Page 25 of Knight's Desire

“So, I bet my friends that you were looking for company tonight. Was I wrong?”

Brick turned, his fresh beer in his hand, leaned in close to Veronica, and let his gaze sweep her from head to toe. Her seductive smile told him she believed she hooked a live one. He returned her smile as he leaned in to whisper in her ear.

“Yep. Dead wrong.”

Her expression fell, and Brick strode away. His gaze drifted to the dance floor just to have somewhere to look that wasn’t the angry woman he’d just turned down, and that’s when he spotted Hope.

Her hair fanned out around her, the skirt of her dress billowing out at her thighs, showing off a long expanse of creamy skin. She beamed up into the face of her boyfriend as she gyrated her body to the beat of the music. The loser kept his hands on her hips, barely moving at all, while Hope lit up the bar. Her dress was a rich green, bright compared to the black attire he was used to seeing her wear when she came to work. She spun and stopped with her back plastered to the front of her douche of a boyfriend. Brick fought between wanting to jerk her away from him and staying put to soak in her beauty and joy, the one bright spot in his shitty week.

He knew the moment she’d spotted him. Her smile was radiant, and she waved at him like she was truly happy to see him. He raised his free hand to return her greeting and then stomped over to where his friends waited.

“She’s pretty, but her boyfriend is as stiff as a board,” Hallie said before Brick barely had his ass in the chair.

“What?”

She jerked her head in the direction of the dance floor. “She’s here. The woman who has you twisted in a knot.”

“I can see why. She’s hot. Who is she?” Rock asked.

Brick scowled. “Shut up. Just let it go already.”

Hallie leaned across the table to rest her hand on top of Brick’s. “I’m not trying to bust your stones. I actually think I can help you. If her boyfriend is a jerk, then I think we should bust them up, so you have a shot with her. What do you say?”

Brick pierced her with a stare, but after a couple of heartbeats, his grin burst through. Then he chuckled, and that chuckle grew into a body-shaking laugh. Hallie and Rock joined in until their table drew stares with their raucous laughter.

Brick lifted his beer and tipped it in Hallie’s direction. “I say you’re crazy, but I love you. Thanks for the laugh. I needed that.”

Hallie settled back in the crook of her husband’s arm, a satisfied smile settling on her face. “You’re welcome.”

He pushed his near-empty drink away from him. “I think I’ll end the night on a high note. I’m gonna head out. See you guys later.”

“Hey, don’t leave, man. Stay and let me whoop your ass in pool,” Rock said.

“As much as I hate to pass up a chance to humiliate you in front of your wife, I’m beat. Later.”

Brick called out farewells to the rest of the Deltas and headed out of the bar. The door closed behind him, immediately muffling all the noise and leaving him in quiet to walk through the gravel lot to his SUV. He heard the door open and close behind him, and he tossed a glance over his shoulder. Then he stopped and turned because he was a glutton for self-punishment.

“Brick!” Hope called after him as she hurried to catch up. “Hey. I saw you leave, and I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you first. I don’t mean to hold you up, but do you have a minute?”

Her face was flushed from her dancing, and her eyes sparkled under the low glow of the lot’s security lights. His heart started to pound as if he’d taken a few turns on the dance floor, and his mood lifted from being this close to her. He tried not to read too much into the fact that she sought him out when she was obviously here on a date with her boyfriend.

He nodded and gave her a slight smile. “Sure. What can I do for you?”

She hesitated. She dropped her eyes and twisted her fingers in a nervous gesture. He wondered if he affected her the way she affected him, and he felt pleased at the thought.

“I, uh, I just thought you’d want to know, that, uh…well…”

His smile widened.Damn, she’s cute when she’s nervous.“You can tell me anything, Hope. Anything, anytime.”

She cut her eyes up at him, her smile sweet and beautiful, and Brick realized this woman would be trouble for him. Pure, irresistible trouble.

“I just thought that you’d like to know that your advice on my design was spot on. And then I thought that you probably could care less, and I felt silly for making such a big deal about telling you this.”

“Your design?”

“The other day in my Shoppe. I showed you two sketches and asked your opinion. I know you said you didn’t know anything about wedding dress design. Most guys don’t, but I made the changes you suggested and a couple of others. The client loved it. It’s in production as I speak. I don’t know why I thought you’d want to know that. I guess if I was honest, I was the one who wanted you to know that.”

He took a step toward her and stopped. He wanted to respect her personal space, but he couldn’t resist being as close to her as he could.

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