Page 14 of Knox

I rolled my eyes.

He stood and straightened his tie. “You’re going to have to be very careful if you stay here. Consider hiring a protective detail, at least at night. We’re a long way from town. A lot can happen quickly out here, if we aren’t prepared.”

The rush of yesterday’s terror returned. The feeling of running through the trees.

Certainty that someone was watching me.

The relief when Knox Hawthorne returned me to my car like some kind of guardian angel.

“I promise.”

“Good.” Dad moved toward the door, threading long arms into his suit jacket and fastening the button. He paused. “Try to have a little fun tonight. It’s a party.”

I went to greet the caterers when the Sullivan’s Seafood van arrived. Maggie Sullivan’s friendly smile was a welcome contrast to my mother’s perpetual disapproval.

I connected her with Marissa, my parents’ estate manager, and made unnecessary introductions.

Marissa was in her late twenties, close to my age, I guessed, with dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and flawless olive skin that I deeply envied. She’d worked for my family for three years, managing the property during their absences and coordinating events like tonight.

The women smiled. “We grew up here together,” Maggie said.

“Right.” Why did I keep forgetting I was the newcomer and everyone around me seemed to be old friends?

As the women discussed logistics, I found myself distracted by unexpected thoughts of Knox Hawthorne. He was intense but kind, and really nice to look at. His eyes were the same shade as Claire’s had been. Their noses had the same long lines. Their hearts had the same protective instincts.

“Sloane?” Maggie’s voice pulled me back to the moment, an expression of amusement on her pretty face. “You okay? You kind of zoned out there, but you’re smiling a little. I’m going to take that as a good sign.”

I straightened my features, certain my cheeks had gone bright pink. “Oh. Uhm. Sorry, I was just thinking about... stuff.”

“Of course.” Maggie’s knowing smile suggested she suspected exactly what kind of stuff I’d been thinking about, if not precisely who.

By seven, guests began arriving. I stood beside my parents at the door, welcoming and making small talk.

The house filled quickly with the sounds of crystal glasses clinking, warm laughter and conversation. I worked the rooms, doing my best to remain mentally present.

“Tyler.” Dad’s voice boomed somewhere nearby, and I froze. “Looking good, son. You know the Harrisons.”

I ducked, then hurried around the nearest corner, hoping not to be seen. It didn’t take long to spot my dad and ex-fiancé speaking with a group of other men in jackets and ties. Tyler was heir to a pharmaceutical fortune. Charming, educated, impossibly entitled. I wished I’d recognized that last detail sooner.

Mom swept in to greet him, and he planted kisses on her cheeks.

This was absolutely my mother’s doing. Angelica had never accepted our breakup and never stopped hoping we’d reconcile. Never mind that Tyler had cheated, then simply expected me to accept it as normal.

He lifted his head, as if searching the crowd for someone, and I refused to let that person be me.

I slipped through the crowd of people and out the French doors that led to the back lawn.

The evening air was cool against my flushed skin. I walked toward the dunes, away from the house, away from the noise, the lights, and the suffocating weight of expectations.

The manicured lawn stretched toward the sound, giving way to natural dunes and native grasses.

This view was the only thing I loved about this house. The water, the sky, the wild beauty of the islands that no amount of landscaping could entirely tame. I couldn’t hike alone anymore, but at least I had this. A tiny oasis of nature on an island I adored.

Knox returned to mind, a bad habit I was developing. And I wished I could somehow reduce the sadness behind those remarkable blue eyes.

I’d seen him in lots of photos, but the images hadn’t prepared me for the reality. For the height of him, the breadth of his shoulders, or the way his presence seemed to fill the space. I’d been especially surprised by the unexpected flutter in my stomach when our eyes met. Even in my strange state of distress, Knox had been undeniably striking.

I released an amused sigh.