“Money don’t just talk, sometimes it punches,” Joseph says. “I’m just saying, Miss Blackthorn, we’re good for it. We’ll work something out whenever you want to get this ball rolling, whatever it takes.”
When.
The word lands in my lap like a cactus, sharp and heavy.
This is not what I came here for.
I wanted a distraction.
I wanted to get out of Kane’s sight and breathe again.
I wanted to think about the future, but now that I’m stuck here in this bizarre conversation, I’m not sure I actuallywantto sell the old place.
Not this soon, anyway.
I’m also a little creeped out, and I’m not sure why.
They’ve been perfectly nice, even if they’re a little too honest for their own good.
But the way they’re watching me…
It feels like hawks scanning the fields for mice.
Hungry. Impatient.
A little ruthless, maybe.
Hardly the nice easy chat I expected.
If I announced I was selling this minute, I’m sure they’d shove a contract in my face to sign away my soul.
“It’s been fun, guys, but I should probably head back for dinner,” I lie, pushing my mug back toward them. I barely touched it. “I’ll get back to you about the property before I leave town. I haven’t made a final decision, either way.”
“Of course.” Viola’s smile feels forced. “You haven’t been here long, Miss Margot. Take all the time you need.”
Yeah, okay.
I give them a halfhearted little wave as I head back into the cool night. My car is right where I left it, waiting to make the short drive.
Nightfall swept in while I was at the Babins’ house, and when I pull up and park in the long driveway, there’s an autumn silence shared by the tinsel stars overhead.
So calm.
So peaceful.
So worry free—except for the human grizzly in the house I couldn’t keep my hands away from.
Sigh.
I let out a long, hushed breath.
The shock mortification after the kiss has faded, sure, but there’s an afterburn that smells like anxiety and shame.
And it’s so overpowering I have no clue how to face Kane again.
Or Dan with his adorably unfiltered mouth.
Or little Sophie and her cherub smile.
