“You look gorgeous, and you know it. Let’s go. I’m ready for some eggnog.”
I nodded and we headed downstairs and stepped out into the night.
“So, do you really think his family would give you guys money?” she asked. “Like a loan or something?”
“He says they’re always looking for investment opportunities, and he thinks this place has potential,” I said. “But don’t say anything. I don’t want to get anybody’s hopes up. We’ve literally only had one conversation about the possibility.”
“Your secret is safe with me.”
It was cold as hell, but the lodge up ahead was glowing with warmth and activity. Christmas music and laughter poured out every time someone opened the front doors. The fifteen trees we’d decorated yesterday were twinkling in the dark night like a beacon for our guests.
And there, at the top of the porch steps with a drink in one hand and talking animatedly with Brom, was Kent.
He looked absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. His dark hair was slicked back. He’d shaved, so his jawline looked sharp enough to cut glass. His black peacoat made his shoulders look impossibly broad. Even from a distance, he commanded attention in a way that made my pulse quicken.
“Earth to Sylvie,” Emmy whispered, nudging me with her elbow.
“I’m here,” I said, forcing myself to look away from Kent before I started drooling. “Just… don’t tell anyone about the potential deal, okay? I need to make sure it’s real before I get everyone’s hopes up.”
Emmy looped her arm through mine as we started walking toward the lodge. “I told you I wouldn’t. I won’t.”
“Thank you.”
“Whatever you do, don’t sleep with him,” she said in a low voice.
My breath caught in my throat. “What?”
“I’m serious. Bancrofts are notorious for getting bored once they’ve conquered something. I looked them up. I’ve seen no less than fifty pictures of this particular Bancroft. He’s with a different woman in every photo. And they are all looking at him just like you’re looking at him now. If you sleep with him, he might decide he’s gotten everything he wanted from this place and move on to the next shiny object.”
I’d been so caught up in my attraction to Kent, so hopeful about what his presence might mean for our family’s future, that I hadn’t considered the possibility that mixing business with pleasure could backfire in that particular way.
“Play it safe,” Emmy continued, squeezing my arm. “Keep things professional until the deal is signed and sealed. Then, if you still want to climb him like a Christmas tree, at least you’ll know the farm is secure first.”
I hoped Emmy couldn’t hear the way my breath hitched at her casual mention of the very thing I’d been fantasizing about for days. But she was right, and I knew it. This was too important to risk for the sake of physical attraction.
No matter how mind-meltingly attractive Kent Bancroft happened to be.
CHAPTER 24
KENT
Brom was telling me about some college football playoff controversy when I spotted movement at the bottom of the porch steps. I tried to keep my attention on what he was saying—something about rankings and conference championships—but my eyes kept drifting toward the two figures walking up from the direction of the garage.
“The guy deserves to be benched,” Brom continued, gesturing with his beer bottle. “I mean, what’s the point of playing anybody decent if it’s not going to factor into?—”
His words faded into background noise as Sylvie stepped into the light cast by the porch lamps, and I felt like someone had just punched me in the gut.
Fuck me.
She looked absolutely stunning. The dark green dress she was wearing hugged her curves. The rich velvet fabric made her auburn hair look like it was on fire. The neckline showed just enough skin to make my mouth go dry, and those boots? Fuck, those boots made her legs look like they went on for miles.
I’d thought she was beautiful before, but seeing her like this, all dressed up and glowing in the warm light, was like seeing her for the first time all over again.
“Kent?” Brom’s voice cut through my distraction. “You still with me, man?”
I forced myself to focus back on him, hoping he hadn’t noticed where my attention had wandered. “Sorry, what were you saying about the playoffs?”
But Brom was already turning to see what had captured my interest. I watched his expression shift from confusion, to understanding, to something that looked dangerously close to big-brother protectiveness.
