him for a brief period? The acquisition is underway and should be complete within a few months, most likely sooner. I take another bite of my French toast and consider the pros and cons.
Pros—Cash Stafford is easy on the eyes. Just because I have no plans to sleep with him doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate him from a distance. There will never be a dull moment with him around, and I won’t lose my job.
Cons—That damn kiss in his parents’ backyard still lingers in the back of my mind. If I’m subjected to his hotness for too long, there’s no telling what I’ll do… but is that really a con?
“You’re staring,” Cash taunts.
“I’m thinking.”
“A little too hard, it seems.” He nods to my furrowed brow.
“We should stay married,” I announce.
“You think so?” His fork pauses on the way to his mouth.
“Yes. Logically, it makes the most sense. There’s no reason either of us should lose our jobs. We can go about our lives as normal, and nothing has to change,” I state confidently.
I mentally pat myself on the back as I cut another piece of my breakfast.
“So… you’re moving in with me,” Cash says, disregarding my statement entirely.
My fork slips from my hand and clatters on the table, drawing attention in the coffee shop. “What did you say? I think I heard you wrong. There’s no way you just suggested that we move in together.”
I’ve lived alone since I graduated from college. The closest I came to moving in with someone was when Landon and I were a couple. He slept over at my place a lot but wanted to wait until after the wedding to live together, which, in hindsight, should have been a major red flag.
“You heard me correctly. Newlyweds live together, and for all intents and purposes, that’s what we are.” He flashes his wedding band at me.
“Okay, you can move into my place,” I say, but regret the words as soon as they pass my lips.
My apartment is my safe haven—the one place I feel at ease and can let my guard down. I’m not sure I want to share my personal space with a stranger. Technically, Cash isn’t a stranger, but he might as well be.
He shakes his head. “Your apartment is a forty-minute drive from the city. Mine is only fifteen minutes from both our offices, albeit in opposite directions,” he declares with a self-satisfied grin.
I narrow my eyes at him. “How do you know where I live?”
“Theo told me when he helped you move into your new place last year. I was supposed to help, but Harrison needed me in Maine that weekend.”
I wonder if we’d still be in this predicament if we had crossed paths sooner.
“Fine, I’ll stay at your place, but I’m keeping my apartment so I have a place to go when this is over.” I point at him with my napkin in hand. “Oh, and I get my own room.”
It’s important I lay the rules down early to establish boundaries.
“Okay,” he replies before taking a bite of his eggs.
That was easy…too easy.
I watch him polish off the last of his breakfast, mesmerized by the way his lips close around the fork.
“You’re not going to argue with me?”
“Nope,” he says.
“As long as we’re living together, I would prefer you didn’t bring other women over.”