He hummed, slowly eating his brownie. I sipped my iced latte, forcing my gaze to the window behind him. Did he ever spin his chair around to take in the view? Or was it comfort enough knowing the land his family had owned for generations was at his back?
“I appreciate the coffee and treats. Unfortunately, I can’t be much of a host, though. I have work I need to get through before the end of the day.”
I brought my gaze back to him. He wasn’t wearing a tie today. The top two buttons of his crisp, pale-blue shirt were undone, revealing the peachy skin of his throat and divot at the base.
“I’ll be quiet like I was the other day,” I said, studying the way his throat bobbed when he swallowed. I didn’t think I’d ever noticed a man’s throat quite like I was his.
He let out a soft breath. “All right. But if you keep showing up like this, I’m going to get used to you.”
I almost asked if that would be so bad, but stopped myself. Of course it would. I was leaving in a couple months. Getting used to me was the last thing Cormac needed.
I showed up again Friday morning, all my reasoning to stay away overthrown by my need to see him. It was selfish, but there was nowhere else I wanted to spend my time before taking a group on a trail ride.
When I walked in, he didn’t seem surprised.
“Hey, Maccie.”
“Morning, Zara.” His fingers sped over his keyboard, his gaze never wavering from his screen.
I settled in my chair, pulling out my phone to return a text from my group chat with Zane, Steven, and my parents. Zane had titled it “The Vasquez Family Hang.” The last message was from my dad, telling Zane to use his words because the pictures he continued to send didn’t mean anything.
The pictures were GIFs that never failed to confuse our father.
I laughed to myself, even as my chest panged with something like homesickness, though that wasn’t quite the right word. There was nothing about Oregon I especially longed for, but I missed my family badly.
“What’s the smile about?” Cormac asked suddenly.
I put my phone down on my lap and looked up at him. “A while back, my dad tried to ban Zane from sending GIFs in the family group chat.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Was that difficult for Zane?”
“You have no idea. GIFs are my brother’s main form of communication. It was the closest they’d ever come to having a rift between them.”
“They worked it out in the end?”
“They did. Zane’s now allowed to use GIFs as long as he follows them with words.”
Cormac chuckled. “Sounds like a fair compromise.”
“Everyone thinks my dad’s a hard-ass, but if Zane had pressed it, Dad would have folded like a wet tissue. He’s miserable when either of us is unhappy.”
“I expect you had to stop him from murdering Jackson then.”
Groaning, I rubbed my face with my hands. “You have no idea. He wasn’t pleased when he found out all I’d hidden from him either. Luckily, my mom talked him down. But…yeah, it was touch and go there for a minute.”
“I can imagine.” After a pause, he asked, “Have you heard from the private investigator?”
“He messaged. I haven’t replied.”
“Will you?”
“I don’t know.” I scrunched my nose. “If I ignore it, it won’t go away, will it?”
“That’s a strategy, but no, I’m pretty sure it won’t go away on its own.” He tapped his mouse a few times before looking at me again. “What are you up to today?”
“I led a beginner hike this morning and have a trail ride in a couple hours. I was thinking I might be able to hide in here until it’s time.”
“You might be.” He cocked a brow. “You didn’t bring me a bribe.”
