Page 90 of Enticing the Fixer

No. She’s got to listen. I knock on the door, causing it to rattle under pressure. Whoever killed her father has already proven they’ll do anything to secure this deal. And once they find out it’s not happening, the risk to Kinsley’s life doesn’t lessen. It intensifies.

Ann marches across the floor of the flower shop and yanks the door open, causing the bells above the door to clang. “What do you want?”

The venom in her eyes flashes her anger like an open all-day neon sign in Vegas.

“I need to speak to Kinsley.”

She steps out of the way, and the overwhelming scent of potpourri overwhelms me.

“Yes, you do. Come on inside.” When she looks outside, she frowns. “Do you guys also go to the bathroom together? I thought that was only women.”

“Funny.” I brush past her, looking up and down the aisles.Where is she?“I’m worried that Kinsley is in danger.”

“From you.” She crosses her arms over her chest and taps the toe of her shoe on the tile floor.

My jaw flexes at her implication. “I would never hurt her.”

“You already have.”

My stomach heaves. “I realize I should have told her the truth from the begin–”

“Yes, you should have.”

“Ann.” The woman behind the counter pipes up. “Let the man speak.”

“Shut up, Emma.” Ann spins around. This must be Ann’s sister that Kinsley’s talked about.

Sean steps out of the office. “Ann, let the man talk.” The hard glint in his eyes is not a sign of best friends forever who will encourage our kids to hang out together on Friday nights. Unless it’s friendly fire.

I’m not making the mistake of thinking he’s on my side, and I wouldn’t want to meet the man in a dark alley.

I lick my lips. “Thank you. I should have told Kinsley about my past and about the bet. But it was a stupid bet that none of us cared anything about. Even the friend who made the bet doesn’t care about it. It was a way for him to feel better about leaving his 800 count sheets behind.” I inhale and will the pain stabbing me between the shoulders to subside.

Ann tips her chin down. “Keep going.”

At least she hasn’t thrown me out yet. “I don’t need the 400k. I donate more than that a year as a tax write-off.”

Sean arches his eyebrows. “That’s an impressive tax bracket you’re in.”

“Thank you.”

“Sean,” Ann snaps. “Don’t take his side.”

“Sweetheart.” He walks up to her as if he’s stalking a feral cat and wraps his arm around her waist, pulling her to his body. “I’m on love’s side.”

“Please.” She rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

“He has a point.” Emma laughs. “I seem to remember a very similar conversation in the past about you and Sean. Granted, he didn’t have that much money.”

Sean glares at her. “Thank you, Emma, for that glowing reference.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Shut it. Both of you.” Ann sinks into her husband as the bravado seeps from her hostile posture. “If you aren’t worried about hurting her, what are you so concerned about?”

Ann is Kinsley’s best friend, so I’m sure they’ve discussed her father’s death and the push to sell the business. But it feels like another betrayal to talk about something so serious without her present. “Listen. I need to talk to Kinsley in person, and she won’t answer my calls. When I tracked her to here, I dropped everything to get here.”

“What do you mean, tracked her?”

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