Page 33 of Knot Your Karma
Something in his tone makes me look up sharply. “What do you mean?”
“Family situations can be... messy. Blake’s not known for responsible decisions. If he lost something that important...” Adrian shrugs. “Might not be a simple recovery.”
You have no idea how not simple it is.
“Most family situations are complicated,” I say carefully. “But that doesn’t mean the history isn’t worth preserving.”
“True.” Adrian finishes his pasta and sets down his fork. “I should let you get some rest. Long day, and you’ve had enough excitement for one evening.”
“Are you sure? I mean, after I attacked you in my front yard, the least I can do is offer dessert or something.”
“Rain check,” he says, and his smile makes my heart do a little flip. “But I’d like to take you up on that. Maybe when wecan have a proper evening together, not just emergency pasta after you’ve been locked out in a storm.”
“I’d like that too,” I say, and mean it more than I probably should.
Adrian heads for the front door, then pauses in the hallway. “Karma?”
“Yeah?”
“Reed was right about the chemistry. In case you were wondering.”
Heat floods my cheeks, and I have to grip the doorframe for support. “Was it that obvious?”
“Let’s just say the feeling’s mutual.” He opens the door, and the sound of rain fills the space between us. When he looks back at me one more time, his expression is serious but kind. “And for what it’s worth, I think Declan’s going to like you even more when he gets to know you better.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because you see the value in things other people would throw away. You fight for what matters. That’s rare.”
He’s looking at me like I’m someone who preserves history instead of someone who steals it. The admiration in his voice makes me want to confess everything and also run away and hide under my bed until this all goes away.
“I’m not as good a person as you think I am,” I say quietly. The words slip out before I can stop them, weighted with three months of guilt I can’t explain.
“I doubt that.” His storm-gray eyes are serious, kind. “But I guess we’ll find out.”
He leaves me standing in my doorway, watching him walk away through the settling rain.
Adrian
The inn roomsmells like cedar and ocean breeze when I push open the door—Declan’s focused energy layered with Reed’s satisfied contentment, both scents competing for space in quarters barely big enough for three large men. Whoever designed this place never worked construction.
You can’t fit three guys this size in a space meant for weekend tourists.
Research papers cover every surface, and Declan prowls behind the desk while Reed perches on the windowsill, phone in hand, grinning like he’s won the lottery.
“Well?” Reed says, setting his phone aside. “How’d it go with our maritime expert? Please tell me you didn’t scare her off with your strong, silent, mysterious craftsman routine.”
I close the door and start peeling off my rain-soaked jacket. The fabric clings to my shoulders, heavy with October storm water and something else—vanilla and sea salt still threading through the wet flannel where Karma pressed against me during that goodbye hug.
The moment I hang my jacket on the door hook, both men go statue-still. Reed’s phone slips in his suddenly loose grip.Declan’s mug hovers forgotten halfway to his mouth, his eyes tracking my movements.
“She attacked me.”
Reed’s grin vanishes like someone cut the power. Declan’s mug hits the desk with a sharp crack, coffee sloshing over insurance photos.
“She what now?” Reed slides off the windowsill, ocean breeze sharpening with alarm. “Define attacked.”
“Tackled me in her front yard. Had me flat on my back in the mud before I could identify myself.” I hang the jacket on the door hook. “Kneed me twice. Good form.”
