Chapter 13

13

Her heels clicked against the marble floor when Kinsley stepped into Daegan’s office Monday morning, each one a delicate reminder of the intimacy they’d shared mere hours ago. The air felt charged, a current neither dared to touch but were helpless to ignore. Her lips curved into a small, knowing smile that sent his heart racing.

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” Daegan teased.

Kinsley looked up, bashful at once. “I know, it feels like—” she paused for dramatic effect— “just yesterday.”

Daegan laughed. “Hey, I wanted to thank you for coming on that trip, especially at the last moment. You’ll get extra pay for your time spent away from home.”

Kinsley shut the door gently behind her, giving them some privacy. She walked to his desk, heels echoing off his office walls. “Oh, good,” she replied with mock seriousness, leaning against his desk. She lowered her voice to a whisper only they could hear, “Now I can add ‘highly-paid escort’ to my resume.”

Daegan blushed. “That isn’t what I meant exactly, Kins, but you’ll get paid for your time in regard to that, too, I guess.” He paused again, rethinking his words. “Wow, that doesn’t sound good either, does it?”

Kinsley giggled, setting down a folder with a few sticky notes covering the front. “To change gears, though, this client is pissed. They want more return via new builds to invest in.”

Daegan scrunched up his face as he read the name; it was someone he’d had issues with before. “Well, it was a pleasure to see you before my day turned to hell.” He slid the folder closer. “Did you do anything fun last night after you got home?”

“You.” She was quick with her reply when she leaned in to kiss him. Daegan froze for a fraction of a second, his mind racing. The sweetness of her lips was impossible to resist, but the setting made his pulse quicken for all the wrong reasons.

Kinsley pulled back, and he hoped that wasn’t hurt on her face. What if someone saw them? He needed to protect her reputation, and his own.

He cleared his throat. “Besides doing me was there anything else?”

“A video chat.” She leaned against his desk. “Then I slept like a log.”

Daegan’s grin faltered. A name hovered in the back of his mind: Cameron. Was it him again? A flicker of jealousy gnawed at his insecurity. He had to bury it. Kinsley wasn’t his—not yet, anyway.

“Video chat, huh?” he asked, feigning casualness. “With who?”

She smiled, oblivious to his unease. “Brienne and Cameron. Just catching up.”

His chest tightened at the name, but he kept his tone even. “Sounds fun.”

“Not as fun as another night with you would have been,” she suggested.

He tried to push the thought away, focusing on the present. “Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight? Seven o’clock,” Daegan said, his voice softer, almost tentative. He hated how much he wanted her to say yes, how much he needed the assurance that this—whatever it was—meant as much to her as it did to him.

Kinsley hesitated, her smile faltering. His heart sank before she even spoke. “Oh. I have plans after work, but maybe we can do it another evening? I’m free Wednesday.” She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Daegan’s chest tightened. “And when I checked your schedule this morning, you don’t have any meetings or dinners then, either.”

Daegan forced a smile, even as disappointment tugged at his chest. “Then I guess it’s a date.” The word date felt heavy on his tongue, but he liked it—liked what it implied. It was casual, yes, but it also carried a sense of promise.

Daegan watched as Kinsley turned to leave, her silhouette framed by the morning light spilling through his office windows. He wanted to call her back, to ask her about Cameron, but he bit his tongue. He’d waited this long. He could wait a little longer.

Even if the grating jealousy, as he opened the file that would ruin his day, told him otherwise.

Date.

That word ran through Kinsley’s mind every moment for forty-eight hours, until she was on Daegan’s doorstep again.

Maybe Aunt Tilly wasn’t as crazy as she seemed, she thought to herself. Maybe there is more here.

The meal service was beautiful. His staff waited on them, though Kinsley took a moment to tease him about not personally cooking it himself.

“It gives me one less thing to worry about. But, if you’d like, the next time you come over we can cook a meal together,” Daegan suggested.

“By we do you mean us or me ?” she laughed.

“I mean us. Together.” He smiled, placing a hand on hers before picking up their glasses of wine. “Let’s go to the balcony. We’ll get a beautiful sunset view.”

But the moment they stepped out into the cool evening air, Daegan excused himself. Kinsley stood, sipping her wine, leaning against the sturdy railing. The sunset was a mix of oranges and purples on the backdrop of a blue sky. A gentle breeze rustled Kinsley’s hair, carrying with it the faint scent of lilies from Daegan’s garden below. Despite the beauty surrounding her, a chill settled deep in her chest, born not of the air but of the storm brewing in her thoughts.

“I was a little early to that dinner meeting on Sunday,” he said, approaching her with a hand behind his back. “It was next to a little antique store, so I stopped in. I saw something you might like.” He smiled as he pulling out a small, wrapped gift from behind his back.

The wrapping paper was uneven, taped a few extra times in a couple spots. It was reminiscent of someone’s first attempt at wrapping a present. Kinsley’s heart warmed at the realization that, unlike their dinner, he had likely done this himself. She gazed up at him and found only a proud look in his eyes. She smiled back and began unwrapping it.

From within the box, she pulled out a delicate vintage teacup. “You remembered,” she laughed as she gently pulled it from the tight packaging.

“Of course,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

The porcelain was a soft pink color with a dark red rose pattern around it. The handle and edges were gilded, reflecting gold in the evening sun. The saucer was a perfect match.

“Thank you, Daegan. It’s beautiful. I’ll need to make room with the rest at home.” She let out a small chuckle.

“I’m glad you like it. I saw another that looked pretty interesting, but it turned out to be for reading tea leaves.” He shot a glance at her. “And we don’t need Aunt Tilly teaching you how to do that.”

“Would it really be so bad if I could predict things accurately?” She laughed.

“I guess it all depends if it’s good or bad. Sometimes it is better to be unaware about misfortune if it’s around the corner,” he said. But something about his words twisted an uneasiness within her.

Kinsley put the teacup back into the box and Daegan took it back inside. After he came back, they stood watching the sunset, sipping their wine. Warm embrace snug around her waist, he planted a kiss on her cheek. Would tonight end the same as their last time alone together? She ached at the thought, all the while wondering if his longing mirrored her own.

Perhaps Daegan was feeling the same. After all, his thoughtful gift should prove that she meant something to him. But what if it was all a ploy?

“Do you feel the same thing I do?” she finally asked, playing with his fingers as they wrapped around her waist. A gentle breeze jostled her light-brown hair, and she was almost glad she wasn’t facing him.

After a moment, he replied, “I guess it all depends on what that is.” He pulled her in for a kiss, though his answer wasn’t reassuring. For a man who was so consistently a straight-shooter, Daegan kept dodging this question.

Love, her heart answered her, though the word didn’t follow. “A desire to be together,” she explained, wrestling each word from her own self-doubts. “A connection like our souls are intertwined. That desire to just…” Her voice trailed off as she struggled to find the courage to just say it , “to just spend a lifetime together.” Her eyes flicked up to him, capturing his gaze for just a moment. “Is that what you want with me?” she asked, her voice cracking around each syllable.

His hand squeezed hers as he turned back to the sunset. “I think you and I both know what we have by now. As for you… I want you more than you realize.” He let go of her hand to wrap his arms around her. Fingers digging into her hips, he tugged her closer. “You know I’m a hardworking man. I do whatever it takes to get whatever I want,” he said, his voice carrying a calm confidence, almost as if he were closing a business deal, not defining a relationship.

“Whatever it takes,” she repeated. The words twisted in her mind like a storm. He’d said he wanted her—but did he mean her heart, or her house?

“Whatever it takes,” he confirmed back to her, oblivious to where her mind had actually gone.

Kinsley forced a smile. Surely, he was trying to play it off that he meant to get her. But what had he told her the last time she had entered this house? Business has no place for emotions. It was a part of him she couldn’t easily forget.

He wanted her house, too.

That was his bottom line. His end goal. What he had wanted before he’d even known she existed. He had sent Granny several letters offering to buy (she’d found them while cleaning out the craft room). He’d asked Kinsley and wouldn’t seem to take “no” for an answer. And when she’d finally made it clear what she wanted, plainly and without a drink in her hand or her clothes on the floor, he still refused to give her a clear answer. Was this what he was hiding? He wanted the house first and—if it was even true—Kinsley second.

The sun dipped lower, casting long shadows across the balcony. The light that had warmed her just moments before slipped away, leaving a chill in its place. Despite his touch, she felt cold, and her heart continued to sink. Straightforward Westerhouse, a man without pretense, who still wouldn’t tell her how he felt. Perhaps because he didn’t feel anything at all. Why would he fall for the last pawn standing between him and owning her entire block?

“I should head home,” she said after the sun had set and the wine glasses were empty.

Daegan checked his watch. “It is pretty late, isn’t it? Let me walk you to your car.”

He walked her to her car, pausing before opening the driver’s side door. “Kins,” he paused, seeming to search for the right words to say. “I’d love to do this again.” His arms pulled her closer into a tight embrace, though her feelings felt loose. His lips, passionately pressed up against hers, began to feel hollow.

Was it all in her mind? Or was she just waking up to the truth?

“Yeah,” she murmured, “it was nice.”

His brow furrowed. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” Kinsley lied. “I’m just getting tired. That’s all.”

Daegan leaned in to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Drive safe. And goodnight, baby.”

That word didn’t make her heart race anymore; instead, it felt strangely empty. As she drove home, the weight of her doubts settled heavily on her shoulders. Was this real? Or was I just fooling myself?

But as the road stretched before her, another thought crept in, soft but persistent: What if it is real? What if I’m just panicking over nothing?

Hope and fear battled within her, leaving her unsure of which would win. The only thing she knew for certain was that she had to find the answer. This wasn’t just about Daegan anymore. This was about what she wanted, what she was willing to fight for.

As Kinsley pulled into her driveway, a quiet determination settled over her. She wouldn’t let her doubts control her. If this was love—real love—she would fight for it. And if it wasn’t? She would walk away with her head held high.