Page 9 of Love Over Time

When I reached the grand staircase, the lobby was a hive of activity. What the hell was going on? I glared at the white sheets, which hung like a clothesline down the middle of the room, starting at the top of the stairs and going all the way to the front door.

“Nikki,” I muttered. Hipolita Morrow, the girl who’d left when I needed her most, was dead to me.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” she said in a too-bubbly, too-happy tone for this time of day. I checked my watch. It was seven in the morning.

I stomped toward the sound of her voice, but the sheets were in the way. I yanked at the them until I found my way out of the maze. “What is all this?” I asked when she met me at the bottom of the stairs.

“The Great Wall of China. What does it look like?” She pointed at it and then gestured to the rest of the lobby. She wore tight yoga pants and a cute ponytail. Even out of her designer clothes, she looked…

I swatted at the linens. “How did you get in? I changed the padlocks yesterday.”

She leaned in to whisper in my ear, jiggling a set of keys in my face. “I’m a thief, remember?” She stepped back and continued in her normal voice. “Anyway, the wall will serve as a divider. That’s your side, and this is mine. I figured you’d want the side with the bar since you already claimed it.”

I gripped her arm. She pressed her breasts against my side, and I let her go. “You agreed to sell me your half. Why are you back?”

“The agreement still stands. You have forty-eight hours to get me my money.” She glanced at her watch. “Well, it’s thirty-three hours now.”

“You will get your money.” I met her gaze.

“And when you do, I will move out. But if you don’t…” She gave me a one-shoulder shrug.

So that was how she wanted to play it. A thief with a code. She’d given me her word, so now she was standing by it.

“Ms. Swift, what should we do with the couch?” one ofmyguys asked.

“Oh, darling, thank you. Is it all cleaned up already?” Nikki ran her hand over the red velvet.

“Why are you not at the site?” I shovedmysofa away from her reach. The wooden legs scratched the lobby floor, and she winced.

“Well, Russ asked us if we could assist Ms. Swift.” He smiled, as if it were an honor to be helping her.

“Relax, darling. You’ll have them back in time to start work on the road. Two hours tops. They’re just doing some light cleaning.” She placed her hand on my chest.

My heart pounded hard at her touch. I pushed her hand away. She couldn’t read my face, so she’d taken to reading my pulse. She suppressed a smile, biting her lower lip. She thought she’d won. But I still had an ace up my sleeve. I was Henry Cavalier. This was my fucking town.

“Russ.” I called out for my foreman.

“Yeah?” Russ came in with a coffee table.

Nikki sprang to life. “Right over here. You’re a genius. I could kiss you right now.”

Russ turned bright red. No doubt imagining what that kiss might feel like. I wiped my mouth and swallowed.

Russ chuckled and set the table next to the sofa facing the front window. “We just gave it a good cleaning. The secret is lemon oil.” He winked at her.

“Russ. I’m headed for the bank,” I said, loud enough to break Nikki’s spell, or whatever it was she had Russ under.

He turned to me, a dazed look in his eyes. “Yep. We’ll be there at eight o’clock sharp.”

“Make sure you do that.” I turned around and headed for the door, slapping the sheets out of the way.

Once I was outside, the hot air did nothing to calm my mood. Sweat made my shirt stick to my back. I shrugged out of my jacket before I climbed in my truck and drove through the construction site to avoid traffic. I couldn’t be late to this appointment. My entire future depended on it.

“Well, it’s thirty-three hours now,” Nikki had said.

I gripped the steering wheel. Just like before, in one day, she’d turned my entire life upside down, made a fool of me. Not this time.

I parked the truck in front of the bank and ran up the stone steps. At the door, Bill, the security guard, waved at me and turned the key. “Hey there, Henry. Mr. Paredes is waiting for you. Go on in.” He patted me on the back.

---