“Now, let’s go make some money,” I say as I march out of my office.
Chapter Seventeen
Blaire
The evening air is crisp and smells faintly of rain.
When rain is on the horizon in Chicago, the city takes on the odor of a rich stew saturated with gasoline. But here, in a cozy section of Savannah, it’s different. The air hints of the earth and sea. It’s evocative.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep lungful of air and am whisked back to summers on Lake Michigan with my family. I can almost hear my family’s laughter and smell the barbecue pit that Dad tended with the care of a surgeon.
“I’m glad you’re still here.”
I whirl around at the sound of Holt’s voice.
He tugs at his tie, his forehead wrinkled as he approaches me on the sidewalk in front of The Carriage House. He looks divinely handsome in his tailored suit and freshly shaven face. The air of sophistication mixed with the razor-cut jaw and wide, strong shoulders make me forget about everything but him.
“A horse-drawn carriage?” I lift a brow. “I wasn’t about to miss my chance at being a princess.”
He grins. “You being a princess is an interesting concept.”
“And why is that?”
Holt stops in front of me. His tie is slightly askew, and it’s all I can do not to reach out and straighten it. I grip my sweater harder to keep myself from running my fingers through his rumpled hair.
“Which princess would you be?” he asks. “The one who waits for a knight in shining armor to rescue her from a tower? Or the one who needs a kiss from a prince to awaken?”
I half-laugh. “How about the one who rescues herself?”
“My point.”
He narrows his eyes, and I can see the stress he’s trying to hide with his slow smile. It’s the aftermath of a day of battling at work. I’d imagine his body aches and his brain feels like a pan of scrambled eggs too. And suddenly, I wish he wouldn’t have offered to bring me here and would’ve gone home instead.
“I didn’t think you were coming,” I say. “I was about to leave.”
“Of course, I was coming,” he says, his eyes searching mine. “I’m sorry about earlier and for making you wait now. Things got a bit hectic at the office.”
“You don’t have to entertain me, you know. You didn’t have to do this.”
His grin is beautiful, even if tired. “I never do anything I don’t want to do.”
He allows his smile to speak for him. It lingers my way for a few long seconds. The hesitation I felt before melts away, and I realize how happy and relieved I am that he showed up.
And how even happier I am that I believe he wants to be here too.
“Hello, Cassius,” Holt says, dragging his eyes away from me. “Thank you for helping me out tonight.”
“Absolutely, Mr. Mason. It’s my pleasure.”
Cassius, the man who introduced himself to me when I arrived, shakes Holt’s hand. He leads us to a shiny black carriage with oversized, white-walled wheels. The grandest horse I’ve ever laid eyes on stands in command in the front.
Holt’s hand presses lightly against the small of my back as heguides me toward the carriage. I ignore the zip of his touch and climb inside.
The interior is lined with a pristine red velvet. The seats are covered with a matte black material, and when I sit, I feel like royalty.
Holt exchanges a few quiet words with Cassius before climbing in next to me.
Our shoulders brush together as he gets situated. His knee bumps mine in the slightest way. Even so, it feels like a fire is lit in the bottom of my core.
