Page 62 of Show Me

She’s focused. Content. Relaxed. Not dealing with the bullshit at the gym. Working at the shop. Here, where I can…. I shut that thought down.

“Yes. I do.”

“Good. You’re doing a good job.”

She glances up. “You said that already.”

“I meant it both times.”

That earns a small smile. Quick and then gone just as fast. “Good.”

With that, we go back to work.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Ruby

The Next Day

The late afternoon light stretches long across the road as I drive home, the sky washed in pale gold and gray. My phone is wedged between my shoulder and ear before I turn onto my street.

“You sound different,” Bella says.

“I feel different.” It feels weird to admit it, but I do. Safer. More relaxed.

“Different good or different I just joined a cult?”

I laugh. It’s a real laugh, not the polite version I’ve been handing out like brochures. “Different good. The office is calm, organized. No one leans on the desk like they’re trying to corner me.”

Bella hums knowingly. “And Xavier?”

“Xavier works there,” I say.

“No shit. That wasn’t what I meant.”

“I know. He’s good at his job. He corrects my anchor choices.”

“Romantic.”

“When he was at the house last night, he told me I was doing good.”

Bella goes quiet for half a second, which is how I know she’s grinning. “Oh, honey.”

Heat floods my cheeks. “Stop it. Not that kind of good. It was professional encouragement for my work at the office and on the renovations.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And his dad feeds me granola bars.”

“Stop. I can’t handle this level of domestic intimacy.”

I roll my eyes as I pull into my driveway. “You’re ridiculous.”

“And you’re deflecting,” she sings.

“I’m hanging up.” I grab my bag as the warning rings in the air between us. Not that she feels threatened in the least.

“You have feelings for him, and this situation is likely complicating things.” Concern replaces the humor in her voice. “He’s your boss, Ruby.”