“You were making a power move, not being kind,” she said, more to herself than to any of them.
“What’s that?” Chris asked.
All gazes landed on her.
“You okay, Grace?” Noah asked.
“You won the bet.” She pointed to the sketches. “You didn’t have to let me win, too.”
Noah’s smile was phony. It was too wide. Too happy. It didn’t touch his intense brown eyes. When it did, she felt like she could fall into his gaze. “You didn’t win. I did.”
“But you said you’d stop asking,” Grace said, her stomach tightening.
The silence said everything. He didn’t do it because he felt the connection growing between them or because there were more check marks in his “I like her” column than his “She drives me nuts” column. He’d made her think it was her idea, therefore almost getting exactly what he wanted.
“It’s manipulative,” she whispered. For some reason, she thought of Tammy and how she never wanted Grace around when she was. But the second she was gone… different story.
“Maybe we should go for a walk on the beach, Ev,” Chris said. The two of them stood, but Grace was already backing away.
“Grace, I wasn’t manipulating you.”
Even his tone was phony, or maybe she’d just gotten through his shell enough in the last couple of weeks that she could tell he wasn’t being truthful.
“You were playing me. It’s all a game to you.” She spread her arms out, looked around the kitchen he could make state-of-the-art without one care for cost. “It’s all a game to you. I read about you. Your family. You guys are business giants. You say you want to settle in this house but it’s just walls and wood to you. You have no idea what it means to have somethingmeansomething to you.”
Everly and Chris started for the door.
“No. Please. Don’t go. I need to go.” She stared at Noah. “Don’t ask about my house again. I won’t sell it. BecauseI don’t want to.Because it matters to me. I get that you don’t understand that but you will respect it. No more games either. You won the design from me but no more fence fixing or trading off. Stay away from me.”
She wasn’t even sure she meant that last part and maybe she was being irrational but her emotions were tangled like shoelaces and if she didn’t get out of therenowshe was going to trip on them.
She’d fallen flat on her face in front of this man enough for one lifetime.
15
Noah’s breath caught in his lungs painfully as he watched her go. He didn’t go after her. He had no right. She was right. He’d manipulated her. His brother had called him on it in the bakery. Because he’d seen her house as a target he wanted to hit. He’d been chasing after deals he could close, thinking it would make him feel something. He walked into the open area of his living room.
But what actually made himfeelwas the woman who just walked out the door. How was that for some fucking irony. Whether he was fighting or flirting with her, she made him feel alive. The way an amazing dealusedto make him feel. He’d hurt her. Even at his worst, when he was just another corporate lackey for his dad, he’d never intentionally hurt anyone. Business was business. Grace was… pure and sweet andreal.And he’d hurt her by being himself.
Chris and Everly joined him. “That got weird fast. Sorry for saying that shit about how you do business.”
Noah turned to face him, noticed Everly’s tight-lipped grimace, the pity in her gaze. “For telling her the truth? That I’m an asshole?”
“You’re not,” Everly said, her quiet voice emphatic.
Noah locked his fingers in his hair. “I’m him.”
“Don’t do that,” Chris said, his tone sharp. “You’re not Dad. Look, clearly you’ve got some mixed feelings for that woman. I’d say it’s mutual. There were a lot of heated looks I’m okay with never seeing between my brother and a woman.”
Noah gave him a wry smile. “Wouldn’t know what that’s like.” He winked at Everly, making her smile.
“You didn’t mention how much more this is than business,” Chris said.
“What are you talking about? She’s my neighbor. She’s fought me on most things since I got here.”
Chris smiled knowingly. “When you talk about her, you light up like you used to when you found a wicked property you could flip. Whatever the reason, this girl is lighting something back up inside you. I’m happy to see it. I’m tired of watching you pout, being wishy-washy about properties and companies.”
“Screw you, man.” He said it with a laugh. Wishy-washy. Whatever. He just hadn’t found anything to sink his teeth into.
