It was, but that is not my story to tell. Right now, I need to tell her what I came here to say, even if it's going to cost me my job.
I’m too old to be asking permission to date the people I want to date, and even though I’m doing it out of respect for Lilly and her parents, it’s killing me that I took this long to take the lead. “Did you need something?”
She flinches. Damn, that came out wrong. “I don’t need permission to come to these parts of my ranch, Dominic.”
“I apologize; that’s not what I meant. I was asking because I would like to talk to you, but I wanted to make sure you didn’t need anything before I did.”
“I also came here to talk to you.”
Oh.
“Okay, go ahead.”
She shakes her head with impatience. “What do you want to talk tomeabout?
“It can wait.” The truth is, I shouldn’t wait long to come to terms with what I want and need, which is loving Riley. It’s more than I want at this point. Being with her has become completely necessary for my well-being, and I’m done lying about it to myself and to her. Riley needs to know.
Looking back, I can’t believe I made her feel like I didn’t love her. She doesn’t even have to tell me she was hurt by my words. I could see it, and with every day that passes, that hurt grows deeper and deeper. What a stupid man I was.
“Do you wanna sit?” she asks.
“Are you firing me, Lilly, or should I say, Ms. Banks?”
“What? No, I literally just told you how valuable you are to us. Why would I fire you?”
“Never mind,” I reply.
“I’m here to talk about Riley.”
Oh.
“I know about the two of you,” she says. I get the urge to act ignorant, but if I’m going to tell her how I feel about her sister either way, I might as well do it now.
“What exactly do you know?”
“For someone who is supposed to know everything going on at this ranch, I don’t know how I didn’t see it, but anyway. She told me you two were a thing, I guess, and yeah, that.”
Were, past tense, because we’renotanymore because of me and my stupid ass.
“At the beginning, I was screaming about it mostly because you’re older, no offense—” She raises her hands in the air.
“None taken.”
“—but then, the more I thought about it, the more I realized it is none of my business what you decide to do. It was shitty to even assume anyone could control Riley.”
I chuckle. I’m not even trying to, but it escapes anyway, and she smiles.
“Ah. You know this too then.”
“I do.”
“She’s really mad at me, and I really would like to fix things, but before I do, I wanted to come talk to you, ask if it was just a summer fling for you.” She looks softer than I’ve ever seen. I don’t think this woman has ever let her guard down before, not the way she is now.
It took her being between la espada y la pared for her to be like this. She needs to find an outlet before she burns out completely.
“It’s not my business to tell you Riley’s business, but if there’s a chance it wasn’t, and what you feel for her is more than a crush, I think you should tell her.”
So she’s not mad. She wants me to pursue this with Riley. What’s going on?
