Page 59 of Tangled Kisses
Right. Let me interrupt your client’s playtime with my trivial nonsense. No doubt she’lllovethat.
“Thanks.” It’s all I can manage at the moment.
He rests his hand on the doorframe, screwing his mouth to the side. “Can I just say that you, standing there with the sunlight in your hair, are the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
The man is so damn good at that, and for a breath, I almost believe him. Iwantto believe him.
But wanting doesn’t make it true.
They’re just words. You know what words amount to? Not a damn thing.
Chapter Fourteen
Griffin
Reese forces a grin, the corners of her mouth barely quirking upward. Her gaze drops to her dress as her fingers smooth over the fabric like it can anchor her. “Thanks.”
She doesn’t believe me.
Doesn’t believe that I’d give anything to skip out on this trip and spend every second with her instead.
“It’s important for me to go.”
Her chin dips in a small nod. “Of course. It’s work.”
“Yeah.” I shift my shoulder against the doorframe, needing something solid to hold me steady. “Well, about work, anyway. I have a business proposition I’m hoping will turn into something real. A company, maybe. Wish me luck, huh?”
She studies me for a long beat, as if weighing whether to call bullshit. Finally, her lips soften into a genuine smile. “Good luck, Griffin. Fingers crossed for you.”
That smile. She has no idea. I would rearrange my life around her light.
I glance at the antique clock on my wall—already running behind.
Reese notices it, too.
She waves her hand toward me as she continues backing away. “Go. You’ve got important things to do.”
“That new life you asked me about? This trip is for that.” I stare at the ground, unsure how much I should disclose.
The truth is, I’m superstitious as hell, and life has thrown me some curveballs. I don’t want to get Reese’s hopes up that I can leave escorting for good, only to slink back a few months later when the bills come calling.
Don’t want to getmyhopes up, either.
“Then I wish you all the luck in the world.” She pauses on the dirt path and draws in a fortifying breath. “No one deserves it more.”
And then she’s gone, her petite frame swallowed up by the winding trees.
She’s truly spectacular.
I can’t lose her, which is why I must go away this weekend.
Hopefully, in a few days, I’ll never have to leave her side again.
I step inside the cabin, still clutching the tin of cookies Reese baked.
First time she’s ever made a move toward me.
It’s cookies, Griffin. Not her showing up in nothing but a trench coat.
