“It’s a tempting offer. Really. But I?—”
“I won’t take no for an answer, Alexandria.”
His deep tone was flirtatious rather than threatening, but the distinction didn’t put her at ease. Out of plausible lies, all she could think to say was?—
“O-okay. I mean, yes. Dinner tomorrow night sounds lovely.”
“Excellent. I’ll pick you up at six.”
She forced a smile into her voice to avoid suspicion. “Six o’clock, it is.”
“See you then, Alexandria.”
“Goodnight, Gordan.”
The line finally went dead.
Alex sucked in a breath before blowing it slowly. She repeated the move several times over.
What am I going to do now?
The question had barely entered her frazzled thoughts when a loud knocking came from her suite’s main door.
Nearly jumping right out of her skin, Alex’s heart began to race as she threw off the covers and rushed into the other room. Before she could reach the door, whoever was there knocked again.
“Alex?” Colt’s voice sounded muffled. “It’s me. Open up.”
What the?—
“Hang on.” With frustrated movements, she flippedthe locks and quickly flung open the door. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
He barely gave her time to move before barging his way inside. “Was that Crawford on the phone?”
Blinking at the unexpected intrusion, Alex stretched out a hand as she sardonically welcomed him into her suite. “By all means, won’t you come in?”
“Well?” Colt stopped a few feet away and put his hands on his hips. “Is he the one who called you or not?”
She shut the door and faced him. “How did you even know anyone called?”
“The walls are thin. So was it him? Did Crawford call you?”
There was no point in lying, so she nodded and said, “He did.”
“What did he want?”
Going against her knee-jerk reaction to tell him it was none of his damn business, Alex quickly filled him in. “He called to invite me to dinner with him tomorrow night.”
Colt snorted. “How’d the bastard take it when you told him no?”
Oh, he’s really not going to like this next part.
“I didn’t, actually.” She crossed her arms at her chest, only then remembering she wasn’t wearing a bra. A slight adjustment kept her breasts further covered. “I tried to, but he’s a very persistent man.”
“What do you mean you tried?” His dark brows dipped in the center.
“I did, okay? But Gordan . . . Colt, the man literally wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Alex paused. “He wantsto take me to Chez Martine tomorrow night to discuss showcasing my paintings in his gallery.”
“Alex—”
