Page 20 of Ardently Yours

His shoulders seem to relax. “I’m glad.”

Turning his attention to the man with the earpiece, he presses his lips together and gives Reese an exasperated-looking slow blink. “If the property is secure, Charlotte and I are going to take a walk. Give us some privacy, please.”

“All clear.” Once more, Reese watches me with an intent expression, then he glances at Arden, who gives a minute shake of his head.

Reese steps away.

Arden indicates the theater ahead of us. “Would you mind walking with me?”

Dreams

Arden

Iknow men invadingher space make her nervous. Then I touched her without thinking, anyway. We’re friends, but we haven’t spent time together. I need to back off.

Shoving my hands into my pockets, I do my best to look non-threatening and keep my gaze on the theater in front of us.

It’s hard to do when I want to soak in every bit of her presence. She’s beautiful and intelligent. I already knew that, but there are things I can’t glean from an email, like the way she straightens her shoulders or the self-deprecating humor in her tone. Or the sexy way she stood with her hip cocked in a pair of tight jeans.

Before she zipped up the jacket that turned her upper half into a marshmallow, I’d caught a glimpse of generous breasts covered by a red turtleneck sweater. Charlotte is all curves.

I indicate the opposite side of the building from where Clay stands sentry, and we work our way across the parking lot. Was it overkill to bring both cars? Probably. But there was no convincing Reese this wasn’t some kind of setup until he checked it out for himself. I don’t pay him to assume I’m safe.

I glance Charlotte’s way. Her eyes are pointed straight forward, and my attention drifts lower.

I drag my focus from her gorgeous, round ass and back to the building. “Tell me more about what’s going on with the theater.”

Coming here without disclosing I own this property rides a moral line, if not a legal one. If I can’t get her and her friends to back off with common sense advice, I’ll have to let her know she just told the villain in her story all her plans.

Of course, threatening to vandalize property owned by my company technically makesherthe villain.

I’d rather she doesn’t find out I own RealFreedom until she’s finished with school. Someday, maybe, we can laugh about it.

Right now, a relationship, even a friendship, would be tainted by the fact that she relies on me financially. She could begin to view interactions with me as transactional. Or she may decide I’m the bad guy here. RealFreedom would come between us, and I’ve come to . . . rely on her emails.

“They just swooped in, bought it when nobody even thought it was for sale. Then they put up their ugly giant sign and acted like they were doing everyone a favor by removing an eyesore and planning to put some awful hotel in its place,” she says.

“Why would they build a hotel here?”Say it. Admit it makes perfect sense.

She stuffs her hands in her pockets. “I understand that part. The location is convenient. The university is getting bigger every year, and we have a bunch of NCAA teams. The football team has won three national championships in the last five years.”

“So expansion makes financial sense,” I say.

“That doesn’t mean it’s good for the community. They could build a hotel somewhere else.” She stretches out her arm. “Do you see that? Miles of undeveloped land. They don’t have to come in here and take something important to us to do it.”

“Are your friends prone to illegal activity?” I’ll need to approach this differently if they are.

“What do you mean by that?” She frowns.

“If we keep you out of hot water now, will they continue to incite you to participate in acts likely to end in an arrest record? If so, I’d suggest you find other friends. Don’t let sentiment get in the way of common sense. If you have to cut them loose, then do it. Your first responsibility is to your own well-being.”

She stiffens, and her eyes burn with righteous affront. “There’s such a thing as loyalty.”

“And it’s critical. But it goes both ways. Someone loyal toyouwouldn’t drag you into it. They’d allow you plausible deniability.”

She presses her fist to her stomach.

I soften my voice. “Loyalty to your ideals is more important. Never violate your own moral compass for another person.”

---