Engaging The Enemy. Reese Ryan

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СКАЧАТЬ want this building in its current condition, and they certainly wouldn’t give her the tax-assessed value for it.

      “Dammit, Kayleigh, we’re being more than generous here. You’re just being obstinate for the sake of it. Forget for a moment that it’s me making the offer and just think about it. You can move to that new shopping center that’s going to get all that tourist traffic. It’s a win-win for both of us.”

      “Is there a better way for me to say this? Hmm... Let me see... Hell to the no, Parker. My building isn’t for sale.”

      Parker sighed heavily, as if the words he was conjuring were causing him physical pain. “All right, Kayleigh. What if we pay fifty percent more than the assessed value?”

      Kayleigh’s ears perked up. If cheap-ass Parker Abbott was offering to overpay for her building, he wanted the place desperately. Which meant she was the one with the leverage. This was the opportunity she’d been waiting for. A chance to reclaim some of what Duke Abbott had stolen from her family.

      While she and her older sister, Evelisse, were away at college and her father was deathly ill, Duke had paid her mother a mere pittance for the land she’d inherited from Kayleigh’s maternal grandfather. He’d taken advantage of her mother at her lowest point and robbed them of land that had been handed down in their family for generations.

      Kayleigh stood taller, her chin tipped up as she met his intense gaze. “It would be nice to move my shop to the new mixed-use center, but as I’m sure you already know, leasing space there won’t be cheap. And there’s something else you haven’t considered...”

      “And what might that be?” Parker, the unofficial president of the Hard-core Perfectionists’ Club, looked indignant at her insinuation that he’d overlooked something.

      “This building doesn’t just house my business. It’s also my home. Then there’s the rental income from the other apartment. While your offer seems generous on the surface...all things considered...it’s a hard pass.”

      “That’s why I’m offering you way more than this...place...is worth.”

      “But not enough if you expect me to move my shop, studio and apartment while also recouping lost rental income.”

      “No one’s lived there since Savannah moved out three years ago,” Parker said, referring to his sister-in-law and Kayleigh’s closest friend.

      “I make even more off it as an Airbnb,” she said casually.

      “Okay, fine. What figure would you consider adequate compensation?” Parker shoved his hands in his pockets and widened his stance.

      Kayleigh’s gaze was automatically drawn to the panel over his zipper and the outline of his...

       Nope. Uh-uh. Hell no.

      “Give me twice the tax-assessed value and I’ll gladly hand the building over to you today. Lock, stock and barrel.”

      Parker looked like a volcano about to erupt. “Are you insane? Seriously, Kayleigh, you should be paying me to take this friggin’ money pit off your hands. Like, right now, before the whole damn building falls down around us.” He gestured wildly.

      Before she could tell him exactly where he could shove his last offer, her phone rang. She blew out a hard breath and whipped her phone out of her pocket.

       Kira Brennan.

      Kayleigh hadn’t seen or heard that name in more than seven years. She hadn’t expected to ever again. So why was Kira Brennan calling her now?

       Two

      Kayleigh’s back stiffened and her heart beat in double time as she stared at the number on her phone.

      Kira was her ex-boyfriend’s younger sister. And during the three years she’d dated Aidan Brennan, she’d been closer to Kira than she was to her own sister. But they hadn’t spoken in years. What could she possibly want?

      Kayleigh considered not answering the phone. Maybe it was best if she just let it go to voice mail. Then she could listen to the message and answer later, preferably by text.

      The last time they’d spoken, Kira had been bitter and resentful. Kayleigh and Aidan had been together three years, and he’d started to hint at the possibility of marriage. But Kayleigh couldn’t imagine herself as a member of the Brennan family.

      Neither could their matriarch, Colleen Brennan.

      Aidan’s mother had told her, in no uncertain terms, that she’d merely tolerated their relationship as a phase Aidan needed to get out of his system. But she would never welcome Kayleigh into the Brennan family.

      Mrs. Brennan had told Kayleigh that if she really loved Aidan, she’d do what was best for everyone and end the relationship, before things got any more serious between them.

      Kayleigh had walked away. Not because his mother had asked her to, but because everything the woman said was true.

      Except for Kira and Aidan, who both loved her, everyone else in the Brennan clan had seemed irritated and uptight every time she had shown up at another of their family functions. More important, as much as she’d loved Aidan, she just hadn’t fit into his world.

      She hadn’t turned down his offer because she was intimidated by his mother; she’d done it because she’d genuinely believed it was in both their best interests.

      She’d explained her position to Aidan, but chosen not to disclose her talk with his mother. He’d been crushed by her decision to walk away, and so had his sister.

      So why was Kira calling her now?

      “Kayleigh? Is everything all right?” Parker’s voice was laced with what almost sounded like genuine concern.

      “Absolutely.” The last thing she wanted to do was reveal a chink in her armor to a shark like Parker Abbott. “And if you’re not willing to meet my number, the answer is still no.”

      “But, Kayleigh—”

      Her phone rang again. Kira.

      Panic gripped her chest. If Kira was so determined to reach her after all this time, there had to be a reason. Her brother had moved on. He’d found someone else. Someone more to Mrs. Brennan’s liking. They’d gotten married and had their first child all in the space of one year.

      But maybe Kira was calling because something had happened to her brother.

      “I need to take this call.” Kayleigh held up a finger. She turned her back to Parker and walked a few paces away.

      “Hello?”

      “Kayleigh! Thank God you answered! I hate leaving voice mails. I never know what to say, especially on an occasion like this.”

      Kira was still an energetic chatterbox. And even after all this time, she knew she didn’t need to identify herself. That Kayleigh would just know who she was.

      “It’s СКАЧАТЬ