Page 32 of Hot Summer Nights

“Haven’t branched out this way yet. After being here though, maybe I’ll have to.”

He has a thoughtful look in his eye and I wonder if we’ll be coming back soon for a real business trip soon. I can’t say that I would mind spending another vacation here.

A thought hits me then.

Will I still be his assistant if he gets me to fall in love with him?

I’m not sure that I could handle all of the other employees talking about me like that. I’m sure that they would think that I was trying to sleep my way up in the company.

I already barely have any friends in Los Angeles since no one wants to befriend the girl closest to the boss. They all think that I’m going to run to Knox with all of the gossip and get them in trouble.

I wonder if I should tell Knox that the reason that I’ve been avoiding his advances is because I’m worried about what everyone will think.

I know that I shouldn’t care about that, but growing up with Camille and Gregory Manot means that caring about my appearance and reputation have been bred into me.

“What are you thinking about?” Knox asks, and I wonder how long I had been staring off into space.

“Just thinking about going back to work after all of this.”

It’s true enough, but as I meet Knox’s gaze, I get the feeling that he sees more than I’m ready to share.

“We can move here,” he states, and I choke on my sip of water.

“I can’t do that. I’d miss Elodie too much,” I admit and he shrugs.

“Then we’ll visit often.”

He seems so confident, so sure about this thing between us and I wonder why.

“How do you know that this thing between us is real?” I ask him as I pop the last bite of food into my mouth.

“It’s a gut feeling. The second that I saw you, I knew that you were meant to be mine. That you were my missing half.”

“What if your gut is wrong?” I whisper, looking out over the water.

“It’s not.”

“You don’t know that. Not for sure. You can’t,” I argue.

“It’s never been wrong before,” he counters.

We stare at each other for a beat and I can feel Knox trying to see inside my head.

“What’s stopping you from feeling this?” he whispers, and I swallow audibly.

“I do feel it,” I admit shakily. “I’m just not sure that I should.”

“You should,” he says confidently.

“What happens if you leave me?”

“I won’t. I would never.”

That’s easy for him to say.

“We don’t always have the choice. Watching my sister struggle to live has made me realize that life is precious and we never know when our time is going to be up.”

“Isn’t that all the more reason to go after what you want before it’s too late?”

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