ried from the massive carved oak doors befor

sed a hundred different ways this meeting might begin, her stumbling through some polished introduction, or his secreta

shouldered, his tailored shirt clinging to a frame built from discipline, not luck. His

sking her nerves with sarcasm. "I figured a man like

ready playing into his hand. "A man like me? You

breath away. Crystal chandeliers dripped from ceilings two stories high, golden light glancing off mirrored walls and expensive artwork that p

spiraling staircase and the enormous painting at its base: a s

oor with a quiet finality that sent a ripple down

. Savannah hated that. She hated being pulled into his rhythm, into his

ss precision. A fire crackled low in the hearth, though the evening wasn't co

" he

ou talk to me like I'm

he weather?" His mouth tugged at one corner, a half-smile that wasn

mingling with unease. She sat an

e steady on her face, his silence deliberate. Savannah felt it, the way he used quiet as

id you had an offer. Someth

he fireplace, as thoug

ll pay off your debt. The foreclosure notice disappears

ah blinked at him, waiting for the smirk th

sane," she

n didn't shift. "But I do

just throw money at me and I'll, what? Wear your rin

he corrected so

get to appear as? The poor little charity case

voice stayed even. "I don't offe

t tighten. She looked away quickly, focusing on the fire. "Why me? Yo

ed his eyes. "Because you're not like them. You won't fall at my feet

ng unbidden to her cheeks. She hated

said, standing abruptly.

re speaking again, his voice slicing through the space. "The

eps fa

ond mortgage, the unpaid bills stacking in your kitchen drawer. I know your father b

slowly, her voice low with disbe

e replied, unflinching.

ght. "You don't just know these t

was confirma

, Jackson? Out of all the women i

the hard planes of his jaw. For the first time, something un

trust anyone else

gripped the back of the chair, h

ith a slow, deliberate ease. His cologne, smoky cedar a

urmured. "Maybe I am. But ask yourself

with something she refused to name. She opened her mo

r off with fi

your ans

hat followed

resses Savannah