Page 124 of Square Deal

I smiled. “I’ve taught a lot of rookie catering waiters how to tie a necktie. I could do it in my sleep.”

“When do you think you’ll be able to come up north next?” he asked as he threaded his belt through the loops.

I slipped into one of my favorite dresses. It was a light rosy taupe fabric. Or, as I liked to call the color,bridal concrete.It fit my body like a second skin. I slipped into a pair of Jimmy Choos and began to hurry through the process of my makeup routine.

“I don’t know,” I said honestly as I massaged moisturizer into my skin. “It’s easier to stay under the radar here in Beaufort, don’t you think?”

Isaac appeared behind me in the bathroom mirror. His blonde hair was already styled to messy perfection. His square jaw was set, and his blue eyes locked on mine in our reflection. “Is that what you want? To fly under the radar?”

I dusted my face with layers of powder and blush. “I assumed that’s what you would want. I understand that you have a reputation to maintain.” It came out a little harsher than I intended.

“You’re not my dirty little secret, Han,” he clipped, resting his hands on my hips. “Am I concerned for your privacy and safety? Of course.” He bent down and kissed the spot behind my ear that he knew drove me crazy.

Shivers raced down my spine with the touch, and I closed my eyes.

“I’m not hiding you. If you want the world to know about us, I’ll make the call.”

I carefully filled in my lips with a deep red lipstick. Twisting the tube and snapping the cap on, I said. “Would it change us? If you and me dating got out to the public?”

“We would have to answer a lot of questions, yes.”

Questions like where we met. Our first date. Our first kiss.

I laughed ironically. I had been half-drunk for our first kiss. I barely remembered it. There was a sharp pang in my heart.

I always thought that my first kiss with the man I fell in love with would be a magical moment. As someone who grew up wanting to be the Princess of Genovia, I wanted my damn foot to pop.

I never thought it would happen in a hotel hallway.

I never thought it would be with Isaac Lawson.

I never thought it would last. It was only supposed to be one night.

Would I have to leave my job? Maddie dealt with being in the public eye effortlessly. Then again, Luca laid low most of the time. He was practically a local by now.

I couldn’t imagine leaving my life for a man. I worked hard to get where I was in my career. Leaving everything for him would mean becoming the exact thing my mother had always groomed me to be.

If Isaac hadn’t pissed her off at Christmas, she would have already been addressing our wedding invitations.

I began to take down my hair rollers. Running my fingers through the glossy waves, I sighed. “I don’t know what to do.”

Isaac chuckled and took my hand, leading me back to the bedroom. He sat down on the edge of my bed and patted his thigh. I perched precariously in his lap and draped my arms around his neck.

“You want to know something, Princess?”

“Hm?”

“I like when you don’t know what to do,” he said as he tucked my hair behind my ear and tipped my chin up as if to hold my attention. “You always have all the answers. You’re always in control. It’s okay that you don’t know. That just means we get tofigure it out together. That’s what this is, right? A partnership. That’s what you do in relationships.”

I rested my forehead on his. “When did you get to be such a relationship expert?”

He chuckled. “I’m a fast learner.”

The moment was broken as soon as my phone rang. I slid off Isaac’s lap and picked it up. “Hannah Jane Hayes.”

Even with the summer heat right around the corner, Isaac was in a three-piece suit. He was fastening his wristwatch when I finally finished the call. I liked that he was old school and wore a watch, even if it was as expensive as my car.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

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