Lennox raised her brows and clicked her tongue. “Well, don’t let Douglas Hayes hear you saying that shit because he might think you don’t like him.”
“That’s not what I meant?—”
She placed her hand on mine, a soft smile on her lips. “Relax. Don’t overthink it. I wasn’t stirring the pot, just proving a point.”
Her point made my eyes sting a bit, but I pushed away the nagging thought and dug into my food. Even if it was cold, it was still good. When I told her so, she just laughed and told me breakfast was one of the few things she could confidently cook without fear of burning the house down.
I had to keep my mouth closed before I told her something stupid, like how I’d gladly eat this meal for the rest of my life if she was by my side.
“So, what’d you tell everyone we were doing today?” I asked, setting my fork down and reaching for the glass of water she’d set out earlier.
Lennox pursed her lips. “I might have told them you had the shits again.”
I coughed, trying to clear my throat. “How’d you know about that in the first place?”
She shrugged and smirked. “The hands talk, you know. I just pay attention.”
I dropped my head in my hands. “I’m never gonna live this down.”
“You’re not,” she agreed, pushing to her feet. “But you’ll get over it.”
My fork clattered to the floor as she grabbed my plate. We both bent forward at the same time, and I knew what was coming before I could stop it. Our heads knocked into oneanother, and we both pulled away, cursing and laughing as she stumbled back in shock. “Christ, are you okay?” I asked, wiping my mouth and moving toward her.
Lennox rubbed at the spot and waved me off. “I’ll be fine,” she said, trying to move back, but I stopped her.
“Let me.” I crouched down, trying for the utensil, but she was too fast.
“What’s this?” she asked, holding a crumpled paper. As she unfurled it, I peered over her shoulder, and my heart sank. Oh god, I made that stupid pro/con list last night. I must not have thrown it away before she stormed inside. Of course, I’d forgotten all about it.
Shit, shit, shit. I’d already fucked this up before it’d even begun. All I could think about was the way she’d angrily stormed out months ago. She’d have every right to do it again. I held my breath as her eyes scanned the lines, shoulders already slumped in defeat.
“A pro/con list?” Lennox asked, gazing at me from over the top of the paper. “Really?”
“Lennox, let me?—”
She started laughing before I could say anything else. Was it funny to her? Or was this some kind of mental defense she was locking into place before she set my cabin on fire?
“Oh my god, Bishop. You’re fucking adorable,” she said, placing the plate on the table and walking toward me.
I stared at her in confusion. Other women likely would’ve started throwing shit at my head by now, but not her. She just cupped my cheek, letting her thumb run across my cheekbone. “You’re not mad?”
Lennox shook her head. “No. I wish you’d talked to me about how you were feeling, but why would I be mad when the pros are so clearly in my favor?”
“I was just trying to get it down on paper and make it real, yaknow? I know that sounds stupid, but…” I trailed off, shrugging slightly. “It helps me think things through.”
“I don’t care how you process, baby. I just care that you're mine at the end of the day.”
I turned my head and kissed her palm. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
"Good, because now I wanna talk about just how"—she paused, looking over the paper—"good at sex I am."
bishop
. . .
My week was slowly turninginto a shit show.
Since it was nearing the month's end, most of my time was spent typing up these damn reports for Josie. Honestly, it wasn’t hard to put together. What was making it such a pain in the ass was how many times I got called out to various parts of the ranch to fix problems that needed my attention.
