Page 13 of Twisted Knight

I take a step closer. The scent of his cologne tickles my senses, a drug drawing me in when I don’t want to be anywhere near him. And yet I don’t step away.

Maybe I like playing with fire—because I have a feeling that is exactly what he is.

“You forget. Everyone’s reasons are everyone’s business in Westmore.”

“Maybe it’s as simple as I’ve recently relocated here. An ‘all work and no play’ type of thing. Maybe I’m looking for some new friends.”

“Friends? In this crowd?” I snort, not buying it for a second. “Be careful what you wish for—you might just become one of us.”

He steps even closer to me. Close enough I can feel the warmth of his breath on my cheek. “And who would that be?”

“Pretentious. Incompetent. Self-serving.” Laughter erupts from the ballroom, and when I look at the circle of men making the noise—Rhett, Chadwick, Porter—the sneer on my face is as automatic as the derision in my voice. “Like him.”

“Like who?”

“My brother. Rhett. I figured you’d already met him seeing as you purposely upstaged him earlier during the auction.”

“Rhett. Yes. I haven’t had the pleasure … or displeasure, it seems, if I were to put any stock in what you’re implying.”

I chuckle. Of course he’s doubting me—I’m a woman with firsthand knowledge of how this town works. Why was I still hoping that he might be somewhat different?

“Implying? Really? Look at him in there puffing his chest like he’s the king in his castle, ruling his world, when he’s really failing miserably at everything. He’s all smoke and mirrors, fooling everyone with his ruse, while everything that matters turns to shit.” I take a sip of my martini as I wait for Holden to defend Rhett.

Isn’t that how this town works? Men stick together? Women have to kowtow?

“Sounds like he’s an incorrigible fuck.”

His words surprise me. Egg me on. Make me feel heard when normally my ingrained instinct is to protect my brother. I hate that I want Holden to like me over Rhett, despite not being 100 percent sure I like him.

“At times,” I say cautiously but then realize this is my only time to make a first impression—to win Holden over to my side before the rest of Westmore tries to. So I expand. “Rhett acts like a prince when he’s really a pauper. It’s like no one cares but me that the company is hemorrhaging money and about to default on loans that will surely devastate us and lay even more people off. They’re blind to it all because he has a dick—” I stop myself. Eyes wide, lips pursed. Did I really just say that to a stranger?

But that stranger’s laugh rumbles through the charged air and hits me harder than expected. “Why stop now? The floor is yours, Miss Rothschild.”

“Never mind. It’s been a week, month, night … take your pick.”

“No. I’m invested in this story now. Please. Don’t stop.” He leans against the railing beside me so that his hip brushes against mine. He lifts his chin to the crowd inside that we are both staring at now. “He’s the prized possession because he … has a dick, as you so politely put it, and … what else? You’re more qualified, more astute, and more demanding, but no one can see past the fact that you’re a woman? Am I reading this right?”

I study him and try to figure out if he’s mocking me or agreeing with me.

“Didn’t you know in coming to Westmore you’ve walked back in time? Where my only ambitions as a female should be to serve, support, prop up the prized son, and wear freaking ruby earrings all while smiling big and pretending I’m perfectly content.”

“I think you need to work on the perfectly content part.”

I level him with a side-eye and then come to my senses. I’m out here venting to a man I don’t know about personal shit I’m supposed to just accept. “Look. I apologize for the rant. Let’s chalk it up to it being a rough couple of weeks. You didn’t deserve to be bombarded with … all of that. I barely even know you and here I am—”

“Your secrets are safe with me, Rowan.”

“That’s not very comforting considering no one knows anything about you.”

“If I wanted people to know about me, I’d tell them.”

“Again with the dark, dangerous, and mysterious card, huh?” Anything to get the discussion off of me.

“I’m more than certain half this party googled who I am after my winning bid. Should I assume you looked me up too before you decided to come out here and talk to me, or had you already heard the name but didn’t know the face?” He sets his glass on the railing before adjusting one of his cuff links. “The internet should tell you all you need to know.”

He’s right about that. All of it. But I want more. “Facts. Figures. Rumors. Those aren’t the types of things that intrigue me.”

“Then what does intrigue you, Rowan Rothschild?”