Steal My Heart: A Small Town, Enemies to Lovers, Workplace Romance (Rosewood River Series Book 1)

I was no relationship expert. It had been years since I’d been in one of my own. But I had parents who were a great example.

I had an aunt and uncle who were a great example.

I had a twin sister who was ridiculously happy and in love with her fiancé.

And the one long-term relationship I’d been in had been a solid one.

So, I was fairly certain I’d just been accused of doing something inappropriate with Katrina Larson, a woman I barely knew, and I was owed a big, fat apology.

“Is Katrina telling HR that something inappropriate happened?” Joey gaped at me. “Because that was all her. I’ve got your back, Easton. You barely acknowledged her. I hope she doesn’t turn on me and say I did something inappropriate. I did offer to dance with her at the party because I felt bad that you’d sort of left her hanging. No offense.” He shrugged.

The dude was always apologizing.

“None taken. Do you know why I left her hanging?” I asked.

“Because you didn’t want to get written up by HR?” He fell back against his chair on a gasp. “Oh, my God. Am I here because I’m getting written up?”

Henley shot me a look, as if I were making a mess of things. But the truth was, this was on her. And this secret was the reason this shit was happening, and I was done with it.

“Joey, relax. You aren’t in trouble. I called you in here because my girlfriend thought I’d acted inappropriately because Katrina had twisted the truth. And none of this would be happening if we weren’t keeping secrets.”

Joey stared at me, as if he didn’t know what I was talking about, and I gave him a few seconds to put it together. His head whipped toward Henley and then back to me.

“Oh. Ohhhhhhh. Okay. You two are together. I got it now.” He chuckled. “So I’m not in trouble?”

“You are not in trouble. I appreciate you telling the truth.”

Henley sighed. “Thank you, Joey. I’m guessing Katrina just let her imagination get the best of her. I appreciate you clearing that misunderstanding up.”

“Well, now that I know the story here, I don’t think Katrina was confused.” He chuckled. “I think someone else was playing you a little bit, Hen.”

Hen? He has a nickname for her?

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Everyone in the office thinks you two are together. It’s been a rumor for a while now. And when Easton walked out of the conference room this morning, Katrina was pissed off that he’d ignored her. She asked me if I’d heard the rumors about you two and if I thought they were true.”

“And what did you say?” Henley asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

“I said that I thought they were probably true, but I reminded her that I’d be happy to dance with her at the party, you know, to try to make her feel better about being rejected.” He shrugged.

“I can’t believe she just did that to me in the bathroom to mess with my head.”

“I think she was probably trying to get you to admit it, or maybe she wanted to rock the boat with you two. I don’t really know,” Joey said.

“Looks like you got played, Princess. But not by me.” I leaned back in my chair and turned to the man sitting across from me. “I appreciate you being honest, Joey. You can go back to work.”

“Thank you.” He walked to the door and turned around. “And congrats to you guys. I’m happy for you. Maybe it’s time you just tell everyone so the rumors don’t get out of control.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” I said, as Joey left the office, and I crossed my arms over my chest and met Henley’s gaze.

“I, um, well, I…” She paused for a few beats. “I’m sorry. I jumped to conclusions. I let her get in my head, and I’m sorry.”

I nodded. “She got in your head because she could.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that it’s time you trust me, Princess. This is a secret because you’re afraid that I’ll hurt you. But I’m not going anywhere. I don’t want anyone else. I want you. All of you. And I don’t want it to be a secret. Once it’s out there, everyone will get used to it. People like Katrina won’t be able to fuck with you, because she’ll know what’s going on. So how about we stop with the games and just be honest.”

Her eyes widened. “It’s not about me not trusting you, Easton.”

“It is. And you know it.”

Her eyes welled with emotion. “I’m a woman and new at this firm.”

“Henley, we’re both attorneys here. Yes, I’m technically your mentor for a short time. But you are the daughter of my boss. Your name is technically on the building. This relationship blowing up would hurt me as much as it would hurt you, if not more. There is no power struggle here. We’re both in positions of power. But I’m willing to take the risk. The question is, are you?”

A tear moved down her cheek, and it took everything I had in me not to rush her and pull her into my arms. I was respecting her wishes. My hands gripped the sides of my chair, and I waited.

“I do trust you. I’m just—” She shook her head, and the tears started to fall. I’d never seen her cry, even when that asshole Jamison had elbowed her in the face and then tried to push into her room. She’d never broken down. So seeing her like this caused a sharp pain to tear through my chest with a force. “I have spent my entire life trying to win the love of my father. My mother left to live in another country with her husband. I don’t have a family like you do, and I am terrified of going all in and being left alone—I mean all alone—in the end.” She shrugged.

“Baby. I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here. I want this. I want you. I’m just waiting for you to give me a sign that you want this, too,” I said.

She swiped at her cheeks and glanced over at the glass walls before looking back at me. I figured she’d say we’d discuss it later, but instead, she moved to her feet and walked around my desk. She climbed into my lap and placed a hand on each side of my face. “I want this, too.”

I tugged her head down and kissed her, and the sound of a few whistles and cheers came from outside the office, but neither of us gave a shit. She pulled back and looked at me and smiled, and I used the pads of my thumbs to swipe her falling tears away.

“I don’t like it when you cry, Princess. So let’s not do that again.”

“Always so bossy.” She chuckled. “So we’re doing this. We’re really doing this.”

“Yes. It’s about time you got on board. We’ll be at the fall party tomorrow night, and I’m just glad I won’t have to keep my distance from you. Let me call your father and let him know before he hears it from someone else at the office. It’s the right thing to do.”

She sighed and leaned forward to grab my cell phone and handed it to me. “I don’t really need to run my dating life by my father, so this is between you and him. I’ll just listen quietly.”

I nodded and dialed Charles’s number and put him on speakerphone.

“Easton, I got your notes on the latest with Bruno, and it’s a real shitshow, huh? How do you want to proceed?”

“Well, I’ve got a plan, and I’ll talk to you about that later. Right now, I’m calling about something else.”

“All right. What’s going on?” he asked.

“I’m here with Henley, and we wanted to let you know that we’ve been seeing one another quietly, and we have decided to make it public.”

“You’re dating my daughter?”

“I am. I’m crazy about her. Have been for quite some time.”

“I thought you didn’t date,” he said, his voice hard.

“I thought I didn’t date either. But then she came along, and everything changed. I didn’t jump into this lightly, Charles, and we were hesitant for a multitude of reasons, but I want this. We want this.”

He was quiet, and Henley winced as she ran her fingers along the scruff of my jaw.

“You know if this goes south, it’s her I’ll choose. If you hurt her, and she doesn’t want you here, you’re out. You’re risking an awful lot, Easton. I know how much a partnership means to you. And dating my daughter might be the one thing that keeps your name from ever going on the building.”

“I understand. It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” I said, because it was.

I’d fallen in love with this woman over the last few months, and I just hadn’t known how to tell her. Just hadn’t known if she felt the same way.

But I made my living off of trusting my gut, and my gut told me that Henley Holloway was my end game.

“You’re fine with it?” he asked as he cleared his throat. “This is obviously serious if you’re telling me about it.”

I looked right at her, her eyes the darkest sapphire blue with the afternoon sun shining through the window. “I didn’t expect to ever let anyone steal my heart, because I honestly didn’t know I still had one. But here we are. She has it. So it’s hers to break. And if it costs me my job, it wouldn’t matter. Because losing her would be what I wouldn’t get over. I can go to work anywhere, and we both know that. But there’s only one Henley, so I’ll take that risk all day long, Charles.”

“All right. I appreciate you telling me. I hope you don’t fuck it up, for your sake and for mine. Because I’d have to hate you, and I don’t want to do that.”

I chuckled. “I won’t fuck it up. I know a good thing when I see it.”

“I hope you’re right. Nothing would make me happier than to see her end up with a man deserving of her.” Her brows cinched together at his words, and he ended the call.

“Wow. You’re pretty crazy about me, huh?” she asked.

I put my finger to her lips. It had been many years since I’d told a woman that I loved her, and it sure as shit wasn’t going to be in this office while we were working. “Don’t say another word. I need to take you somewhere. Let’s go.”

“We’re leaving work early? We have hours of work to do.” She looked puzzled, but I lifted her off my lap.

“We’re leaving. It’ll all be here waiting for us later.”

I took her hand and led her out of my office. Rosie was beaming up at us, and I winked at her. Henley grabbed her purse, and there were a few people saying congratulations as I led her right out the door. I insisted she get in my car, as she wouldn’t need hers tonight.

“Where are we going?” she asked as I drove to her house.

“It’s a surprise. Get changed into something comfortable, and bring a sweatshirt. We’re going out on the river. I’m taking you to my favorite spot.”

“Aren’t we going rafting tomorrow morning before the party?” she asked as I pulled into her driveway.

“Yes. But this is different.”

I walked her inside and waited as she slipped into some jeans, tennis shoes, and a hoodie, as October in Rosewood River was starting to get chilly. We were on the way to my house in no time. I quickly changed into a pair of gray joggers and my gray pullover.

I stopped in the kitchen and tossed a few things into a bag, and she just watched me curiously. Then I took her hand and led her out to the backyard. I helped her onto my boat and then climbed on after her. It seated six people comfortably, but that didn’t stop me from pulling her onto my lap, as her back rested against my chest, and I drove us out to this spot that I’d found years ago. I’d never brought anyone here.

I pulled the boat into a little cove overlooking the falls. The sun was just going down, and the surrounding trees created a canopy around us.

“Oh, my gosh, what is this place?”

“It’s a spot I found when I was in a bit of a dark place years ago. I’d come here to get away from everyone. Everything. Just clear my mind and be alone,” I said, my voice low and quiet.

She turned a bit in my arms. “Is this where you came to grieve?”

“Probably. When I needed to be by myself. I’d go rafting all the time, and I was reckless. My family was worried about me, of course, and Emerson begged me not to go out rafting for a while. I’d given her my word, so I’d take the boat out. The water is where I did my best thinking, and I found this spot. I’d hide out here for hours. I could be angry. I could be sad. I could just work through it, you know?”

Her hands were on each side of my face and she smiled. “I’m glad you listened to Emerson and didn’t go rafting to take out your anger. Because I kind of like having you here, Chadwick.”

“I never thought I’d get a second chance at this, Henley. That’s the truth. So I’m sorry it took me a while to figure it out, but I wasn’t lying when I told your dad that my heart is yours. I haven’t dated for years because no one made me feel the way that you do.”

“How do I make you feel?” she asked, her gaze locked with mine.

“Alive. Like there is more to life than my job. Like there’s a future out there that I didn’t see before now.”

“I see it, too,” she whispered. “And my heart is yours, too. It happened before I even wanted to admit it to myself.”

“I love you, Princess. I never thought I’d say those words again, but I can’t hold them in anymore. I. Love. You.”

She nodded. Tears streaming down her beautiful face. “I love you, too.”

She leaned down and kissed me. It wasn’t frantic or needy. It was different.

As if we knew there was no urgency.

We were both in this.

“Come on. Let’s watch the sun go down.” I helped her to her feet and led her to the back of the boat, where we settled on the white leather seats. I opened a bottle of wine and poured us each a glass, setting them on the little table in front of us. Henley took out the cheese and crackers, placing them on the paper plates I’d tucked into the bag.

And we sat there eating and sipping our wine and looking up at the sky together. She rested her head against my chest, and I just breathed her in.

“It’s so peaceful out here. I see why you like this place,” she said, bringing her wineglass to her lips and taking a sip. “Is it hard for you to be here? You know, since this was the place where you grieved?”

“I never thought I’d bring someone here. I never thought I’d tell another woman that I loved her. But when I met with Dr. Langford this week, I told her I didn’t want to hold back anymore.”

“What do you mean?” She tipped her head up to look at me.

“I don’t want secrets from you. I want to share all the things that led me to you—the good and the bad. And yes, I used to come here to grieve, but it doesn’t mean that it has to be a place where I grieve forever. Now it’s the place that I told you that I loved you. The place where you told me that you loved me. The place where we left our fears in the past and decided to move forward. So now, it’s our place.”

“I like that. And I’m sorry that I was afraid to tell everyone that we were together. And I’m sorry that I was insecure and thought you were flirting with Katrina. Those are me issues, and not you issues, Easton.”

I stroked her hair away from her face. “You had reason to hold back. I was all over the place with you for weeks because I was afraid. And I understand you being apprehensive. I knew you’d come around, my brave warrior princess.”

She snuggled up against me and chuckled. “We’re both brave. Giving your heart to someone is a risk. Loving someone is a risk. But I think we’re worth it.”

“We’re definitely worth it. And I’m not going anywhere.”

And that was the truth. It had taken me a long time to find someone worth taking a risk for.

And I was going to hold on tight.