Page 3 of Knight's Desire

“Holy.Shit.Hope, that dress…” Kayla sputtered, and Hope dutifully twirled and preened in front of her assistant.

“It’s lovely, right? It’s just how I wanted it to be. I hope the clients love it as much as I do.”

“They will,” Kayla gushed. “Now step up on the pedestal so I can get the full effect.”

Lifting the skirt slightly, Hope stepped up to the pedestal that placed her in front of mirrors. She again turned to view the dress at every angle, this time critically assessing the design and construction.

“It’s beautiful. You look like a princess!”

Hope scrunched her face up, disbelieving. “I do not. But the dress is beautiful. I’m in love.”

“I’m not kidding. If Parker was to walk in right now, he’d drop on one knee and propose on the spot.”

Hope threw her head back and laughed at her assistant’s melodrama. She couldn’t picture her boyfriend, Parker Bexley, being so sappy as to drop on one knee to wax poetic as he asked her to marry him. “Don’t be silly. Parker and I are having a lovely time, but I’m not looking to get married. I just want to sell my dresses and make other women’s wedding days special. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

Kayla rolled her eyes. “I’m not arguing with you. Now go try on the other one. I have a feeling it’s going to be my favorite.”

Hope hated to take off the ball gown, but she reluctantly moved to try on the second dress, anxious to see how the dress would compare in real life to the idea she’d had. This dress was named Poppy, a nod to her feisty, full-of-life grandmother who taught her how to sew and encouraged her to design her own clothes. Poppy Keller lived by her own terms and never cared one iota for what others thought of her. To Hope, her GranPoppy was fearless, and those times when she felt anything but fearless, she would channel her grandmother’s memory to carry her through.

She fingered the material reverently. “I hope the dress makes you proud, GranPoppy.”

Then she took the garment off the hanger and stepped into the decadent dress.

Chapter Two

Brick Coffey polished off the last bit of his barbecue bacon cheeseburger, the combination of sweet, salty, and spicy exploding on his tongue. He then lifted the three tickets the waitress had left on the table and nodded to his lunch companions — Sam Montgomery and Gennessey Croft.

“I got this,” he mumbled around his mouthful of food, giving little thought as to meal etiquette. He worked with Sam and Gen at Knight Security and Investigations, so they were aware of his manners, or lack thereof. He was a casual “good old boy” who never saw the need to stand on ceremony. To him, that meant hiding behind a façade, and he was a believer of “what you see is what you get.”

“Thanks, man. You guys ready? I’ve got to get going. I’m meeting with a client in twenty, and I’m not sure where the place is.” Sam pulled out his phone and read off an address to his coworkers. “Either of you know this address?”

Brick shook his head. “Nope.”

Gen also shook her head. “No, but I’m free if you want me to tag along and help you navigate.”

“Sure. I’m just giving them a quote on a new security system, so we won’t be gone long.”

Brick took one last drag on his glass of water and stood. “You two head on out. I’ll walk back to the office.” The three of them rode together to the diner for lunch, something they did when their workload was light. On busy days at KSI, they barely had time to eat a takeout sandwich on their own.

“You sure?” Sam asked as he stepped from the booth with Gen sliding out behind him.

Brick nodded. “Yeah. No big deal. It gives me a chance to put off that paperwork that’s waiting for me on my desk.”

Gen chuckled. “You should wait until Isobel’s back and let her do the work as punishment for leaving us behind while she hangs out at the beach.”

Sam laughed. “She’d love that,” he said, sarcasm dripping from his tone. “When’s she supposed to be back anyway?”

“Egan’s conference is not over until the end of the week, so it’ll probably be Monday before we see her.”

Isobel Garcia was the fourth investigator employed by KSI, but she’d requested leave for the week to travel with her boyfriend, Dr. Egan O’Connor, to a medical convention in Florida.

“Maybe he’s going to propose on this trip,” Gen suggested, but Brick shook his head.

“I don’t think so. They seem content with this long-distance thing right now. I don’t think they’re looking to change that any time soon.” Brick hated to think of what would happen to his team at KSI if that day ever did happen. With Egan operating his own medical clinic in Charlottesville, Virginia, if he and Isobel did decide to marry, she would likely move to be closer to him, and Brick would lose one of the best investigators he’d ever worked with.

Brick waved goodbye to his friends as he walked over to the cashier and settled their bill. His favorite waitress brought over a pastry box with a stack of napkins on top, and he offered his thanks. He’d ordered the sweet goodies to take back to the office with him to celebrate the good news the KSI family received today. Owner Tristin Knight and his wife Kat, who worked as a computer analyst for the company, found out they were having twin girls.

The sonogram technician at Kat’s OB/GYN’s office had been trying since January to confirm the gender of the twins, but the babies hadn’t cooperated until today. As Brick carried the pastry box and strode down the sidewalk toward the office, he chuckled to think of his boss — a big, bad Navy SEAL who had a reputation of being a player until he met and married Kat — would be living in an estrogen-run household. Brick had no doubt those twin girls would have their father, and probably the rest of their chosen uncles and aunts at KSI, wrapped around their tiny fingers.

---