“But Knox…it’s not fair.” Her voice shook with anguish. “You helped createThe Hidden Forest. You deserve to be recognized for everything you did!”
“Charlie, stop. Please.” He knew she meant well, but her outrage wasn’t helping.
A soft voice made his blood run cold. “Knox? Is that you?”
Lila.
Twenty-Four
In the fiveyears since Lila had broken his heart, Knox hadn’t seen her up close. He’d watched her on TV, but the effect wasn’t the same. In person, she was dazzling, her beauty eclipsing everyone around her. Big, blue eyes the color of a tropical ocean, wavy blond locks, pale, delicate features. It was no wonder she’d captured the hearts of so many viewers.
She addressed him again. “Knox? What are you doing here?”
He reached for his mask, but it was too late. Even with the beard, he was instantly recognizable. And though he wanted to say something, he couldn’t bring himself to speak. Coming face-to-face with Lila had knocked him off his axis.
Charlie nailed her with a ferocious scowl. “Why shouldn’t he be here?The Hidden Forestwould never have gotten off the ground if he hadn’t put in so much work. But you let Evan act like he was responsible for all of it.”
Lila reeled, her face crumpling in distress. “Who areyou?”
Charlie jabbed her finger at Lila. “That’s not important. What matters is that I’m here to support Knox. I can’t believe he wasn’t acknowledged.”
Lila blinked. “I…I know. But I don’t think you understand what happened.”
“I understand plenty.” Bright red splotches colored Charlie’s pale cheeks. “Trust me, I knowallabout it. Consider yourself lucky Knox never exposed Evan’s treachery.”
Knox cleared his throat. Even if Charlie was right, he had to stop her from losing control. They were out in public, where anyone could start filming them. It was only due to sheer luck that no one else was in line at his station. “Charlie, please.” When she refused to look away from Lila, he placed a hand on her shoulder. “This isn’t helping.”
Her voice trembled. “But…Knox, it’s not right what happened.”
Looking into her wide green eyes, he knew she was only speaking out because she cared about him. But she was in danger of screwing up everything. “I know, but this isn’t the time.”
“What the hell’s going on here?”
Fuck. In attempting to talk Charlie down from her outburst, he hadn’t noticed Evan barreling toward them. Knox braced himself for impact, but all of Evan’s anger was directed toward Charlie. He leaned over the bar, his face mottled with rage. “You little bitch. Did I just see you yelling at my wife?”
Charlie backed up. “I…I wasn’t yelling.”
“I don’t know who the fuck you are, but you have no right to talk to Lila Winstead that way. Get out of here before I throw you out myself.”
Even if Knox had hoped to avoid a confrontation, he wasn’t about to let his former writing partner bully the woman he loved. “Don’t speak to her that way.”
At the sight of Knox, Evan’s lips thinned into a sneer. “Knox McIntyre? What the fuck are you doing here? Were you planning on sabotaging the party? You’ve got a lot of nerve.”
“Who are you to talk about nerve?” Charlie demanded. “You went up there and acted like you createdThe Hidden Forestsingle-handedly.”
Knox’s face flamed with a fiery heat. He couldn’t imagine a worse scenario. He held up his hands, hoping to placate Evan. “I’m not here to sabotage anything. I wanted to see everyoneone last time, and I thought?—”
“What? That people would welcome you back with open arms?” Evan scoffed. “Hardly. You’re even more pathetic than I remembered.”
“You’rethe pathetic one,” Charlie spat out. “Lying to everyone about your accomplishments. How do you even live with yourself?”
Ignoring her, Evan kept his focus on Knox. “I’m giving you five minutes to pack up your shit and get out, or I’m calling security.”
Knox shook his head. “Just let me finish my job. I’m on duty until midnight. Then I’ll leave, and you’ll never see me again.”
“Nope. Five minutes. Or I’ll tell everyone how you snuck in here to ruin our evening.” Evan crossed his arms and stared down Charlie. “That goes for you, too. I want you both out of here, or I’ll have you arrested.”
Arrested?Who the fuck did that asshole think he was?
