Page 40 of Luxe

The laugh he responds with is hollow. "You mustn’t know your brother very well."

"You'd be surprised."

He smirks and tries to rub it away with his hand. "So, you know that he punched Simon Waterville when you were in Grade 10 when he found out that Simon was the one who sent you that secret admirer card on Valentine's Day?"

"What?" I never had found out who was the person who sent that card to me. But I did remember that Simon had come to school with a black eye the next day, and had never spoken to me again. "You are kidding me."

"I never kid when it comes to how protective Nathan is of you, Kiki." He sighs and runs a finger down my cheek. "And who can blame him?"

The words have no effect on me. My brother's protectiveness of me is nothing to admire. Especially in this moment. "Me. I can blame him. You don't know what it's like to have a guardian angel who is the national champion of Muay Thai flying over your head when you’re just trying to go to a school dance."

He frowns and studies me for a moment. "Is that why you don't want to work with Yin Tech?"

His words are like a splash of cold water over my whole body. And I'm reminded how we got into this situation to start off with. Him offering me a job with Baxter. "What do you know about that?"

His shoulders lift in a single shrug. "Doesn't take any professional sleuthing. Your family are the majority shareholders of the 14th largest company in Hong Kong, and yet you're out there saving wayward women and giving them a new life. As far as I know, and correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think that's a department of Yin Tech that I haven't heard of.”

"And is that why you offered me a job?” I fold my arms.

He shakes his head. "That's not about them. It's about me. I think you could help me out with Jade Bay. Am I wrong? Couldn't you help even more people if you knew how much demand for prop players we have? We could retain all of your prop players, and more. Isn't that what this is all about? Helping as many people as possible?"

His words strike a match inside me. He's right and we both know it.

But that doesn't mean that this is the right decision for me.

Eighteen hours ago he didn't have a place in my life, and I'm not sure that that isn't the place we should return to.

"Kylian. I... I don't know what's happening here. I don't know what you're doing back in my life. I don't know what you want from me. And I don't know that I can work with you. I've worked very hard to try to forget you ever existed. And this has just taken me by surprise.

He nods and reaches down, and I hold my breath wondering what's about to happen, but he just picks up my hand, laying it down on his.

"I know. I don't know what's happening either. Just that I think we can do a lot of good, between the two of us. And that, despite a certain Nathan-shaped hurdle... now that I'm back in your life. I don't want to leave."

fourteen

Kiara

I lift the phone to my ear to tell the driver that I’ve reached the lobby and will be right out when I hear a chipper voice say, “Hi!"

I freeze in my tracks. The coffee sloshes in the cup, almost spilling over the sides.

I glare at Kylian, as I hold the cup at arm’s length waiting for the liquid to settle. "What are you doing here?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you have a very unique morning manner?"

"It's not unique. It's normal. Most people aren't perky before 9 a.m."

"Wrong! And I am proof of that," he says and steps closer to me, holding his arms out as if to give me a hug.

The look I give him clearly expresses the likeliness of that happening. My body is still tingling from what happened in his office yesterday. And I'm still not sure I know how we're supposed to move on from here. So I do the only thing I can to get him to stop thinking about touching me. I ask him a question.

"So... what are you doing here? Again."

"Well, I assume that you haven't heard back about your car."

A white-hot pain slashes through my chest. I loved that car. It was the first big purchase I'd made after moving back to Hong Kong. After living in New York City for four years, the thing I’d missed most was having my own car.

"No. Nothing," I admit.

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