Page 59 of Two of a Kind
After an endless pause, he turned his back to her and shoved his hands into his pockets.
Her heart dropped.
“I thought part of the agreement was you never saw me again,” he said, his voice as flat as she had ever heard it.
“It was, if I had taken it.”
He laughed, but it was a hollow sound. “Am I supposed to believe you walked away from five million? What was it you said to me once? Oh yeah, yank someone else’s chain. I’m not buying it.”
She stepped closer. “It was seven million, actually. Your father upped the pot when I tore up the first contract.”
“Even better,” he said, his voice as cold as she had ever heard it. “I underestimated your negotiating skills. Is this part of the bargain, too? You came to see me long enough to laugh in my face and tell me what a sucker I am?”
Kayla’s heart ached. “No,” she said, drawing from the same courage that had gotten her this far. “I’m actually here about a job.”
“A job?”
She had reached his side. Rather than looking at him, she, too, stared out at the sun setting over the horizon. “Yeah. I hear you’re looking for a new PR director, and as it turns out, Brandyville wasn’t really working for me, you know?”
In her peripheral vision, she saw him look toward her. She kept her eyes forward.
“Yeah? Why is that?” Some of the chill had left his voice. He was still suspicious, she could tell, but at least he was listening.
She shrugged. “Same old story. A guy.”
“A guy, huh?”
“Yeah. He swept me off my feet, then just disappeared.”
Long seconds passed with only the soft laps of waves and the occasional caw of some tropical bird interrupting the silence between them. She waited, holding her breath. Either he would accept what she said or he wouldn’t, but she was giving it her best shot.
“Maybe he thought you weren’t interested. That you got a better offer.”
Kayla discreetly released her breath. “Maybe. He wouldn’t be the first. But I thought he was smarter than that, you know?” She shrugged. “I thought that maybe, when he looked at me, he saw something no one else had.”
“He sounds like a dumbass.”
“Close. He’s a Du-mas.”
He chuckled at that.
“It’s a real shame, too, because I left everything behind on the hopes that he might be willing to give it another chance.”
“Everything, huh?”
“Yep. Quit my job. Put my house on the market. Used practically all my savings for airfare and a week’s worth of accommodations to try talking some sense into him.”
“Risky. What if he’s not willing to listen?”
“Then I’m shit out of luck, I guess. But, at least I know I gave it my best shot.”
He moved so fast. One second they were standing side by side with miles of space between them, and the next, he had gathered her in his arms and crushed his mouth to hers.
“You’re a fool,” he whispered.
“So everyone keeps telling me.” She grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck. “So, how about it? Have you got a place for a fool here on your island?”
“That all depends. What are you willing to do?”
