Page 32 of The Back Forty (Whitewood Creek Farm #5)

“God, I feel like such a fool.”

“You’re not a fool,” Isla says, folding her legs under her on the couch at her condo like she’s settling in for a good story. “Lawson’s one of the nicest guys on the planet. Of course you caught feelings for him.”

“Not just caught feelings, I freaking sucked his dick! And yeah, I told myself not to look at him like that. Repeatedly. For a freaking year. But that's all I lasted. A year!”

She snorts. “Okay, well, telling yourself not to fall for someone is like telling your ovaries to chill when Chris Hemsworth takes his shirt off. Doesn’t work.”

“But I put him in the box, ” I hiss, and her face does that concerned-brow-lift-thing like she has no idea what I'm talking about. “I know how that sounds,” I add quickly. “But I did. I put him in the Boss Off Limits Absolutely Do Not Even Think About It or He'll Ruin Your Life box.”

“And how’d that go for you?” she deadpans.

I groan. “He didn’t stay in the box. He’s too nice. Too…good. He listens. He works hard and you know how much I'm a sucker for a guy who works hard. He's smart, loves his family and he treats people with respect. And then there’s that face. And that voice. And those hands.”

Her lips twitch. “And that mouth? And that cock?”

I drop my head into my hands. “Don’t remind me. I should’ve just slept with him the first night that we met, right there in that bar bathroom, then ghosted him and flew back to California when I realized he was my new boss. That would’ve saved everyone the trouble.”

“But then you wouldn’t be here, living in this random town we both love. And who knows what your health would be like if you hadn’t slowed down with small-town living?”

I sigh. Those are all valid points. But right now, if it’s a choice between keeping my job or getting wrecked by Lawson’s hands and mouth again, my sex-starved, completely overwhelmed body is shouting pick him . Pick his dick! It won't hurt you! Well, maybe just a little bit.

“And let’s be real,” Isla adds, like she’s not done emotionally gutting me, “he’s clearly been into you too the whole time.

There's no way this was just an oopsie on his part. He didn’t just trip and fall face first into your pussy.

You know how thin the line is between friendship and something else, especially when you’re of the opposite sex and working together with loads of sexual tension and chemistry.

You’re just lucky you lasted this long.”

“It’s Catalina’s fault for kicking me out of my room and visiting unexpectedly. If we hadn’t been forced to live together…”

She gives me a pointed look and sets down her coffee. “Oh honey. You really think that would’ve stopped this? Please. I called this the day you got hired by him.”

My head jerks up. “What?! You never said anything.”

“I figured you’d figure it out eventually. I just didn’t think the figuring would include him going down on you and then you tell him to back off because you think he's like Elijah.”

“Ugh. Everything feels ruined now.”

“Do you want him?”

“Yes! Of course I do. But I can’t. Not like this. Not when he’s my boss. Plus, what does he want from me? To have someone easily accessible for hook-ups when we’re on the road. I'm sure it would be super convenient for him if that worked out.”

She rolls her eyes. "You're acting like he's an ass hole when we both know that's not the case. He obviously likes you and he’s said as much."

I roll my lips under my teeth because I know she's right. I'm not irrational, I'm just trying to make up any excuse for why I told him that we needed to stop while we were ahead. "I don't know anything."

“Well, you seriously think you’ll be able to resist him now?”

“Yes. He was cold and weird last night when he got home from the fair after I told him why pursuing anything more with him was a bad idea. He totally shut down. I think he regrets going there with me, and he’s going to be mad the whole trip to Minnesota, just watch.

It’ll be uncomfortable and horrible and nothing else will happen. ”

“Maybe you’re right.” She stands and stretches. “I gotta go change. Got a couple bugs to squash before noon.”

I sigh. “Your job’s the best. Do you think they’d hire me with zero coding experience?”

She smirks. “You love your job. You’re the happiest I’ve ever seen you.

Don’t forget that. Don’t go spiraling just because you saw your boss naked.

Don't discount how good you've felt since moving here and start looking for a way out. Whitewood Creek has been good to you and the Marshall’s are great bosses. Just focus on that and everything will work out.”

“He wasn't fully naked. Just bottoms-off. And he hasn’t seen me completely naked either. Just—”

She waves a hand. “Just your coochie. Got it.”

I chuck a throw pillow at her head.

She catches it and wiggles her brows. “There's still time for you guys to show each other your tits."

I snort.

"Are you going to meet with the new guy today?”

I nod, already dreading my meeting with Luca. “Yeah. We gotta go over the pitch deck for tomorrow. Lawson asked me to perform it, and for some crazy reason I said yes. Now I'm starting to wonder if that was the right idea.”

She gives me a soft, sympathetic look. “You’ll be fine. Just focus on the work. Maybe you and Lawson will both realize it’s better this way. Clean break. No awkward vibes. You two work amazingly well together. Perhaps there's a way to pretend like you both didn't lick each other's genitals.”

“Ugh, why did you have to say it like that? What twenty four year old uses the word genitals? ”

“Or” she says, completely ignoring me, “you’ll realize Lawson isn’t Elijah.

That he’s capable of being in a real, healthy relationship just like you are.

That maybe you already have something real that you two have been slowly building over the last year.

And maybe he knows how to leave work at the door when you're done and not stress you into another stroke.”

I sink back into the couch with a dramatic groan.

“I don’t know. He lives and breathes his job.

I mean, all his siblings talk about how he never takes a break and works the hardest in the family.

He hired me so that he could get that break and yet," I wave my hands.

"No breaks have been taken. He just flies around everywhere with me, doing the exact same amount of work as before.”

She smiles like she knows something I don’t. “Okay, sis.”

And then she walks away, leaving me in a swirl of confusion, denial, and the lingering memory of Lawson’s hands on my body yesterday morning.

***

“This is good. This is really, really good,” I say, tabbing through the last few slides on Luca’s pitch deck with a smile. “Like, I’m not just blowing smoke. You nailed it.”

He ducks his head a little, clearly flattered, his grin shy but proud.

He’s still young, in his early twenties, but already sharp with an eye for detail.

I knew I made the right call hiring him the second he walked into his interview with a portfolio cleaner than most senior execs I’ve worked with.

There’s a quiet confidence about him, the kind that doesn’t try to prove itself too hard. Just delivers.

I’ve built more pitch decks than I can count. Startups, big tech, and now for the Marshall family businesses, and if there’s one golden rule, it’s this: know who you’re speaking to. Down to the tiniest detail.

Not just the business objectives but the human ones. What keeps them up at night, what lights them up inside and what is their biggest motivator. And Luca? He wove that in effortlessly, without me even telling him. Personal, smart, tight.

“So,” he says, eyes bright. “What’s next?”

“I’m going to tweak a few things just to make sure it’s in my voice,” I say, already mentally rewriting the opening transition and swapping one of the market slides.

“Then I’ll give the pitch tomorrow in Minnesota and fingers crossed, we win the contract, and you get your first high-five from Lawson. ”

He nods. “Cool. Can’t wait to hear how it goes.”

I shoot him a warm smile as I email myself the file, then slide his tablet back across the table. “You’ll be the first person that I call.”

And just like that, the whole boss mess is out of my head, for a solid two hours, even.

That’s a personal best when it comes to my usual spiraling.

I’ve been focused, present, doing the work I love, and tomorrow I’ll get up in front of a high-stakes client and deliver it with precision and polish, like I always do.

Except… Lawson will be there again. Watching. Judging. Maybe regretting everything that happened between us and the way I shut it all down.

I swallow hard. Because I’ve always wanted to impress him, professionally, I mean. Okay, that's a lie. I've basically always wanted to please him in every aspect of life. Because he’s smart, detail-oriented and takes pride in things most people overlook. But now it’s different. Now it’s…loaded.

Because he’s seen you naked, dumbass.

My phone buzzes face-down on the table, and I glance at it, noting a text message from the guy I only temporarily stopped thinking about.

Lawson: Hey, I know you’re meeting with the new guy and I’m sorry to interrupt but I need a favor.

I glance at Luca. “Just one second. I need to answer this.”

I stand and step away from the polished wood table at the brewery, ducking into a quieter corner by the wall of fermentation tanks. I hit call. Lawson picks up on the first ring, sounding out of breath and entirely too sexy.

“Hey,” he says, voice warm and a little winded.

“Hey,” I reply, trying not to let the sound of his voice melt my spine. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Wasn’t expecting you to call me. Thought you'd be busy.” He exhales hard. “Sorry. I was running around the property, let me catch my breath.”

And now all I can picture is Lawson, shirtless, sweat-slicked, muscles taut, jogging through rows of oak trees and pasture like some cowboy fitness fantasy. He runs on the road when we travel, usually hits the hotel gym, but around here he’s more low-key.

I can’t help but wonder if this little impromptu cardio session has something to do with his desire to avoid the awkward tension buzzing between us like a neon sign.

“No problem. What’s up?”

“Eh, so, I hope this isn’t asking too much, but my dad’s birthday is tonight. We’ve got a Marshall family dinner.”

“Oh, okay.” What does that have to do with me?

“He specifically asked for you to come.”

“Oh.”

“Will that be a problem? If you had plans already, I can let him know.”

“No. Of course not. I love Kent,” I say quickly because I do. The man’s a gem I just didn't realize it was his birthday today and I'm wondering why he wants me, a non-Marshall, there. “I didn’t get him anything.”

“Don’t worry about a gift. The old man doesn’t need anything.”

“Yeah, but I’ll feel like crap showing up empty-handed. I’ll grab something after I leave here.”

“Don’t get him a gift, Dani,” he says, voice low and gruff in that way that sends a little thrill down my spine for no good reason. “I’ll pick something up. I’ll say it’s from both of us. You don’t need to spend your money on this. It’s last-minute and this isn't a work thing.”

And there it is. The cool shift. The you’re-a-colleague-and-nothing-more boundary that he’s trying so hard to enforce because I asked him to.

Or maybe it’s a jab because I told him that's all I wanted from him and here he is, inviting me to a non-work thing.

Either way, it makes me feel sad, except I know I deserve it.

You chose this, Dani. You told Lawson to back off.

“Okay,” I say. “Text me the time.”

“Okay,” he echoes, and then he hangs up. Just like that. No goodbye. No see you later. Just a cold, clipped disconnection. I stand there for a second, staring at the dark screen, my stomach turning.

So much for getting him off my mind. So much for pretending this is no big deal. Guess we’re just going to white-knuckle our way through tonight and tomorrow.