Page 46 of I Knew You
I remember everything about you.
I shrugged and winked. “Lucky guess.”
Her cheeks pinked, and she took the glass from my hands, our fingers touching for half a second—enough to make the hair on my arms stand on end.
“It may not be my problem, but I want to help,” she said.
My chest tightened as I watched her openly. I tracked her every movement as she gathered her long, dark hair and secured it with a tie from around her wrist. As she let go of her hair, she looked up at me, our eyes meeting.
“Are you watching me?” She laughed. I smiled, not at all embarrassed about being caught. I wanted her to know I loved watching her every move.
“I like seeing you be comfortable here,” I admitted. “And I like seeing the smile on your face. I think I just like you in my general vicinity.”
Her blush deepened. “I think you already said that today. You need some new lines. You’re losing your touch.” She stood, holding on to the table for balance as she readjusted her socks. “And quit getting me off track. Surely you have other donors in the organization?”
Everyone pitched in as much as possible with their families and bills to attend to, but I was the principal patron. I wasn’t prepared for her to have that information, at least not yet.
“No one of note. No one with those kinds of funds hanging about,” I replied.
She bit her bottom lip. “Local businesses? Maybe you could pool some money for land? Seems like it would be in their best interest, maybe even a tax write off?”
I shook my head. “I already tried to get a few bigger factoriesto donate materials, and I was declined every time.” Looking back, that was probably my father’s doing, too.
“Hmm. Didn’t you say you get more estate money once you marry?”
I didn’t think anything could stop me from watching her, but with that, I froze.
“It doesn’t have to be legit, does it?” Her voice echoed in my ears.
How in the hell had I not thought of that?
Probably because I never want to marry anyone.
I’d have to be in love to do that, and I had never been in love with anyone that deeply, except for maybe the woman who was in front of me. “I-I mean, this isn’t a movie. I’m sure there isn’t a romance clause in the terms,” I stammered. “But who would I marry? And what would be in it for them?”
I watched her begin to pick at her cuticles. Julianna East was nervous.
“I could do it,” she whispered.
The words made me exhale deeply, and I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I was shaken to find her face was beet-red and her eyes wide.
“I’m sorry!” she exclaimed, her voice frantic. “I didn’t mean?—”
Did she think I was reacting unfavorably to her? Without hesitating, I did what my instincts told me to do. I took the four strides to where she stood, gathered her up, and pressed her to me. It would have been a hug between ordinary friends, but it set my body ablaze.
I relaxed visibly, relieved.
I wanted it to be her.
I backed away to avoid asserting myself. She must have felt it because she stepped back and sat in the chair, her lips parted and her dark eyes entreating.
“That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever offered me,” I said,running a hand over my short hair. “But you know I can’t do that.”
Her brow furrowed. “Because of my surgery? Will that delay things too much?”
I’d forgotten about her surgery for a moment. Now that she’d reminded me, a brilliant thought leapt to the front of my mind.
“I should have been thinking of you and your surgery. And I shouldn’t have said no because if we get married, I think I can help you, too.”
