“Do you have an appointment?” the young, blond woman sitting at the reception desk asks sweetly.
“Nope. But I don’t care. I need to speak with him. Now.”
“I’m very sorry, ma’am, but without an appointment, that’s just not going to be possible.”
“It’s okay, Celeste.” A deep, rumbling voice travels down a hallway. “Send her in.”
I don’t wait for Celeste to acquiesce, brushing right past her desk and down the hall toward the voice. Stomping into Noah’s office, I slam the door shut behind me. I spin around, ready to give this motherfucker a piece of my mind, except when I finally get a glimpse of him, I lose all power of speech.
If some magical wizard could conjure me up my dream man, he would look exactly like Noah Crenshaw. He’s standing behind his desk, showing off his height and wide frame. He’s not as muscley as Jason, but it’s easy to see that his finely tailored suit covers well-defined arms and shoulders. His hair is dark and curly and his eyes are so bright blue they pierce me from across the room. His lips tilt up in a knowing smile, and the smirk only makes him hotter.
Fuck. Me.
“Can I help you with something, Ms. Andrews?” This close, that deep rumbling voice hits me in the belly and slides right on down.
“How do you know my name?”
He laughs, coming around to the front of his desk and leaning against it, his ankles crossed, showing off his thick thighs.
Ugh. Thick thighs are my one true weakness.
“Everyone in Heart Springs knows your name, Ms. Andrews. I would’ve thought you’d figured that out by now.”
His voice drips with condescension, which helps pull me out of my lust-fueled haze.
“Right.” I pull myself up to my full height and hold up Emma’s letter. “I’m here on behalf of my client. I wanted to give you the courtesy of letting you know that we will be fighting this. In case you wanted to do the wise thing and back off now.”
He crosses his arms over his chest and grins. “Why would I do that? My client wants that building. The owner of said building is willing to sell at a fair price. If your client is so invested in her business, she can purchase the building for herself.”
“You cannot give a tenant thirty days’ notice to vacate when she still has months left on her lease.” I haven’t actually looked at her lease, but I figure a small bluff or two never hurt anyone.
“You’re not in the big city anymore, Ms. Andrews. Things work differently here.”
I scoff. “So Heart Springs operates with no law and order?”
Noah shrugs. “I wouldn’t put it like that.”
“What kind of person would do that to a hardworking woman who owns her own business and is a valuable member of the community?” I don’t know why I try appealing to his humanity—it has certainly never worked when it’s been tried on me. But things are supposed to be different here.
He raises his eyebrows, his look response enough. He knows exactly who I am, exactly what I would do if I were in his shoes.
I tuck the letter in my back pocket. “Fine. Have it your way. But please believe me when I say you are not going to win this.” I cross a step closer to him, getting a whiff of something musky and expensive. “I will destroy you.”
He leans forward just slightly. “I welcome the challenge, Ms. Andrews.”
I stomp toward the door.
He waits until my hand is on the doorknob before he calls after me. “I’ll pick you up at seven tomorrow.”
I spin around and hit him with my best glare. “Excuse me?”
That damned grin splits his face. “We have a date tomorrow. At seven. I’ll pick you up.” He chops his words into short sentences, like I’ll have trouble comprehending otherwise.
“You cannot possibly think I will be going out on a date with you after all this.”
“Think about how disappointed Mimi would be to hear you say that.” He leans back on his hands, pulling the fabric of his shirt tighter over his stomach, displaying visible ridges. “She seems to think you and me might be destined to be together, Ms. Andrews. And when Mimi makes a match in this town, she’s rarely wrong.”
I don’t respond, flinging the door open and ignoring the way his laughter echoes down the hall.
