“Major,” Momma warned.

He held up both hands. “Just asking.”

“Aida went back to her parents’ house. She took off from college this semester, and they’re going to force her to make it up this summer. Her daddy is not happy that she took off to come here,” Momma explained. “But she’s young, and she’ll learn. Let’s just put this behind us.”

“So you didn’t tell Reese, did you?” Major asked, grinning.

I glared at him over my coffee cup.

“I wouldn’t have told her, either. It’s creepy, if you really think about it.”

“Would you shut up?” I growled.

He stood up with his empty plate and headed to the sink. “Sure. I’ll shut up. I got a job to get to.”

“Job?” I asked, surprised.

“Yep. I’m working on building the addition to Stouts and Hawkins. His new guy overseeing the project, River Kipling, hired me. If this one is as successful as the one in Key West, then Arthur is sending him to Rosemary Beach to build another, and I’ll be going, too. Find me one of those hotties I’ve heard so much about.”

The idea of River Kipling moving to Florida, far away from Dallas, was very appealing.

Reese

Piper walked into the office an hour after I had arrived, carrying two cups of coffee. “Good morning,” she said brightly.

As weird as it was to imagine her married to Arthur, a man who could be her father, I really liked Piper. She was down-to-earth, and I’d watched her with the kids she trained. She was kind. I felt guilty now for thinking Arthur had married her for her beauty and youth while she’d married him for his money. I didn’t get that vibe from Piper.

“Good morning,” I replied, taking the coffee cup she handed to me. “Thank you. I need this.”

“Everyone always needs a good cup of coffee.” She took one of the leather seats across from the desk. “So, tell me, how are you liking this job?”

I loved working here. I felt I was being productive. “I’m enjoying it very much.”

Piper sipped from her cup and smiled at me over the rim. “Good,” she said. “I’m very happy with your work. Everything you’ve done you’ve given one hundred percent. You work like you own it and it means something to you. That’s hard to find in an employee. I hope I can keep you around for a while.”

“Thank you,” I replied, feeling my chest swell with pride. I had been so worried I wouldn’t be able to do this job correctly, but here she was telling me she was impressed with my work. I could do this. Mase was right. He believed in me, and I needed to start believing in me, too.

“Now that you’ve shown me you can handle the daily tasks, I need to add one more thing to your list. My husband has a guy working on building and expanding the menu to include seafood at his steakhouse here in Dallas, which he has already done successfully in Key West. River Kipling. He’s asked for some help filing his receipts and bills. Until the expansion is complete, Arthur needs to use my extra filing cabinet to organize all of that. We’ll need you to file the paperwork that River brings in, and he’ll occasionally ask you to make phone calls on his behalf while he’s on-site.”

Oh, no. How could I tell her I didn’t want to work with River? She’d just said I was doing a great job and wanted me around for a while. I couldn’t refuse to do this. Besides, he would just be dropping stuff off every once in a while. Not a big deal. I was making more out of this than I needed to.

“OK, sure,” I replied, not feeling sure at all.

She gave me an approving smile and took one last drink of her coffee before standing up. “He should be by sometime before lunch to go over things with you. I told him you’d be expecting him.”

Today? Already? I needed more time. I nodded. It was all I could do.

“Great. Well, back to work. I have a student arriving in about five. Enjoy your morning, Reese.”

I think I muttered something about her enjoying her morning, too, but I wasn’t sure. My mind was on dealing with River . . . or Captain. I needed to tell Mase about this. He needed to know that I’d be seeing River more often—but then what? He would be furious, and I’d probably lose this job.

I liked my job. I wouldn’t get a better one. Having this on my résumé was going to introduce me to more opportunities.

At some point, I was able to get my mind off of Captain long enough to focus on my calls and e-mails. I brushed down two horses for Piper and made another pot of coffee and brought her a cup. Just before I was ready to take my lunch and after Piper had left to eat with her husband, my office door opened. I knew without looking up who it would be.

Same messy hair in a ponytail, same smart-ass grin. I only gave him a glance before I looked back down at my computer screen and finished reading an e-mail. Or at least tried to.

“Are you mad about this arrangement?” he asked, walking over to set a bag on my desk.

I couldn’t ignore him; Piper had asked me to help him out. I forced myself to look at him. “What do you have for me?” I asked, inwardly cringing.

He smirked. “First, I have some of the best Mexican food in Dallas for you. Once we eat, we can get to the other stuff.”

He had brought me food again. This wasn’t just friendly—I knew that. He was trying to flirt with me. But I was Mase’s, and this wasn’t going to work. “I’ve already eaten,” I lied.