Chapter 33 Lottie
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
LOTTIE
“This place looks…” I exhale, looking up at the gorgeous luxury B someone unharmed yet by the dangers of not knowing how to “play the game.” It’s for that reason and that reason alone that I let her pull me into another hug. And this time, I return it.
“It’s so good to see you.”
“What are you doing here? Romantic getaway with Finn?” She smiles.
“Uh, no actually. Finn and I… We’re not—I mean, we…” I scratch my forehead and sigh.
“We’re not together anymore.”
“Oh, I—I’m sorry to hear that.”
I snort. “Don’t be. Seriously.”
She smiles back. “Good. He always gave me bad vibes, anyway.”
“Right.”
“I’m here with my new guy, who’s over there.” She points proudly at a man in the front room of the B&B. The definition of the phrase tall, dark, and handsome, he looks up briefly from his phone screen and shoots us a little wave.
“Madison.” I say with a laugh.
“I know. The man looks like a hotter version of Michael B. Jordan. Didn’t think that was possible. And such a sweetheart.” We giggle like two schoolgirls at recess. “What about you? You here with anyone?”
“Uh… No. I’m—I’m here on business.”
Ever the man with perfect timing, Knox walks over to me, placing a possessive hand on my lower back.
It’s an unconscious move, I know, and I probably wouldn’t even have noticed it usually.
But suddenly running into my assistant from years ago makes me wildly self-conscious of everything around me. What I say and do, what I look like.
Who I’m with.
Madison’s eyes flit briefly to his hand, her expression curious, so I pull away just out of
Knox’s grasp.
“And who is this?” she asks.
Knox shoots her one of his charming, lopsided smiles. “Hi, I’m—”
“This is my business partner.” The words come out before I even get a chance to process them. Before I even know what the hell I’m saying. And I can feel his eyes on me, burning with questions.
“Business partner?” Madison’s gaze bounces between us.
“Yes,” I say, standing up straighter. “Knox and I own a bookstore together, which we’re flipping.”
A little disoriented, he sticks his hand out to shake Madison’s. “Uh, yeah. Hi. Knox Riddick, nice to meet you.”
“Mr. Riddick? Your room is ready,” the concierge calls from the desk. “I’ll have our staff take your things up for you and your partner.”
Every muscle in my body tenses and, for some odd reason, an unbidden wave of embarrassment washes over me.
Madison gives me a knowing smirk, but it isn’t a judgmental one. More… like she’s proud?
“Right. Well. How long are you here for? I’m leaving tomorrow afternoon. But would love to see you before then. Are you available for coffee or something? To catch up?” she asks hopefully. “I miss you.”
“I… No, actually,” I say, half genuinely disappointed I won’t be able to see her, half relieved I have an excuse to avoid the inevitable download on what happened to my life. “We have meetings all day tomorrow.”
“I can handle the one morning meeting we have tomorrow on my own, if you guys would like to get breakfast together.” Knox shoots me an encouraging smile.
“Oh, that would be amazing!” Madison claps in place, her usual enthusiasm just as contagious as it was when she was first starting out.
“Should we meet down here at around eight, then? I can’t wait to hear more about what you’ve been up to!
And I have news for you, too.” She grins before kissing me on the cheek.
“Babe, we gotta go,” Madison’s boyfriend calls.
“One sec!” She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Men.”
We agree to a time and place before parting ways, double-checking we still have our old contact info.
When we make it to our room, Knox doesn’t hesitate to broach the subject. “What the hell was that?” he asks, dropping his camera bag gently on the nightstand.
“The hell was what?” I pull my makeup bag from my duffel and power walk into the bathroom. It’s cowardly, I know, but I don’t think I can manage to look him in the eyes.
“Business partner? Really?” I hear the hurt masked by anger and frustration in his voice.
Knox stares at me, hands gripping the frame of the bathroom doorway on either side.
“I—I didn’t know what to say. She’s an ex-employee of mine—my former assistant—and I guess my professionalism kicked in from before.” I struggle to find the words, but we both know it’s just excuses.
“C’mon, Lottie. Cut the shit.”
I fidget with the contents of my bag, keeping my eyes locked on them. It isn’t until I feel his hands on my hips that I look up to meet his gaze in the reflection of the mirror.
“I’m ashamed.”
“Of us?”
“No. No.” I turn to cradle his face in my hands.
Sighing, I search for the right words. Because even though I’m not ashamed of us—not really, anyway—I do feel painfully selfconscious about our age difference sometimes.
“When I saw her… It was like a knife to the gut. A reminder that I had a kickass career—it was solid, I was respected—and now it’s gone.
A reminder of all the things I’d lost from before. ”
Knox hesitates, pulling my hands away from his face but keeping them in his. “Like your ex?”