Page 31 of Dandelion Sighs

His jaw went hard. “It’s, uh, involved in a family trust, and there are some time constraints for if and when she can sell.”

“She mentioned something about a trust.”

Relief crossed his face, but there was still something there, like there was more that I would find insightful, but he wasn’t telling me.

I was imagining it. Maybe. Regardless, it was confusing and my head was finally starting to clear. Jasper didn’t need to fix all my problems. I was the boss. The owner. Yet I was too tempted to become reliant on him. He had no ties to the resort.

“Thank you for the food.” I tapped the notebook. “And for helping me realize that I need to figure out what sets the resort apart and capitalize on it.”

“This list is short, but there’s a lot more.”

I pushed back from the table. “I know, and I really should go and get a jump on planning what I could do to face the competition. There are a lot of small, inexpensive changes I can make.”

“It’s the weekend.”

“I know. Fewer distractions, and I might go online and research other places. I’m not the only one to have gone through this.” I also needed space from this man who was so willing to coach me through all my issues. I was the owner. I had to figure it out. Or it was for nothing. Leaving college. Working jobs that fit me as well as a toddler’s tracksuit. All of it.

He rose, not moving fast, like he worried I’d spook like one of the horses he must’ve worked with. “See you Monday, then?”

“Sure.” I was rushing to the door, but when I went to whip it open, he put a hand on it.

A wall of his heat was behind me. My pulse jumped, but it wasn’t from fear.

“Sheridan,” he said softly. “Why are you running away? Is it about my aunt?”

“No.” So, yes, that bothered me. He had so many answers and so much insight, and then he was also related to the woman who could help me out, but he hadn’t offered to talk to her until now? And then I wanted him to swoop in and rescue me from my own decisions. I was doing exactly what I’d always done. Dropped my plans and went for help. “I rely on you a lot.”

“Okay?”

It wasn’t a bad thing, but it was. I’d already told him all about it, and he still didn’t see. “I’m taking you for granted, and I’m not standing on my own two feet. I mean, I got drunk as soon as I heard some bad news.”

“You got drunk because you were at a brewery and probably because you don’t let go like that. When you did get some bad news, and you had someone to talk to, you let it all spill out.”

Snippets crept through my memories. Did I fondle his biceps or just tell him I wanted to feel them up? “I let way too much out.”

“Like how handsome you think I am?”

I closed my eyes, exhaling. “Exactly. You work for me.” I uttered it like the weakest mantra in existence.

“And you don’t need the complication.” He stated it like a fact. It was one.

“Usually, the complaint is that I’m too simple.” I twisted to face him.

“Maybe to a boy who can’t see what a treasure you really are.”

“You can’t keep saving me,” I whispered. How would I do this when he moved on? “If I can’t even survive the summer, how does that bode for me? My brothers are waiting for me to fail so they can sell.” Then it’d be gone. My happy memories and the only place I was ever truly happy.

“It’s okay to have some help.” He leaned closer to me, our faces inches apart. “Besides, there’s something else I want to do.”

What else? Tell me, please, please, please. “And what is that?”

His gaze languidly stroked over my face before he lowered his head. When his lips touched mine, I nearly sighed a finally. Instead, I fisted a hand in his shirt. He increased the pressure and twined an arm around my waist, cinching me against his hard body. Pleasure tingled from every inch of me that touched him.

This was more like it. No worries could reach me in the solid ring of his arm. No stress, just pleasure.

A whimper escaped me, and he met it with a growl. I opened like it was a command and he swept his tongue inside my mouth. I was consumed by him. Meant to be devoured.

This. I needed more of this. Less work and more⁠—