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She wiped a bit of ketchup from the corner of her mouth. “I know.”

“Everything okay?”

Her gaze drifted to the garden.

“I’m juggling a lot right now,” she said finally. “Work is intense. The board meeting today was stressful. There’s so much riding on the next few weeks.”

“I get that.”

“And I’m worried.” She looked back at me. “I’m worried I’m going to mess things up.”

“Mess what up?”

“Everything.” She let out a breath, her shoulders dropping. “The CEO position. My father’s expectations. This whole publicity strategy we’ve built.”

I waited, sensing there was more.

“A relationship with you would complicate things,” she continued.

I kept my expression blank. I wouldn’t show how much those words stung.

“I’m not pushing anything,” I said. “If you don’t want this to be more than what we agreed to, I can respect that. We can keep it strictly business.”

“Thank you,” she said softly. “For understanding.”

I nodded, swallowing the disappointment that threatened to rise in my throat. This wasn’t about me. This was about her and whatever she was working through. Pushing her would only make things worse.

“Did your meeting go well?” I asked.

“It did. Basically, I just have to keep doing what I’m doing.”

“Have you seen the stuff online?”

I watched her cheeks pinken. “I did.”

“It’s good. And you look amazing in the photos. I think you’ve got about twenty more guys hoping to be your real boyfriend.”

She snorted. “Yeah, it’s the boobs. They don’t care what’s in my pretty little head. Dealt with them before.”

“You are more than your boobs. Although those are some very nice boobs.”

She snickered and took another bite of her burger. I finished my burger and stole one of her fries. Rather, I attempted to. She slapped the back of my hand.

“Eat your own,” she said.

“Yours tastes better.”

“Yes, they do.”

We finished eating and I didn’t want to leave. I kicked myself for not thinking to pick up dessert.

“I should probably get back to my gardening before it gets dark,” she said, standing from the table. “I’ve got a few more beds to weed. Those damn weeds grow ten times faster than anything else.”

Right. That was my cue. She was dismissing me. Politely but unmistakably.

I pushed back from the table and started gathering the wrappers, shoving them back into the bag. “Yeah, of course. I’ll get out of your hair.”

“Would you like to give me a hand?”