Page 16 of The Darkest Knight

“Is your mom and dad still alive?”

“No. They passed away a few years back. They were both up in age when they had me and I was their only child.” It had been a hard time in her life when they’d both passed away within a year of each other. She prepared herself for more questions about this subject, but she was grateful when he didn’t pursue that line of questioning.

“Reese is a pretty name.”

This threw her for a loop. She didn’t see Seth as a man who offered too many compliments, but he’d already given her two so far this evening. “It’s actually my middle name.”

He lifted a brow. “What’s your first name?” She blew a long breath out of the corner of her mouth debating if she wanted to tell him. “Come on. Can’t be that bad.”

“If you laugh I’ll never forgive you,” she warned. “Praline.”

“Praline Reese Shane? You kidding me?”

“I wouldn’t.”

One corner of his mouth jerked, but he didn’t allow the laughter to flow. “Interesting.”

“Sure, interesting.” She rolled her eyes. “Not for a kid who was always being made fun of by her classmates until she finally called herself ‘Reese’.”

“You were made fun of? I have a hard time believing that. Not the woman who marched in here and demanded that I listen to her. I’m surprised you didn’t pop them in the nose.”

“And face the music from my retired Lieutenant father when I got home? No, thank you.”

“So, your dad was in the military?”

“Navy.”

“Ahh, you followed in the old man’s footsteps. I bet he was proud.”

Her heart fluttered. Her father was stern growing up, but he’d been a damn good dad. “Yes. How about your father? Was he proud that his son was given a medal of honor for bravery?”

He shrugged. “He was pissed when I told him I had enlisted. He’d expected me to follow along in his footsteps and take over one of his many companies. But he passed away before I received the award.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

He pushed out of his chair and went to the grill, turning the steaks. They sizzled and a cloud of smoke rolled up. She took the time to run her gaze over his powerful body, liking how his jeans fit. “I hope this isn’t too forward, but when you came home, why didn’t you go into the family business?”

“I’m afraid there’s a lot of polished reservation that’s expected in the business world, and I just don’t have it.”

“Fair enough.”

“So, since you opened the can of worms, do I need to worry about a disgruntled boyfriend, or husband, showing up looking for you?”

“I thought we already discussed this. I told you anyone who needs to know where I am knows. Are you worried?”

“If I was your boyfriend and heard you were living alone with a man in the middle of nowhere, I think I’d be a bit curious.” He came back to sit down.

“Looks like we’re both single, but I wouldn’t call what I’m doing ‘living alone with a man’. This is business.” She sipped a drink of tea. “Now that we have that accomplished, how about the project?”

“Stop being in such a hurry to spend my money.” He smiled, taking out all the underlying gruffness to his words. “Have you even thought of how this will change things for you? Don’t you have a doctor back home? A place to lay your head? Friends?”

She lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “Yes, I’ve covered all those bases. There really isn’t anyone. Not anyone close, at least.”

He scrubbed his beard. “And you’d be fine with staying in the cabin on a permanent basis?”

“From what I’ve seen, it has no bugs. Has running water. No leaks. And the bed is pretty comfortable. What’s not to love? So, is now the time you say yes?” She put him on the spot, but she should have known that a man like Seth could never be cornered.

“No, now is the time we eat.” He placed the steaming steaks on a clean plate.

Although he played hard to get, she had a better feeling that he was closer to saying yes than ever before.

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