Maybe she was being uncharitable. Jealous, even. Of what, though? She didn’t have any feelings toward Axel besides hostility. She sure as heck wasn’t looking for love or romance. She was a complete cynic about those things, thanks to Todd. If anything, learning Axel was engaged filled her with contempt—and little surprise.
I do want you…
She shrugged her shoulders as a shiver chased down her spine.
Why were men such predictable jerks? And why was she attracted to him when he obviously was one?
She dropped her phone into her bag and finished dressing, pulling on jeans with short boots and a diamond-knit pullover with a puffy jacket. She plopped a black motorcycle cap on her head and turned up her collar because the March wind off Lake Michigan was still cold enough to cut her in half.
She had half a mind to walk out the back door, but Axel was waiting in the hall, just inside the batwings.
“Ready?”
She clenched her teeth and followed him outside to a waiting SUV. He held the door for her, then directed the driver to the Ritz-Carlton.
The vehicle was tricked out like a limousine with a tiny refrigerator in the console between their armchairs. It held single-serve bottles of champagne and glass flutes along with a variety of snacks, including fresh fruit.
“Help yourself,” he invited when he saw her taking inventory.
If this was a kidnapping—and she was only convinced it wasn’t because she had nothing worth being ransomed for—she could see how easily Stockholm syndrome happened.
“I read that you’re engaged,” she said belligerently while fingering through playbills from the seat pocket, wistful that she wasn’t in any of these musicals.
“It’s been called off,” he said dismissively.
“Convenient.” She flicked him a glance of undisguised doubt.
He turned his head, face shadowed and unreadable. “It has.”
The wall of derision she’d erected as a defense against him turned to sand. His masculine energy sparked and crackled in her direction again, licking like flames against her skin.
“You seem like a bigwig at a huge company.” She changed tactics. “Why are you here, running errands for my father? Who is he to you?”
“We’ll talk at the hotel.”
So annoying.
They traveled in silence until they walked into the lobby of the hotel. A young man met them there. He wore a suit that rivaled Axel’s and held a tablet inside a black leather cover.
“My assistant, Heskel. Ms. Youngston,” Axel provided.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Youngston. Would you both come with me, please? Everything is ready upstairs.” Heskel escorted them toward the elevators, speaking to Axel as they walked. “I made a reservation in the restaurant, but it’s very busy. The chef has agreed to send something up if you prefer?”
“Three courses with a paired wine,” Axel said with an absent nod.
As they stepped into the elevator, Heskel opened his tablet cover and extracted something. “For you, Ms. Youngston.” He offered a slim red leather sleeve that held what looked like a single credit card.
She didn’t take it, only moved her gaze from the card to Axel’s impassive expression.
“You asked for twenty thousand dollars,” Axel said. “That’s preloaded with thirty, to assist with legal costs. You’ll want someone you can trust.”
Heskel continued holding out the card like a barker on the street, trying to entice passersby into his peep show.
Axel plucked the card, then picked up her hand and pressed the card against her palm, folding her fingers around it.
No touching, she thought, even as fireworks shot through her. His hands were warm. Strong and insistent. Magical in their ability to halt the elevator midair. To stop the earth from rotating and make her feet leave the floor.
We called it off.
