Engaging The Enemy. Reese Ryan

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СКАЧАТЬ angry. I know that’s no excuse, but—”

      “It’s okay, Kira. I realize how hard it must’ve been for you to understand why I did what I did.”

      “I do understand. Mother told me about the conversation she had with you after Aidan asked her for our grandmother’s wedding ring. I only wish you’d told us instead of just walking away.”

      “Does he know?” Kayleigh cast a glance over her shoulder at Parker, who was pacing the floor.

      He tapped on the face of his black Hermès watch with a double leather strap.

      Kayleigh considered holding up a different finger, but held up her index finger instead and dipped behind the curtain to her studio space in the back.

      “No. She wouldn’t have told me, but I figured it out from something she said when she was a little...shall we say tipsy? The next morning she begged me not to tell Aidan, and I caved. Mostly because I know how much it would hurt him. And about Aidan—”

      “I don’t want to talk about Aidan.” Kayleigh ran her fingers through her hair, probably making it look like even more of a crow’s nest than it already did. “What’s past is past.”

      “No problem. That isn’t why I called anyway.”

      “So why did you call? Not that I’m not glad to hear from you.”

      “First I want to apologize for my behavior and for what my mother did.”

      “Apology accepted.” Even if Kira was no longer in her life, it felt better knowing that the air between them had been cleared. “And what’s the other reason?”

      “To tell you that... I’m getting married!” Kira finished her sentence with a squeal. “Can you believe it?”

      “Oh honey, that’s wonderful news. I’m so happy for you.”

      “That’s not even the best part...” Kira took a dramatic pause. “I want you to be in my wedding!”

      “Me? Why?”

      “Because my fiancé has a ton of brothers, and I want my bridesmaids to be people who have been truly important in my life. Not just some random, distant cousin filling up a spot. Our relationship meant so much to me. I want you to be there to share my day.”

      Kayleigh hesitated for a moment. “Are you sure this isn’t just about pissing your mother off?”

      “Well, there’s that, too.” Kira laughed. “But seriously, you mean a lot to me, Kayleigh.”

      “And Aidan and his wife won’t be upset?”

      “I guarantee you that Aidan’s wife won’t raise any objections.” The humor was gone from her voice. “And neither will my brother. In fact I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you again.”

      “I don’t know, Kira. When’s the wedding?”

      “In two and a half months. And get this...my fiancé’s family owns a private island in the Caribbean. That’s where we’re getting married. And we’re flying everyone out for the entire week, all-expenses paid.”

      An all-expenses-paid vacation on an island in the Caribbean for an entire week? That was something to consider.

      “Kira, I’m honored that you’d ask me to be part of your wedding—”

      “Then you’ll do it? Awesome! Just text me the name of your plus-one and all the information my wedding coordinator will need to book your flights. You’re the best, Kayleigh. Bye!”

      Kira had ended the call before Kayleigh could tell her she’d think about it and that she most certainly didn’t have a plus-one.

      She scrubbed a hand across her forehead and sighed. The truth was that, as reluctant as she was to do this, she’d always had a soft spot for Kira. So they both knew she’d eventually cave.

      Besides, maybe by the time the wedding rolled around, she would actually have a plus-one prospect.

      She shoved her phone into her back pocket and returned to the front of the store, where Parker looked fit to be tied.

      * * *

      Parker stared at Kayleigh. He’d bet she took that call in the middle of their negotiations just to tick him off.

      If that was her aim, she’d succeeded.

      He was a busy man. He’d scheduled exactly thirty-five minutes for this meeting. It was already going on forty-five minutes and they hadn’t agreed on anything.

      Kayleigh was being stubborn. No, downright ornery. Was she really going to allow her disdain for him to prevent her from accepting his exceedingly generous offer?

      “So, where were we?” Kayleigh seemed distracted and her hair looked even wilder than it had when she’d disappeared behind the curtain. As if she’d just tumbled out of bed and she hadn’t been alone.

      He swallowed hard, fighting off the image of Kayleigh in bed that immediately filled his brain.

       Focus, Parker. Focus.

      “I’d offered you fifty percent more than the assessed value.”

      She froze for a moment, cocking her head before a smirk curled one corner of her mouth. “I remember now. You asked what figure would make me happy, and I said—”

      “I know what you said, Kayleigh, and it’s unacceptable.”

      “Then buy someone else’s building instead.” She stared at him defiantly.

      The number-one rule of negotiating was be prepared to walk away. Every salesperson understood that. But his family hadn’t given him that option. This building had once belonged to his mother’s family. They’d run a tiny café here, and now his father wanted to help his mother reclaim a portion of her family’s history by creating a flagship restaurant here, branded with the King’s Finest name.

      It was going to be a surprise. His mother didn’t know, but his father had already purchased the two other buildings on the block and made the sellers sign confidentiality agreements. But without Kayleigh’s building—the cornerstone of the entire project—it simply wouldn’t work.

      Closing this deal was the leverage he needed to make his father realize that naming his older brother, Blake, as his successor at King’s Finest, simply because he’d had the good fortune to be born first, would be a grave mistake.

      Blake was a good person, a great brother and an excellent operations manager. But neither Blake nor their brother Max possessed the killer instinct the CEO position called for. His sister, Zora, did have that killer instinct. More so than he, perhaps. But what she lacked was the ability to control her emotions. With Zora, everything was personal. She was much like Kayleigh in that way.

      He had to have this building, but Kayleigh didn’t know that. So maybe if he showed her that he was willing to walk away, she’d come to her senses.

      Parker СКАЧАТЬ