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I tried to focus but my mind kept circling the thought of what I’d do if this all backfired. What if Mrs. Glass did figure out I was involved? The possibility of taking over Glass Designs had been my entire identity from the moment I started here. It was the only acceptable outcome. And now…
Now I was letting a little sliver of possibility enter the equation. The possibility that maybe I’d sacrifice it all just to keep Travis out of jail.
I shook my head at the thought. I looked over at his desk where he was leaning back in his chair with one hand holding the magazine and the other digging deep in his pocket for some nuts. He looked completely unbothered, as if our fates weren’t hanging by a thread.
And all I could feel was a blooming appreciation and… love?
Just the thought made my chest feel tight. But that’s what it was, wasn’t it? I was starting to fall in love with the damn man. He made me realize what love actually was. It was the act of going insane because of another person. It was the feeling of a stranger showing up in your brain and reorganizing the shelves you’d spent your whole life carefully setting up. It was pure, utter insanity, and I suddenly understood just how much truth there was in the phrase “I’m crazy for you.”
That’s what Travis was making me. Crazy.
Because only a crazy woman would be willing to risk what I was risking for him. I very nearly blurted how I was feeling aloud, but then Travis tipped too far back in his chair and went crashing to the ground on his back. He groaned, then picked up a few cashews that landed near his head and popped them in his mouth. “Ugh,” he groaned, making no move to get up.
“I told you to stop leaning so far back in your chair!” I scolded, reaching to help him up.
He grinned as if his dumb ass hadn’t just fallen out of his chair. “I knew that’d work.”
“Work?” I asked, grunting with the effort of yanking his huge body up from the ground.
He slipped a hand around the small of my back, pulling me close. “She worries so much that she comes to my rescue. If I need a little dose of you, all I’ve got to do is fall out of my chair.”
I glared. “Did you consider just asking before you threw yourself out of your chair?”
“I have a flair for the dramatic.”
He kissed me then, and I lost all sense of where I was or how much time had passed. My world became the softness of lips and the tingling exploration of his fingers on my back and ass—the deliciously hard shape of him against my belly as our bodies moved.
The door swung open and we both jumped apart like two kids caught in the hallway at school. Rand was standing there with wide eyes. He looked between us for a split second before I saw the understanding register there. He licked his lips. “Sorry for interrupting. I’ll come back later.”
He pulled the door closed behind him.
Travis narrowed his eyes. “I can’t figure out if that’s a problem.”
“Me either. Mrs. Glass has practically been begging us to hook up. Is she really going to be upset when Rand tells her what he just saw?”
It suddenly felt like everything was spiraling out of control. Those small risks felt bigger. The faint possibility that Mrs. Glass would connect me to her investigation of Travis’ fake identity felt more real.
What the hell was I doing?
And a little voice answered. You’re falling in love, stupid.
30
TRAVIS
“I wish you would just tell me what we’re doing here,” Elizabeth said.
She looked spectacular in her workout gear. She had on black leggings that made me want to get out my phone and snap a few pictures for desperate times. Her top was tight fitting enough that I could just barely make out the shape of her nipples if I concentrated, and she had her hair tied up high in a ponytail.
I’d thrown on my own gear, too. It was a little past lunch and getting her to agree to do this had been a struggle. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“Consider me surprised, then.”
I checked us in at the front desk and we headed deeper into the gym. I wasn’t surprised to spot Enzo with his mop, because I’d done my homework and obtained a copy of his schedule for the week.
I motioned for Elizabeth to follow me to where Enzo was mopping by the treadmills. “Just follow my lead. It’ll seem more believable if I don’t explain what’s going on.”
She threw her hands up helplessly and jogged to catch up.
“Enzo, right?” I asked the little man. He had on a bright yellow “STAFF” shirt that hugged his aging, but still impressive build. He had a somewhat unfortunate set of features with a hooked nose, thin lips, and hooded eyes. But there was kindness in his expression. I also thought I sensed a little bit of a romantic’s energy in him.
