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“The forests are important to you too,” she says in a small voice.
I hate how much she’s doubting me, but can I blame her?
I’ve barely wrapped my head around the reality that I’m…I’m falling for her. I still have so much to share with her. Yet the fear of everything between us crumbling when I do looms over me. “They are, but it’s you, baby. I’m here for you.”
“For us.” Molly gives my chest a pat. “Oh. What are we going to do about ORO? I mean, we’ll be at the office together now, and, well, how should we act?” Her mind must be working on overdrive.
“Let’s keep things how they always were. There’s no need to add more to our plates right now.” At this, Molly frowns, and I realize how cold my words sounded. “Hey, I just mean that I don’t want to put pressure on either of us to act differently. Whatever feels right is what we do. For now, let’s try to focus on taking care of ourselves before we have to rejoin the real world.”
“Ugh,” she sighs, and then a small grin tugs up her lips. “I hate therealworld. But speaking of, I should probably tell you that Lily and Avery know about what’s going on with us and the trust.”
I let out a throaty chuckle. I’m glad she had someone to talk to besides me. “I told Ollie and Robert too.”
“How’d they react?”
“Haven’t given them too many details, but I’m sure I’ll be bombarded with questions tomorrow.” My friends don’t believe that we were ever pretending, and I guess, starting today, we’re not.
I’ll never hear the end of Ollie being right about this.
She blushes, looking shy again. “Don’t you need to get home to get some fresh clothes for the office?”
“Trying to get rid of me already?”
“No, Mr. Hudson.” She smiles, a toothy one this time. Finally, things are getting back on track. “I think I’m going to keep you around for a little while longer.”
My chest fills with warmth. “Good. And don’t worry, I have a gym bag with some clean stuff at my desk.” Though I should pick up Bear tomorrow and pack up my essentials to bring here.
“Okay.” She slumps back down onto the mattress and tangles herself into my arms.
I pull her bandaged fingers up to my lips and plant kisses on the small cuts on her fingers. “Want to tell me what happened?”
“I broke a vase. Well, several vases, and then my phone,” Molly says, not looking up to see the concern on my face.
“Did those vases do something to you?”
“Lance sent me a bunch of orchids. I guess he got news that I was coming home and thought they would impress me.”
Himagain. My pulse hammers, and from the way her face presses into my skin, I’m certain she can hear its feverish pace. “Lance? I didn’t realize you were in touch.” I try to sound calm.
“We’re not.” She shakes her head. “He’s tried to reach out a couple of times, but I’ve barely read his messages. The flowers were out of nowhere.”
“Gotcha,” I say. My teeth grit together again.
“Are you jealous of him? Because there’s absolutely nothing—”
“No.” The response comes so fast, it’s barely convincing.
Am I jealous of the prick? No.
Do I hate the fact that he has access to Molly? Yes.
Does her family’s favor of him make me feel less than? More than I care to admit.
“Just let me know if he causes any more trouble. There’s no reason you should be getting scratched up because of him…ever.”
“Thank you.” Molly’s breath shallows. The scent of my favorite red ruby apples washes over me, calming the tension in my body. Her softness rests against my roughness. It’s natural, right? Heaven help me, I’m a goner.
“I’m here for you,” I promise.
