Page 118 of Knot a Good Idea

I have two choices right now.

I can punch him, which will ultimately lead into a brawl, both of us with black eyes and bloodied lips before the party.

Or I can walk the fuck away before I lose it and give April a bad impression of me.

I shoulder check Donovan and exit the room, but not before hearing Liam call him an asshole.

Good.

Maybe Donovan will listen to Liam. Liam rarely challenges Donovan, much less swears at him unless he truly deserves it.

It’s just business.

None of this is fucking business.

But Donovan was too chickenshit to actually ask her out, so he made a contract pretending there were no feelings involved.

Maybe to Donovan, this is purely transactional.

Which is a bold-faced lie on his end, but it’s not my job to play his fucking therapist.

Just business?

What a prick.

I head into the kitchen and my mood changes instantly when I see April sitting on a stool at the kitchen island, her chestnut hair pulled into a messy ponytail. She smells delicious, like brown sugar and cinnamon, and I can’t help but give her a crooked grin.

“Hey, gorgeous. You sleep well?”

She sips her orange juice and nods. “Too well. I can’t remember the last time I slept this much. I’m usually more productive.”

I lean against the counter. “If I could nap all day, I would,” I tell her. “Like a fucking cat.”

“Oh, yeah?” She raises an eyebrow, amused.

“I’ve already got the purring thing down; I’m halfway there. Besides, if I was a cat, then I could just curl up next to you and never leave your side.”

“You’d get bored with that soon, I promise you,” she sighs.

“Of you? Never, babe.”

“Sure.” She rolls her eyes but keeps a soft smile on her lips.

But I can tell she doesn’t believe me, and it sucks.

I don’t know how to show her how deep my feelings go without scaring her off.

The last thing I want to do is come off too strongly and push her away.

“You ready to meet a bunch of snotty people tonight?” I ask instead, leaning my forearms on the counter.

She wrinkles her nose. “Are they all that bad? I thought you liked these people.”

I scoff. “Tonight is one of those nights where we have to play nice. Donovan wants some eighteen-year-old that built an app to use our tech. But the kid’s parents own a majority of his company, so we have to look like we have our shit together.”

April looks around the kitchen, then back at me. “I think it’s more than obvious you guys have done well for yourselves. There’s ahelicopteroutside.”

I snort. “Yeah, I agree, too. But it's business politics. Donovan just tells me to keep my mouth shut, and for the most part, I do. Liam is the friendliest out of all of us and does the networking, while Donovan negotiates deals, and is constantly in touch with our lawyers.”

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