Page 99 of Make Me Yours

“Thank you,” Callie says, voice steady even though her arms tighten around Nora. “I appreciate you always looking out for me.”

“Of course. You’re like family.”

River shifts his weight before running a hand through his blond hair. “Callie, can we talk?”

She takes another step in retreat. “Sorry, I need to get back to the bakery. Sloane’s probably swamped with customers by now.”

Without waiting for a response, she turns and heads toward the elevators with Nora still clutched tightly against her.

River watches her go, frustration radiating off him in suffocating waves, but he doesn’t follow. Instead, he forces a smile. “Guess I should get going. I’ll see you both later.”

And then he’s gone, disappearing down the hall.

Evelyn watches him retreat with a speculative look. “Seems River’s got his heart set on someone.”

“Yeah,” I say. “Not that she’s going to make it easy on him.”

Evelyn’s smile is slow and knowing. “Maybe she just needs a little nudge in the right direction.”

I narrow my eyes. “If you’re plotting something, you might want to rethink it.”

“Oh, but meddling is half the fun,” she says with a mischievous grin.

A laugh bursts from me before I can stop it. “Which brings us back to your date on Friday. Come on, I need details.”

She waves a dismissive hand. “If he earns a second one, we’ll talk.”

Before I can dig for more, she changes the subject. “Are you here for Steele?”

“Actually, I wanted to run his calendar by Rina in person.”

“Oh, you just missed her. She had to clean up one of Oliver’s messes. I believe she said something about being five seconds away from strangling the man.”

I laugh. “Yeah, that sounds about right. Steele and I went to college with his brother, Hayes. He was the same way until a feisty ice skater straightened him out.”

“Isn’t it amazing how the love of a good woman can work miracles?”

“We’ll see about that,” I tease. “If Oliver ever finds one who can keep him in line.”

Evelyn’s eyes twinkle like she knows a secret. “Yes. We will definitely see.”

I glance at my watch. “Hmm. Maybe I’ll wait around for Steele to finish up.”

I take a step back and immediately slam into a solid chest. Strong hands catch my shoulders, steadying me. For a second, my heart leaps, thinking it’s Steele, but then the unfamiliar scent of expensive cologne hits me, and I turn to find Knox McNichols flashing a sheepish grin.

“Sorry about that,” he says. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s fine.” I adjust my footing, noting how close he still is.

The man is attractive, for sure. But his brand of handsome doesn’t stir anything inside me.

He shifts. “Actually, this is perfect. I was hoping we might run into each other.”

I lift a brow. “Oh?”

“If you’re free, do you want to grab lunch?”

Before I can answer, Evelyn jumps in. “Why, Knox, what a fabulous idea. Lilah would absolutely love that.”