I leaned my head back against my seat and tried not to think. It was no use. I could still feel the after effects of my orgasm. There was no denying Sean and I were amazing together. I’d never had a night like that before. With anyone.
Still, I regretted it. I hated myself for feeling that way, but I did. My job was my entire life. I spent years working toward my career, and now, I wasn’t sure I would even have a career after this.
Sean was the backbone of our rebranding scheme. He was the face of Yates’ Motorcycles. Without him, we had nothing. It was too late to change things. It was too late to hire someone new. Sean was it. He was the only option. And after what happened between us, I had no idea what to do.
I imagined Ray and Zach finding out about us, and my heart stopped. I felt a fear unlike any other work its way into my mind. Even if they didn’t find out, I thought, Sean and I still couldn’t be together. Not really. What would happen if we were?
Would we date behind everyone’s back? Would we keep it a secret? And if so, for how long? Plus, what would happen if we broke up? Surely, Sean wouldn’t stay on at the company and if he did, I would be the one who would have to leave.
The thought made my stomach hurt. Tears threatened to pour from my eyes. I put my car in reverse and pulled out of the driveway as fast I could. I sped all the way to my house.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Sean
Breakfast on Monday morning was a happy occasion. When I woke up, I went to check the mail to find my first check from Yates’ Motorcycles waiting for me. I tore it open quickly and gaped at the high dollar amount. I had been expecting the money, but now that it was real, I felt like I was dreaming. I’d never had so much money in my entire life.
“Good morning!” I said as Paisley came into the kitchen. “You hungry?”
“Sure.” Paisley shrugged. “What are you making?”
“Anything you want,” I said with a smile. “Today is a celebration.”
“It is?” Paisley asked.
“It is,” I said with conviction.
“Can we have waffles?” Paisley asked. Her voice was hesitant, and she looked at her feet while she spoke. I smiled at her embarrassment and walked over to her.
I put my hand under her chin and lifted her head. She blinked up at me as if she were afraid she might be in trouble. I smiled kindly.
“Waffles,” I said. “Sounds great. That is a fantastic idea! I can’t remember the last time I had waffles.”
Paisley smiled weakly and bounced over to her seat at the kitchen table. I went to work making the waffles, humming to myself as I did. I poured the batter into the waffle iron, and my mind drifted once again to that check. I couldn’t wait to cash it. My mind spun with everything I wanted to spend it on.
First thing, I wanted to take Paisley shopping. She would need new clothes for the next school year, and I was sure she would want a few new bathing suits. I might even be able to talk her into buying some decorations for her room.
“So,” I said, running with the idea. “What do you think about making your room more your own?”
“What do you mean?” Paisley asked.
“Well,” I said. “We could buy you a new comforter and pillow cases. Maybe a bookshelf? And a lamp or some curtains? It could be whatever you want.”
“Okay.” Paisley nodded. “Sure.”
I grinned and continued making breakfast. I finished up the waffles and fried a few pieces of bacon. Rummaging in the fridge, I found some fruit that I cut up and put in a bowl. I was flying high when I finally put the food out on the table. I put a plate and a fork in front of Paisley. She grabbed two waffles and drenched them in syrup before I was able to sit down.
I laughed and watched as she shoveled the waffles into her mouth. I was happy to see her appetite had returned in full force. She no longer turned her nose up at food. It was slow progress, but she seemed to be settling into her new life pretty well.
“What am I going to do today?” Paisley asked after she finished her waffles.
“Well,” I said. I cleared my throat. “I thought maybe you could come to work with me.”
“With you?” she asked.
“Yeah.” I shrugged. “It won’t be very fun, but it might be kind of cool to see the place. There’s a showroom with a ton of motorcycles and—”
“Can I ride one?” Paisley asked quickly.
“Not a chance,” I said with a chuckle. “But you can probably sit on a few.”
“Cool,” Paisley said.
“It could be fun,” I said. “Why don’t you go get dressed and we’ll go, okay?”
“Okay,” Paisley said.
She jumped up from the table and ran into her room. I heard her door slam shut. There were muffled noises as she got dressed quickly. I hadn’t expected her to be excited about going to work with me, but it was the best I could do. She didn’t have camp anymore and I didn’t exactly have anyone lined up to babysit. Short of leaving her alone, this was my only option.
Plus, Tara suggested it.
I wasn’t sure if her offer was serious, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. Paisley was the most important part of my life. She was the reason I agreed to work for my father in the first place. It only felt right for her to see the place. I also hated the idea of leaving her. She’d only been back in my life for a few weeks, but already, I felt a strong connection to her.
While she was at camp, I missed her. When she spent the evenings locked away in her room, I missed her. Despite her sassy attitude and her lack of conversation skills, I still preferred to be around her. I thought it was the best way to convince her I was sticking around. She had to learn to trust me, to believe that I was really going to be her dad. Forever.
I cleaned the kitchen quickly while Paisley got ready. She came out into the living room and pulled her shoes on her feet just as I loaded the last plate into the dishwasher.
“You ready?” I asked as I walked over to her.
“Yeah,” she said. She stood up and frowned.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Should I bring anything?” she asked. “A book or something?”
“If you want to.” I nodded. “It might be pretty boring up there. You’ll want something to do.”
“Okay,” she said. She hurried back to her room and returned with a sketchbook in her hand. She tucked a pencil in her pocket and walked toward the front door. She didn’t notice me watching her until she was already on the front porch.
“I’m coming,” I said, shaking myself. She looked at me slightly confused, but she just shrugged and made her way over to the car.
I followed her, smiling to myself. I didn’t know a lot about Paisley yet, but I was learning more and more. She hadn’t taken her sketch book out of her room since she moved in with me. It meant something that she was finally comfortable enough to bring it out.
***