AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Knight.” I say his name with more force. He stops this time.
When he turns to look at me, and I take in the smoldering fire burning within his eyes, I freeze, knowing exactly why he’s trying to get away from me.
It’s that thing. That thing that made him almost kiss me again when no one was watching.
For a moment, we feel like a couple on a first date who have through-the-roof chemistry, and it’s gotten to the point of the night where they’re supposed to say goodbye. Except they don’t want to, but they know they’ll end up in bed if they spend another minute with each other. That’s never happened to me, but I’ve written about it.
“Good night, Aurora.” This is one of the few times he’s said my name, and it’s with a clipped edge, a final warning that I need to stop pursuing him. Except I can’t.
“I need to talk to you about—”
“No.” His voice is filled with the same finality as before, but for a different reason this time, alerting me to the fact that he’s fully aware of what I want to talk about.
Of course, he would be aware. That was to be expected.
“You haven’t even allowed me to finish telling you what I want to talk about, and you’re saying no?” My gaze remains riveted to his as if attached by nails.
“You want to talk about the renovation plans for Sunset Cove, and that’s not up for discussion.”
Fury roars in my ears at his stubbornness. “Why the hell not? Why won’t you even hear me out?”
“Because there’s a reason I’m so good at my job. I don’t need to hear what you have to say about your mother’s plans to know it’s not going to be something I’m interested in.”
Arrogant pig. I want to call him that, but I hold my tongue. My God, do I hold my tongue.
“That’s a little egotistical, don’t you think?”
“Yes.You’re talking to me as if we just met. I’m all about ego. It is what it is. You don’t have to like it, orme.” His voice drops at the same time his eyes do to my breasts, and he makes no attempt to hide that he’s checking me out right in front of me.
Raw arousal awakens in my core again, but I shove it away and will myself to focus. I can’t allow my brain to turn to soup every time he looks at me like that. I have to get my damn act together.
Ignoring his comment, I decide to say what I need to say whether he wants to hear it or not. Just like an actress at an audition who’s just been rejected, but she keeps going anyway, hoping her judges will change their minds. “Sunset Cove was created in the forties. That’s when it became famous and attracted people from everywhere. My mother wanted to revive that era and bring back all the things everyone loved. I think it’s a fantastic idea.”
The whole forties idea is the kind of unique selling point that should spark excitement and interest. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love the forties. But from the distasteful look on Knight’s face, it seems as if I’ve just met the first person to prove me wrong.
“Jesus, no.” He wrinkles his nose, furrows his brows, and glares back at me as if I just spat on his Armani suit. “The forties were left in the forties for a reason. We won’t be doing that.”
My God, he actually hates the idea.
No.Hateis too meager a word. It’s more like he despises it.
“Won’t you even look at my mother’s designs? I get that you’re good at what you do, but my mother was extremely talented. She had this dream of owning her own hotel. When she got Sunset Cove, she—”
“Stop, Aurora. Just stop.”
“But—”
“No. We’re done here.”
He turns and continues down the hallway. I watch him go, feeling like a failure all over again.
I can’t believe he won’t give me a chance. Not even an ounce of a chance when he’s taken so much from me.
No.I can’t just give up or have him dismiss me for the night like I’m a petulant child. We’re not done yet.I’mnot done.
Gathering my courage, I rush after him.
He knows I’m behind him, but he keeps walking. I follow him right into the office, slipping through the door when he enters before he closes it.
