Page 18 of Knotting else Matters

“I’ll take a taxi,” I shot back, pushing off the wall, trying to ignore the way his dark eyes seemed to catch the moonlight. “I’m a big girl. I can handle myself.”

He didn’t move. Didn’t look away. “You could. But I’m heading in that direction anyway.”

“Oh, sure. Coincidence?”

“I’m not much of a dessert person.” His lips twitched, the closest thing to a smile I’d ever seen from him. “And the conversation in there was starting to give me a headache.”

I huffed a laugh, bitterness curling around the sound. “Yeah, well, join the club.”

“Is your mother always like that?”

“Unfortunately.” I leaned against the railing, the cool metal pressing against my back. “I’m the family disappointment. She likes to remind me whenever she gets the chance.”

“I noticed.” His voice was calm, neutral, but there was something in his gaze—something sharp and searching. “So, a taxi, huh? Gonna call one? Or are you planning to walk?”

“I’ll figure it out.”

“Of course you will.” He stepped closer, just enough that the faint scent of cedar and something darker curled around me. “Or you could let me drive you. Unless your pride won’t allow it.”

“My pride is perfectly intact, thanks.”

“Then why are you still arguing?”

“Because it’s what I do.” I tried to glare at him, but the smug, almost relaxed look on his face just made me want to wipe it off. “Fine. You want to play chauffeur again? Knock yourself out.”

“See? Was that so hard?” He gestured toward the driveway, the hint of a smirk on his lips.

“Only because you’re insufferable,” I muttered, pushing past him and heading for the car.

He fell into step beside me, his long strides easily keeping pace with mine. “I’ve been told.”

“I’ll bet.”

We reached his sleek black SUV, and he unlocked the doors with a quiet click. I climbed in, sinking into the soft leather seat, and for a moment, I just breathed. The quiet hum of the engine, the subtle scent of leather and cedar—calm. Control. Everything that dinner wasn’t.

Adrian settled into the driver’s seat, the faint glow of the dashboard casting his face in shadows and sharp lines. “So, are family dinners always that… entertaining for you?”

“Only when I show up.” I leaned my head against the window, watching the moonlit trees blur past. “But hey, it’s tradition. Lena snipes at me, I bite back, Sophie pretends everything’s fine. A classic.”

“She didn’t seem to be pretending,” he said, his tone almost… curious.

“Yeah, well, Sophie’s got the ‘peacekeeper’ gene. I got the ‘human disaster’one.”

“Human disaster?”

“Don’t sound so shocked. You’ve seen me in action.”

“I have.” He glanced at me, one dark eyebrow raised. “But you survived. And you didn’t give your mother the satisfaction of watching you fall apart.”

“Wow. That almost sounded like a compliment.”

“Almost.”

A faint smile pulled at my lips, and I tried to shake it off. I wasn’t supposed to like this. I wasn’t supposed to find any comfort in his stupid, brooding presence.

But the road stretched out ahead of us, the quiet hum of the engine filling the silence, and for a moment, it was just us. No Lena. No whispered judgments. Just… silence. Calm.

“So, you really don’t like dessert?” I asked, desperate to fill the quiet.

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