Page 12 of Big Forbidden Blacksmith

“Go ask the guy, he’ll be able to run me through it.”

“He’s not here,” I murmur back. I hate myself for lying to my best friend when she’s only trying to look out for me, but something tells me Knox doesn’t like to have his privacy intruded upon. I know that he’d probably be fine with a friend stopping by to check up on me, but … I like how secluded it feels out here. I like how safe I feel with Knox.

“Lara!”

I jump at my friend’s harsh tone.

“Ashley, I’m fine—”

“Do you have any idea how nuts that sounds? Look, I’m sure he’s great, but you don’t know him, you know? The fact that you have no clue where you are scares me.”

“You don’t need to worry about me,” I say, touched by her concern.

“If you don’t tell me where you are, I’m going to trace this number. It’s not yours so it’s his, right? Probably a landline because he’s so isolated?”

“Ashley …”

“And while I do that, I need you to promise me that you’re safe or I am sending an army to look for you.”

My eyes shoot back to Knox where he is stirring something in a pot. He looks up and our eyes lock. Just like that, nothing else matters. He’s taken care of me since the moment we met. He cared for me and made me feel things I never have before.

I’m not ready for this to be done yet.

“Lara!”

“I’m safe,” I hiss into the receiver. “I promise, Ash.”

I hear the sigh of relief Ashley lets out and hope that this conversation has bought me more time. I hum along as she talks a little more but I barely hear a word she says as I think about how Knox and I might spend the day.

“Alright, it’s settled then. I will take care of it today,” Ashley says and I grunt, unsure of what she’s talking about. “I’ll hang up now but take care, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks, Ash,” I manage before saying goodbye and hanging up.

I slide the receiver into place before walking towards the kitchen. I sit on a stool at his counter and watch him make something that smells so good it makes my stomach growl.

“I hope you like chicken soup,” he says, humor dancing in his eyes.

“I love it. Especially now that I haven’t had a proper meal for hours.”

“Then you’re in for a treat,” Knox says. We fall into a comfortable silence as he prepares our lunch. He declines my help when I offer it and tells me to just relax and let him take care of me.

After we finally eat, I clear my throat. “Do you have anything you need to do today?” I’m curious, but I also hope his day is free. I’d love to go back out to his shop to work on the painting more.

“I have a few home deliveries to make. They won’t take long, perhaps an hour or two.”

“Oh,” I say, disappointed that I won’t get to work on the painting of him, but I quickly school my features. I can’t get in the way of him doing what he needs to do It’s not a big deal to pass the time on my own. Maybe I’ll try sketching Bear or something.

“I won’t be gone for long,” he promises, leaning in and pressing his lips against my cheek. My eyes flutter closed at the little show of affection.

I am absolutely beginning to fall for this man, and I can’t stop it, not that I’d want to. I’m not sure I’ll be able to leave this man when the time comes. It’s dangerous to have these big feelings so soon, but it’s also exciting.

It’s so exciting that a few hours later, when I hear the crunch of gravel under car tires, I find myself sprinting out of the house to greet him.

But instead of his dirt-dusted truck ambling down the driveway, it’s a new-model SUV. Somehow, in my head, this makes sense. I expect him to step out of the car, but that’s not what happened. When the passenger door opens, out steps a familiar face.

Ashley Blackwell, heiress to an enormous financial empire and my best friend as well.

She said she would find me and she did.

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