“I want to do all the things you ask of me and do them better than you ever expected they could be done.”
A rumble emits from his throat as his eyes darken. My knees go weak and I grab the table with my left hand to ensure I don’t fall.
He licks his lips and flips his gaze to my mouth. I think I whimper as I lift my chin, waiting to see what he does next. My entire body is on fire for this man, my heart thumping so hard I’m sure he can hear it.
He moves so my back is pressed against the table, our food long forgotten. His hands are on either side of me, caging me in. Our eyes locked together, he leans in, a slow smirk spreading across his gorgeous face.
“Excuse me, Mr. Landry. Ford is here to see you,” Raza chirps through the line.
We exhale simultaneously, a giggle escaping with mine. There’s nothing funny about this, but the energy has to come out in some way.
“Mr. Landry?” she asks again.
“I’ll be right out. Thank you, Raza.”
“Oh, you’re so welcome, sir.” The line clicks off and Graham marches across the room and punches a button. The light on top indicates he’s not to be disturbed.
I busy myself with cleaning up our lunch, and before he’s at my side again, I have everything bundled up.
“Thanks for lunch,” I say like nothing just happened.
“Mallory . . .” He runs his hand through his hair, leaving one lock sticking up. Knowing what that will look like if we walk out together, I reach up, hesitating for a split second, before smoothing it out.
His hair is silky against my fingers. He jumps when I touch him at first, but doesn’t back away. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing went on in here. I refuse for it to look like something did. That’s the way rumors get spread, Mr. Landry.”
“Mallory, I . . .”
I get a final look at his face, reach up and straighten his tie as his eyes go wide, then turn towards the door. “I’ll send Ford in.”
“Mallory!”
“Yeah?” I turn to the side. He’s standing by the table, his hands in his pockets looking frazzled. When he doesn’t respond, I place my hand on the knob. “I’ll have that file back to you before I leave today. Thanks again for lunch.”
I walk out before I can change my mind.
Graham
“DON’T LOOK AT ME LIKE that,” Ford says, counting out a final ten push-ups and then hopping to his feet no worse for the wear. “Your ass could be down here doing these with me.”
“Absolutely I could.” I take a sip of tea from my seat on the porch swing. “But I’m not.”
The air is crisp, a wind blowing across the lawn of the Farm. Our family’s getaway is an escape from the hustle and bustle of life, where we all come to congregate and get fresh air and have big-scale family dinners. We all have a space here, a bedroom that we use when we need a spot to land. Granted, I don’t ever use mine, but the others do. Ford is staying here until he finds a place of his own.
“I’m thinking about hiring Barrett’s trainer, Achilles,” Ford says, stretching his arms overhead. “I’m having a hard time getting a hard enough workout in on my own.”
“Paying someone to kick your ass. I’ve never understood that,” I joke. “Seems like you could just run another mile or lift another set and do it without shelling out money.”
“It takes effort to look like this,” my brother says, flexing his biceps.
“Do you forget you basically look like me? Just less good-looking?”
“You wish,” Ford laughs. “You should see how your assistant looks at me.”
I glare at him and he only laughs harder. “How are things going with Mallory?”
I let my mind go to the one moment that I keep replaying. Her looking up, her eyes filled with every ounce of lust I was feeling, along with a dose of uncertainty. The way her lips parted in anticipation, how her chest rose and fell as she tried to stay calm. The smell of lavender is as fresh as it was as I breathed her in for the first time.
“That good, huh?” Ford chuckles.
“She’s smart. Doing a good job.” I rise from the swing and lean against the rail.
“Nice vanilla answer. I love your evasiveness. You’re turning into Barrett.”
I roll my eyes.
“I chatted with her a bit before I left your office today,” he informs me. “I like her.”
My head snaps to his. “What do you mean?”
My brother’s laugh comes immediately. “Just like I thought.”
“Just like you thought what?”
“It’s only natural. She’s a nice girl. She’s seems smart. She’s gorgeous as hell.”
I take a quick sip of tea to keep him from looking at me too closely. “I’m not following along.”
“Only because you’re still chasing her tail, which is exactly my point.”
“Whoa,” I say, standing up straight. “I think you’re ahead of yourself.”
He climbs the stairs to the porch and leans against the rail on the other side, grinning at me. “I haven’t been around much these last few years. I only know what our siblings tell me, mostly meaning Camilla, plus what Mom and Dad volunteer. But none of them have ever mentioned you with a woman. Not seriously.”
“This is not news.”
“But why, Graham? It’s like everyone in the family is moving on, starting their own thing. Lincoln is having a kid. Barrett will eventually grow a pair and do the same. I’m not averse to the idea myself. But you? Don’t you want a family of your own some day?”
“Sure.”
I leave him standing on the porch as I head into the house. I don’t close the door behind me because I know he’ll follow. Sure enough, when I get into the kitchen and turn around, he’s standing in the doorway.
“I’m not pressing you,” Ford says. “To be honest, I couldn’t give a shit about what you do with your life as long as you keep working because that benefits my bottom line.”
“Fuck off,” I chuckle.
“But I do think you work too much. I think you take shit too seriously. I think one day you’ll look back on your life and wish you’d lived a little more.” With a simple shrug, he turns and starts down the hallway. “I’m jumping in the shower. If you leave before I get out, lock the door.”
His footsteps fall against the steps, his weight causing the floor joists above me to creak as he makes his way to the bedroom at the end of the hallway upstairs.
I hate when he does this. He says something semi-insightful and then leaves you to think about it. I don’t want to think about it.
The kitchen is quiet, the only sound coming from the birds outside. This is why everyone loves it here. It’s almost its own world.
I venture out onto the back porch, Ford’s words echoing in my head. He’s wrong—I am happy. I live my life exactly how I want it. I designed it this way.
I had to.