Page 79 of The Arrogant One

I walked back into the kitchen, checking the time on my watch. “Have you heard from Walker since the Celebrity Alert went out? I expected a text from him this morning or at least one sometime today and got nothing.”

“Same. I think he’s stewing over the world now knowing we’re interested in buying Horned. I’m preparing for an explosion.”

I chuckled. “I shouldn’t laugh. Whatever that explosion looks like, it isn’t going to be pretty.” I pulled the phone away from my face as the alert came through that Sadie was at my gate. I pressed the button that opened the gate and said, “I’ve got to go.”

“I’ll let you know when I hear back from the attorneys.”

“Good,” I said, and we both hung up.

I grabbed the other bourbon I’d poured along with mine and made my way to the front door. As I opened it, Sadie was walking across the driveway and up to the front entrance. With each step, her eyes became more focused on mine.

“It’s been a long day,” she said, waving her hands down the front of her, “and clothes just weren’t happening.”

“What if I told you I loved this look on you?”

Her black hair hung down her shoulders, meeting the sides of her zip sweatshirt that was open, revealing a pink sports bra underneath that showed a hint of her stomach before the start of her leggings. Those were capped off with highsocks and sneakers.

“Do you? Really?” She stopped on the top step, and now that she was closer, I could see the emotion in her eyes.

Either today had been a hard one or she was torn up about what she had learned last night.

I handed her the drink. “One of my favorite things about you spending the night is when I wake up before you and get to watch you sleep. When your hair is all over the pillow and wild, and you have no makeup left on your face, and you’re either naked or you put on something of mine. I never need you to dress up for me, Sadie. If you wore nothing but my button-downs or that”—I nodded toward her—“I’d be more than fucking happy.”

She took a deep breath. “I’ll cheers to that.” She clinked her glass against mine and took a sip.

“Thank you for coming over.” I moved out of the way, allowing her in, and as she stepped through the threshold, my free hand went to her waist. “I hope I didn’t fuck things up between us.” I pushed my head against the side of the door. “I have a lot of things to explain to you.”

She nodded. “Me too. That’s why I’m here.”

Still holding her waist, I gradually leaned into her neck, watching her eyes close as I neared her skin. And when my lips got there, I waited for her to back up, to move away, to tell me to stop. But while I breathed in her fruity jasmine scent, none of those things happened.

I kissed a soft section of her flesh that was between the bottom of her ear and her throat, and I whispered, “Come with me,” and I grabbed her hand and led her into the living room, sitting on one of the couches.

She slipped her feet out of her sneakers and faced me, and that was when I grabbed her heels and set them on my lap.

“Before you say anything, I need to tell you about the whole Wright thing and where my head has been at.”

“The …what?” I said.

She rolled her eyes. “Exactly.” She pushed several pieces of hair off her face. “Do you recall our conversation at Horned when I said something to you about how all I’d been doing was meeting Mr. Wrong and you came back with the Mr. Right statement?”

“Yeah. I remember.”

“I took your statement literally, thinking your last name was W-R-I-G-H-T and you were just using it in a fun, clever way. And then I saw theWover your desk in your home office, and that confirmed my thought. I never considered you were referencing R-I-G-H-T and that you were playing with me.”

“It’s funny, I thought that joke went over your head, but I didn’t mean to ignore it and never clarify what I was actually referring to. I was only?—”

“I know.” She touched my arm. “It’s my mix-up, not yours. But now I also have to ask you this: is Eden a blonde?”

“No.” I laughed. “My parents both have dark hair. They produced no blondes. Her hair color is the same as mine. Why?”

She groaned, “That’s a story for another day.” She then let out a small giggle. “Mr. Lockhart Wright—what the hell was I even thinking?”

I laughed with her. “I don’t know.”

Once she quieted, she said, “Tell me all the things, Lockhart. Start at the beginning.”

I shifted my body, pointing it more toward her. “I’m going to try to explain this the best way I can. I don’t know if I’m going to make any sense, so bear with me.”