Page 71 of Fake It Till You Make It

“Hmm,” she sighed, tossing one bent leg over his. “You’re hired.”

He curled his arm across her shoulder. “Wasn’t aware I’d auditioned.”

She lifted her head from his chest, her face in shadow, but the smile parting her lips warmed his insides like a summer sun.

“The first time always is, Mr. Calvary.”

“By my count, we bypassed the first of everything hours ago. You screamedyeshalf a dozen times. I’m thinking I earned myself a bonus and a raise.”

“Huh, depends on if I pass my exam.”

Eli grinned. “In that case, I better give you a fourth injection, clear up your doubts. Good lovin’ is a miracle cure.”

“Funny, hehe,” she trailed off. “I know your body, but I’m still figuring out what makes Eli, the man, tick beyond saving Calvary land.”

Boy, did she ever. Amarie had been as eager to explore his muscles as he’d been to taste her curves. With every lick of her tongue she’d broken him down, a wild horse tamed one well-placed love bite at a time.

“What do you want to know?” Being this amenable, vulnerable, for any woman should have terrified him, but Amarie had chosen to be in his corner from day one. He trusted her. And he realized he trusted himself in her loving embrace. Her genuine affection for living life in the moment and making others feel loved and valued had touched him. Being inside her, connected in the most intimate of ways, had transformed him.

“Tell me something about you that no one else knows. Something you entrust to me—only me,” she whispered.

Eli’s heart rate sped up. Amarie was asking him to trust her to be hisone.His fears. His failures. His future—he nolonger had to bear the weight alone. He’d thought about his choices, his mistakes, his dreams since Amarie had walked through his door. But the one secret he’d never shared with anyone, he did with her.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve been in jeopardy of losing this land.”

Amarie’s breath hitched.

“My sophomore year of college, my dad hurt his back, couldn’t work at full speed for more than a year. With the medical bills and monthly expenses, the finances underwater, including the mortgage, Dad tapped their meager retirement fund to keep the family from drowning in debts. It wasn’t enough,” he paused, not wanting to break a vow between father and son.

“Whoa, Leah had to be scared for your father—and the business, of course,” she tacked on. Eli pulled his marshmallow heart of a woman closer. As a nurse, she would think of the person before any material possessions. Cara would’ve reversed the order.

“My father never told her. To this day, my family thinks I went off to college and fell in love with the city. In truth, I picked up a job at the animal shelter in addition to my work-study position. I couldn’t afford to miss a day of work or studying.”

Amarie placed her small hand over his heart. The small gesture touched more than his heart; it touched his mind. Here lay a compassionate woman who’d touched every aspect of his being, both physical and emotional, to the point where Eli felt safe confiding his darkest secret. One he continued to shield from his entire family.

“Your father would be proud of your dedication to the family and the land he sacrificed for. My father paid for my college tuition, all six years.” She flashed a grin at him.Hiccup, who’d ambled off the porch after the adult activities had ended, yawned and flopped down on the blanket at his feet.

“I never wanted to burden my folks. Tobias and Noah were high schoolers, the money stayed funny. The ends didn’t meet for years after Dad’s injury.”

“You’re a good son, Eli.”

He snuggled her closer, driving the chill from his soul. “That’s questionable. Enough ’bout me. Your turn.”

“The year I turned eleven, my mom packed our suitcases in Prince’s trunk, and we left my dad.”

“That had to be scary.”

She gazed up at him. “No. We were happy… at first. Dad criticized how Mom cooked. How she cleaned. How she dressed. No matter how hard she worked, it never pleased him.”

“Okay.” He nodded so she would continue. As a kid, he never would’ve imagined his parents would be happier apart. Amarie’s home must have been horrible for a free spirit like hers. She figured life out by trial and error. A risk-taker would’ve made a lot of mistakes as a kid. Eli had a feeling the criticism extended beyond her mother. It pissed him off to think of a father crushing her creativity, making her afraid to try new things.

“Wait. You said Prince. The car belonged to your mother?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Mom called him our chariot. I rode in the front seat with her. She said he was ours because she’d purchased him with her own money, not my father’s.”

“Sounds like serious girl power.”

“Dad controlled the household finances.”