Risk (With Me Book 1) by Sue Wilder

Author:Sue Wilder [Wilder, Sue]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-08-30T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Lis

Standing this close to Fortner Brooks took effort. I hated public confrontations with people who didn’t matter. I preferred privacy, which was why we were standing on the beach and away from the house. But before I’d left with Fort, I glanced back at Caleb.

He stood stoic. Hard and isolated. And it was easy to recognize those emotions since I felt the same way.

Hard with the need to resist Fort’s coercion.

Isolated, because I hadn’t thanked Caleb for what he’d done. Going after Fortner Brooks on my behalf. Through his actions, without asking anything in return. Without even wanting me to know—when, only weeks ago, I nearly threw him from my deck over a stupid maintenance contract he didn’t want to break.

I almost wished I could be angry. For me, accepting help meant weakness. But Caleb turned it into something generous, protective. He was a strength I wanted to rely on, and I found him entirely too sexy. He weakened me with that powerful confidence, aroused emotions I never thought I’d feel, and that was why I couldn't thank him in front of Fort.

Fort would see my vulnerability, exploit it, and I turned toward the ocean. Breathed in the briny tang that once seemed foreign and sharp, the traces of fish, seaweed, dried-out shells. The scents now comforted, the way the overlapping waves comforted.

A whipping breeze cooled while the file burned in my hand. I tried to give it back. Fort ignored the gesture, shoved his fists in his pockets and kept talking about the opportunities at Spark. About the clients, the office with a corner view. The creative team and the apartment. The money.

I had enough of that already.

My father left millions in a trust fund. A minor detail Fortner seemed to forget. He’d asked about that trust fund once, and I lied, told him it was modest. Now he smiled and talked about a fundraiser, why I should go with him—it was for Rico, the designer I’d worked with on the conflict diamond campaign, and Rico deserved my full support.

But I wouldn’t go with Fort. I wasn’t that shallow, willing to overlook his behavior because the offer was so great. When I looked at him now, I saw a tired, envious man in an expensive suit, working hard at being who he wasn’t because he couldn’t face who he was.

When we all had faults. The hard part was accepting them.

Movement caught my attention; Caleb was striding across the beach with that confident vibe, vital, virile, looking like he wanted to put things where they belonged.

Ty and Jack were following, and I thought—Caleb Manning and his cohorts. The cavalry charging in.

I couldn’t stop the smile. When Caleb reached us, he captured my free hand and brushed his thumb against my wrist. “We’ll be late for dinner. I thought you’d forgotten.”

“I haven’t forgotten.” There was nothing to forget. We both knew we had no plans for dinner, but he offered the excuse and I was grateful.

“Lis…” Jack was breathless as she crossed the sand.

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