Page 20 of His Reckoning

I glance at him. “Both of us.”

This time, he does smile. Just a little.

“Relax,” he says. “My assistant Jordan will have it corrected tomorrow.”

“It’s not really my problem.”

“You’re in the photo.”

“Yes, but they don’t know anything about me.”

“That hasn’t stopped speculation before.”

I shrug. “I’m not the one they’re actually interested in.”

He pins me with a measured look. “That’s not what you said last night.”

I raise an eyebrow. “What did I say?”

“You told me I wasn’t hero material.”

“Oh,” I say lightly. “Right.”

“You seemed very confident about that.”

“I was.”

“That’s disappointing.”

“Why?”

“You write romance novels,” he says calmly. “I assumed you’d have higher standards.”

I lean against the counter opposite him. “I do.”

“And yet here I am.”

“Yes,” I say thoughtfully. “Which is exactly why the heroes in my books usually have a personality.”

That earns a real laugh from him. “So, I’m lacking personality now.”

“No,” I say. “You definitely have one. I just wouldn’t describe it as romantic.”

He nods slowly. “Harsh.”

“Accurate.”

His eyes drag slowly over me, clearly entertained. “You’re surprisingly calm about the article.”

“It’s a tabloid.”

“They tend to persist.”

“If my parents see it,” I say, grabbing a glass and filling it with water, “they’ll think this is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to them.”

“Your parents follow financial gossip?”

“They follow anything that involves wealthy men standing next to their unmarried daughter.”