“Dad, you remember Rowan Townsend.”
Recognition finally hits his sharp brown eyes. “Yes, yes of course. How’s your mother been? Is she here?”
I blink.
Knox says, “Remember she’s been a bit under the weather, Dad? I mentioned it.”
In fact, Flynn told Knox about Lillie’s lupus so Knox must not have mentioned the latest incident just yesterday. I wonder why.
I finally find my voice. “She’s not here, Mr. Everheart, but she’s doing okay. Do you mind if I speak with Knox for a minute?”
He raises his brows. “Er, okay.” Then he turns to Knox. “I’ll be in my room if you need me. What time are we meeting in the morning?”
“Let’s meet in the lobby at seven. The car will be here at seven fifteen. If you want breakfast, you’ll need to come down earlier. They open at six.”
Flynn nods at me before walking down the hall.
“What’s your dad doing here?”
“Is that what you want to talk to me about?”
I blow out a hard breath. “No. I want to apologize.”
“Is that right?” His voice is cool and his eyes are tired, a shade of blue I haven’t seen before.
Okay, so he’s not going to make it easy on me I see. “Yes, I’m sorry I asked you to leave. I know I didn’t seem very appreciative especially after everything you did for me.”
“What makes you think I did anything for you?”
My face heats with embarrassment. Fucking Knox Everheart. Every. Single. Time. “Fine, Knox. I still want to say thank you for helping my mother. And for staying at the hospital with me. And for returning my car. So, thank you, for whoever you were doing it for.”
“Maybe I was helping your boyfriend, Mike, out.”
I rock back on my heels. “What the hell are you talking about? Mike isn’t my boyfriend. Where did that even come from?”
He raises an eyebrow, the smirk on his face firmly set. “You two looked pretty cozy downstairs. I hope you and Mike will be very happy together.”
“We just ran into each other and—”
He lifts the other eyebrow and they’re both crawling to his hairline. “And?”
“And you know what. It really isn’t any of your business anyway.”
He nods and turns, following the same path as his brothers and father.
*
I check the time on my phone and groan. Too late to check on Mama and almost too late for me to get enough rest tonight. I go in the bathroom and scrub my face, then discard my clothes, throwing them in the closet. I unpack my suitcase, hanging the couple of dresses and nice pants I brought, basically all I own, and placing the rest in drawers.
When I’m satisfied I’ve readied everything for tomorrow, I crawl between the sheets, and set the alarm on my phone and the bedside clock. As I try to relax enough to fall asleep, thoughts quickly turn to Knox. Why is his father here? If Flynn was so upset about his sons being away from the restaurant before, him being here really doesn’t make sense. When I think of Knox, he looked a bit rough around the edges. Still no haircut and he had more than a little stubble. I don’t mind either, because long, curly-haired Knox with a beard is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. He experimented with a beard our last year of school but shaved it after Weston teased him that he’d fit right in with all the other Austin hipsters. It’s true they’re everywhere, especially downtown, and they all look alike, the fools. But Knox Everheart stands out no matter what his style.
Why was he upset earlier though? A thought hits me smack in the middle of my forehead but it’s hard to digest. Is Knox jealous of Mike? If so, that means… I guess it means he was telling the truth the last time we were here. When we were in his room. Oh, my skin gets all prickly when I think of the last time I was in Knox’s hotel room.
I flip over and squeeze my legs together. Jeesh, I’ve got it bad and I’m tired of denying it. Maybe when this competition is over, we’ll be free to explore these feelings. Or at least a good fuck to get him out of my system.
I drift off to sleep with thoughts of me licking Knox’s stubbled, square jaw.
When I wake, the dream I’ve had pushes me into the shower even though I just had a long bath last night. I haven’t had a Knox-induced sex dream in a couple of weeks, and I can’t decide if I’ve missed them or not. I do know that although the dreams are sexy, I’m ready for the real thing. Almost.
Hannah and Wyatt are waiting in the lobby when I come off the elevator. I glance around for anyone else I might know, but there’s only them.
Wyatt asks, “Have you talked to Mama?”
“Yes, I called her a few minutes ago before I came down. She sounded good and she’s home. I talked to Daddy too, and he assured me she’s better and that he won’t leave her side until we get home.”
“Okay, good. I talked to her too, and that tracks.”
I turn to Hannah. “Are you ready for today?”
She shrugs, going for nonchalant, but the bouncing on her toes is giving her away. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” The smile on her face practically lights up the sidewalk. I’m glad one of us is in good form.
When we get to the studio, Hannah marvels every step of the way. From the guarded entrance to the cargo elevators lifting equipment to the producer talking a mile a minute, alternating between us and her headset, with coffee and tablet in hand. Hannah is positively gleeful.
We enter the set; I’m caught up short. It has changed so much from the last time we were here. The two kitchens are spread farther apart and stripped
