Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 312(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 312(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
“Hello?” a familiar masculine voice asked. It was the same voice that sent tremors of awareness rippling over her skin.
“Knox?” she asked, confused.
“Jade?”
“Yes. I thought I was calling Holly. This is the number she put on the form she filled out at the expo.”
His deep, rumbling laugh caused the body parts he’d awakened to sit up and take notice.
“Oh, this is perfect,” Lauren said, grinning from ear to ear.
“Shut up!” She waved at her friend to be quiet.
“Excuse me?” Knox asked.
“Sorry, I wasn’t talking to you,” Jade said, feeling her cheeks burn.
“I think my sister was matchmaking by giving you my number,” Knox said, sounding amused and not the least bit upset.
Jade pinched the bridge of her nose and opted not to acknowledge the point. “Can you give her a message for me?” she asked.
“Of course.”
“We had a bride cancel her wedding on January eighteenth. I need Holly to let me know if she wants the date.”
He let out a long whistle. “Well, that sucks for the bride, but I’m sure Holly will happily snatch that date up, even if it is the middle of winter. I’ll let her know.”
“Thank you,” she murmured.
A long pause followed before he spoke. “How have you been?” he asked.
She envisioned him asking, his eyes sparkling with real interest.
“I’ve been good. Busy with work.” And thinking about you. “How’ve you been?”
“The same. Working hard. Training camp is coming up in a few weeks. Getting ready for the season.”
“So work, work, work. Sounds like my life in general.” The honest words slipped out before she could stop them.
“Yet I remember how much fun you can be when you let yourself go.” His innuendo was clear, as were the memories to which he referred. She squirmed in her seat.
He chuckled as if he could read her mind. “I plan to keep a close eye on the camp this year. I have big things planned.” She heard him rub his hands together in anticipation.
She needed them to return to the point of this call. “So, you’ll give Holly my message?”
“Of course I will.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And Jade? It was good talking to you. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again soon. Since you’ll be working with my sister on her wedding, I mean.”
“I’m sure you will,” she said, the words coming out husky despite herself. The man was potent, even when he wasn’t in the same room.
“Goodbye, Jade.”
“Bye, Knox.” She disconnected the call. Only then did she remember Lauren was still in the room, sitting there with one leg crossed on top of the other as she watched and listened, a smug grin on her face.
“No, you’re not interested in him at all.”
Jade narrowed her gaze on her best friend. “Shut up.”
Lauren let out a laugh. “I’ll go make a list of the vendors we need to go over with Holly and leave you to salivate over your never-to-be-repeated one-night stand.”
* * *
Knox stared at his cell phone, unable to withhold a grin. Jade was so darned easy to fluster. And he had his sister to thank for their latest interaction. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t give Holly shit for interfering in his life.
He pushed himself back from his desk, then walked out of his office and past his assistant.
Holly worked at the stadium in the PR Department, so he strode straight to her office. He knocked and waited for her to call out before he walked in.
“Hey, big brother.”
He rolled his eyes—she had two big brothers.
“Hey to you, too, little manipulator.”
She fluttered her lashes. “Whatever are you talking about?”
He walked to her desk and sat on the corner. “You giving Jade my cell phone number in case she needed to reach you?” He eyed her, unable to keep the smirk from his face. He never could stay angry with her for long. Not that he was angry. But she was fun to mess with.
“Jade called? What did she want?” Holly only cared about the reason for the call, not what she’d done.
And that meant he could hold it over her until she admitted her meddling. So he shrugged. “She was so shocked to hear my voice, she almost couldn’t remember why she was trying to reach you.”
“Knox, come on! Tell me!”
“You first, little sis. Why are you playing games?”
Her brown eyes softened. “Because I love you and I want you to have a chance at happiness. I like Jade and so do you. Why shouldn’t I try to help?”
He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. “I really want to be pissed at you.”
“But you can’t because I’m right.” She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her desk. “Now tell me why Jade called!”
He smiled, despite her satisfied smirk. “You have a wedding date at the Meridian in six months if you want it.”
Holly squealed, then got up and ran around her desk, squeezing him in a breath-stealing hug.