Chapter 17 Knox
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
KNOX
“So, I’ll make sure to send you guys the final paperwork once you get a chance to review these.
” Daniel hands Lottie, Jenn, and me a packet containing several documents.
I feel the weight of it, dreading having to read them all.
I know Lottie is more than capable of studying them closely and making sure that things are in order, but I wanna prove that I’m just as much an adult as she is.
“Sweet,” Jenn says, flipping through the paperwork with a furrowed brow. “And once we e-sign we’ll list the property?”
“I would suggest waiting until the reno is completed, but if you want to try to sell it during, we can try. It will just add to the cost.”
“No, no,” Lottie interrupts. “We want to get a good price, here. The higher the better, obviously. I know you’re anxious to make your first deposit for school, Jenn, but I’m pretty confident we’ll be able to sell it in time for the deadline. Right, Daniel?” “Hmm. When’s your deadline?”
“August first.” Jenn bites her lower lip, shifting in her seat.
“And work is projected to be done when?”
“Mid-May to early June. Project’s supposed to be done by May sixteenth, but I’m hedging two weeks extra because I don’t fully trust Luke.” Lottie grimaces. “Plus, he’s shorthanded, he said. It’s why Knox had to help today.”
I frown, my previous irritation over that douche canoe coming back. “What? If you don’t trust him, then why the hell did we hire him for the job?” I ask Lottie.
“You know why. He’s the only contractor in town. Unless we want to pay extra to get someone from somewhere else in here, I suggest you take a chill pill.” I grit my teeth and look away, trying to suppress my irrational jealousy.
“Is that enough time to sell the place?” Jenn asks, steering us back on topic.
Daniel nods thoughtfully. “I think so. Especially with summer approaching, since this town is about to get an influx of tourists.”
“Perfect.”
We go over final details and expectations, wrapping things up with a final cup of coffee before Jenn heads back home. Reaching for his second cup, Daniel looks up at the post-it wall, the completed tasks from this week already gone, leaving open patches.
He turns back to look at Lottie with a fond smile on his face.
“What?” she asks, almost exasperated.
With a shrug, Daniel smiles. “It’s nice. To see you like this, I mean.” “Like what?” She narrows her eyes at him.
“To see you this excited over something. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this. Plus, you’re good at it. At the project management and the business decisions and keeping everyone in check. Like, really good at it. Don’t you think so, Knox?”
I smile proudly at her. “Definitely. I’ve told her about a thousand times.”
She snorts. “Of course I’m good at this.” But I can tell despite her confidence that she wasn’t expecting the compliment.
He rolls his eyes at her. “I just think you’re making a mistake.”
“A mistake? What are you talking about?” She crosses her arms in front of her chest, leaning forward in her chair, pinning Daniel with a glare.
I sit back in my seat watching the interaction quietly, realizing that there’s something beneath this conversation that I don’t quite understand.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about, sis.
I’ll obviously help you list the place if that’s what you want, but is going back to New York really something you want to do?
You wanna go back to living like that? To be surrounded by the same people who turned their backs on you when things got difficult for you? ”
“So what are you saying? That I should just take over the store and stay here for the rest of my life, stuck?” Her voice is sharp, cold—but Daniel looks unbothered by it.
“Stuck?” He laughs once, humorlessly. “You keep thinking it’s this town’s fault that you’re stuck.”
“Daniel.” There’s a clear warning in her voice.
“I don’t get it. Why are you holding on to a life that never seemed to want you to begin with?”
She looks away, but I catch her red-rimmed eyes glazing over with unshed tears.
What the hell?
A shot of adrenaline courses through me, so I reach out to her. But she pulls her hand away. Always pulling away. “Lottie—”
“Can we not talk about this anymore?” she whispers.
“I’ve spoken to Brandon about this and… We want to offer you the money. As a loan. To buy out Knox and Jenn.”
“What?” Her head snaps up to him.
“I believe in you, Lottie. We all do. So, if you want to take the money, it’s there for you. Buy them out and do your own thing. You just need to believe in yourself again. And when you finally do, just know your family will be here to help you through it.”
They enter into a stare-off, glaring at each other with the fire of a thousand suns. We’re all quiet for a beat, the tension palpable. Finally, she breaks the silence: “Knox, would you mind leaving us for a sec?” Her eyes never leave Daniel’s.
“Of course. Yes. I still need to shower after the demo, so…” I push out of my chair, simultaneously wanting to get the hell out of there as fast as I can and wanting to be a fly on the wall for this conversation.
Ultimately, though, I know the latter isn’t a possibility, so I hustle back upstairs to shower as quickly as possible.
Once I’ve washed all the dust and sweat from my day demoing, I bounce down the stairs hoping to catch Lottie before she heads home. But as I reach the office door, I hear voices— Lottie and Daniel’s—uttering my name.
“Now that we're done discussing that, would you mind telling me what's up with you and
Knox?” Daniel asks her.
I inhale sharply, freezing where I stand, hoping they didn’t hear me come down the stairs.
I know it’s wrong, but I need to hear this conversation.
I press myself against the hallway wall and do my best to listen.
Am I finally going to get the unfiltered opinion of what Lottie thinks of me?
For a moment, I hesitate. We all know what they say about eavesdropping: you’re bound to hear things that aren’t nice about yourself.
But when I hear Lottie sigh, gearing up to deny everything, I decide I don’t give a shit.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she says, her voice sounding almost innocent.
I almost snort at the sound of her voice, at the fact that she thinks Daniel is going to let her get out of this one unscathed.
He scoffs once. “Please. You know exactly what I'm talking about. I’m talking about how obvious it is that you like this guy. How obvious it is that you want to jump his bones.”
“Shh! Are you insane?” she hisses, shifting in her seat. “He’ll hear us! And you've only seen us together once just in this meeting where all we did was talk about Real Estate for an hour with you and Jenn. I didn't even flirt with him once. So how would you know that I like him?”
Daniel laughs softly. “So you admit you like him, then?”
My heart races in my chest as it fills to the brim with happiness. I knew she liked me—and not just for sex. But having her admit it out loud—even if it was an accident—feels great to know. It gives me hope, it tells me there’s something I can work with here, and it tells me we’re not a lost cause.
Lottie is incredibly special, and if there’s even the slightest chance that she’ll let me be a part of her life that way, then I sure as hell am gonna try.
“I'm ignoring you now.” I hear her sift through some paperwork, imagining how she would avoid meeting her brothers gaze. It hasn't been eons, but I've known Lottie long enough to know she's not one for admitting anything that might put her in a vulnerable position.
“When you told me about this guy on the phone, you neglected to mention how hot he was.”
“I told you he was attractive,” she mutters.
I grin stupidly, suddenly wondering why the hell everyone makes such a big deal about eavesdropping and karma. All I’m hearing is good shit.
“And I was sure Adri must’ve said something too. There’s no way she’s been sitting on that information and didn’t tell you about it.” I can practically hear her roll her eyes.
“Yeah, but you know she can be a little bit dramatic. I took all of it with a grain of salt. And when you and I spoke… I mean, Jesus, Carlota. Tell me why you aren’t all over him?”
Yes, Carlota. Do tell.
This is what I’ve been waiting for. The moment of truth—the real one. Not some fictitious, pathetic excuse.
“He’s my business partner. Plus, it would be dumb of me to start something given that he doesn’t even live here.”
Okay, the business partner part isn’t new, but me not living here is definitely is.
My stomach twists because there’s no immediate solution to that problem. But I stand up straighter, determined to find it. If this is what’s keeping us apart, then—
“He won’t always be your business partner.
And honestly? The whole not living here thing should be a bullet point in you pro column.
He could just be a temporary good time.” I frown, not liking the turn this conversation is taking.
“Especially since you vowed to never be in another relationship again, right? I don’t get what the big deal is. ” Wait…
…never be in another relationship again?
“Stop,” she groans.
“Seriously. I don’t know how you’ve held off this long.
He’s really attractive—that much is obvious.
Even after he put his shirt on for the meeting, it took everything in me to focus on the numbers and not think about those tattoos and ripped body.
Why do you think I caved so quickly on the realtor’s fee? ”
“Because you’re my brother,” she deadpans.
“No way.” He scoffs. “Damn, I almost feel like I cheated on Brandon or something because of how much I struggled not to look at the guy that way. But it was mostly his charisma.
He’s so charming, you know? And sweet.”