Page 24 of Forbidden Forget-Me-Not

I closed my eyes and let his words fill my mind, a smile spreading across my face in the dark.

Sexy AF: Are you sure everything is okay?

K: Yeah. Much better now. Get some sleep.

Sexy AF: So bossy.

K: You love it.

Sexy AF: I really do. Goodnight, Lani.

K: Goodnight.

I held my phone like it was really him.

My body remembered the barn. He had steadied me without trying to fix anything. His eyes told me I was worth a few broken rules.

At some point, I fell asleep. When I woke, it felt like only minutes had passed.

It was shaping up to be a long morning, and it wasn’t even nine. I locked my phone and set it face down on my desk just as my office door opened.

Nathaniel leaned against the frame, two coffees in hand, already dressed like he owned the building—which he did.

“Morning, sis.” He sounded far too chipper for my mood. “Tell me you’ve got the Anderson acquisition mock-ups ready. I need to approve them by tomorrow at the latest.”

I straightened. “They’re right there.” I pointed to the drafting table. “I was going to come see you as soon as I cleared my inbox.”

He crossed the room, and I joined him, snatching a coffee straight from his hand.

“These look great,” he said.

“I adjusted the color palette and tightened the rollout copy. The test market found the others too distracting.”

“Agreed. Send me the digitals. I’ll sign off so we can get started.”

It felt good to be appreciated, to contribute.

Father had given me a job in his office, but then gave me nothing to do. I sat at a desk and looked pretty. A perfect summary of our dynamic.

I loved my father, despite everything. He was my dad, but his views belonged to another century. Accepting Nathaniel’s offer had fractured our relationship. Still, I refused to live my life as a decorative, fragile knick-knack locked behind glass.

Nathaniel took a sip of coffee, his gaze lingering.

“You okay?”

“Of course.”

“You’re not bouncing,” he said. “That’s suspicious.”

I smiled tightly. “Didn’t sleep well.”

“Yeah. That seems to be going around. Goran said the same thing the other day.”

The comment landed heavier than he knew. I forced a neutral expression onto my face. I didn’t think that Nathaniel suspected us, but if I blinked wrong, he would.

My phone buzzed and I welcomed the distraction—until I saw the name and groaned.

Father.