Page 105 of Always Knew It Was You

Did Micah Landing just ask me out?

I’m too stunned I don’t even know how to deal with that. So I go back to the point at hand.

“I’m not going to if you keep ending up in jail,” I find myself saying, still shocked that I’m actually going along with this.

“I won’t,” he says, raising a hand. “Scout’s honor.”

“I’m serious, Micah.”

“I’m serious-er, Carly.” He grins. “Now can we kiss on it?”

“No,” I say, but it’s too late. His hand reaches through the bars and wraps around my uniform, tugging me forward. His face leans in and presses against the iron, his lips pursing.

He waits with his eyes closed.

I roll my eyes.He’s such a goof.

But I’m smiling as I lean in and kiss him anyway. Clapping and whooping break out over our heads.

After I bail Micah out of jail, he bails all the other men out too. As he does, their wives and girlfriends start showing up to pick them up and give them an earful about what happened. As Micah is helping argue their cases and using his charm to soothe the women, I step out for some air.

Just in time to see my cousin being brought out of a police vehicle in handcuffs.

I freeze on the steps. “Nate?”

He looks up at me. “Oh hey, Carly.”

The police officer with him looks between us and then eyes me as he walks Nate up.

“Just going to get some more paperwork done,” he says as he passes by me.

“Wait, Nate.’’ I turn and want to ask him about the burned guy he told me about. But the officer is staring closely and looking at us suspiciously and I don’t want to say anything that will make him even more suspicious.

So I say, “Never mind.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

MICAH

Despite the chaos of the previous night, I start the next day in relatively high spirits. Maybe it’s because of Carly and everything we did last night. And this morning before she went to school.

Or maybe it’s the breakfast I had at My Fair Lady, which wasn’t half bad at all.

Or maybe it’s just the fact that I’m starting up a new project with Declan and I’m super excited about it. This deal could change everything. It might even be enough that I no longer need my grandfather’s help after all, depending on if more work springs out of it. I’ve already called my team and informed them, and they’re all ecstatic too. So far this will be our largest project yet and it’s a great thing to add to our portfolio.

I’m in high spirits by the time I make it to Declan’s home that morning.

I arrive earlier than our meeting time, expecting to find Declan having breakfast or something.

Instead, it’s Amelia who’s emerging from her room as one of her bodyguards, a tall blonde woman with a stern face, opens the door.

“It’s you,” she says, sounding unenthusiastic about my presence.

“Nice to see you too, princess.” I nod at the guards and try to ruffle her hair when I walk in. She slaps my hand away characteristically, giving a very teenage grunt as she turns her heel and walks back in. I step in and glance around the cool hotel suite. “Where’s your dad?”

She shrugs. “I think he’s off with Emma doing gross adult stuff. And Sandy went to get us breakfast, but I’m pretty sure she met that guy she likes at the coffee shop again and that’s why she’s taking so long.”

Sandy’s Amelia’s nanny and babysitter who Declan had brought from New York. According to him, she is also settling in town nicely.

---