Paris Is Always a Good Idea - Jenn McKinlay Page 0,116
was two days early! How dare he come here without warning?
Jason lifted his leg over the bike and planted his helmet on the back. He looked at me with a sparkle in his eye that made my insides thrum. It was just rage, I assured myself.
“Well?” I asked. I crossed my arms over my chest in a clear signal that I was shutting him out completely. I hoped his ass was already hurting from a long ride on that motorbike, because I fully intended to send him away on it, and I hoped his backside was blistered by the time he landed far away from here tonight.
“There was a change of plan,” he said. “Plus, it occurred to me that I’m your wingman. You need me, Maverick.”
“No, I don’t.” I glared at him.
“Sure you do.” He looked past me. “Is that the guy?”
“None of your business.” I was so furious I thought my head would explode. When I spoke, my words came out with the trajectory of bullets. “Why. Are. You. Here?”
He put his hand on the back of his neck and stretched while he said, “Severin’s trip to Milan was cut short. They’re on their way here, arriving tomorrow, in fact.”
“What? But you said you’d stall them,” I protested.
“I tried.” He shrugged. “But Severin is a force of nature.”
“What am I supposed to do now?” I asked through gritted teeth. I didn’t say it out loud, especially to Jason, but that attempted kiss with Marcellino had been a bust. Still, I wasn’t sure I had really given it the old college try. And now with Jason here and Severin arriving soon after, I was feeling very pressured.
“Introduce me to the boyfriend,” he said. He wagged his eyebrows at me. “I like the dress, by the way. Sexy.”
I glanced down at my deep-blue sundress. It did not help my frame of mind to remember that when I’d bought it at the boutique in the village, I had thought it was a perfect match for Jason’s eyes when they were their bluest blue. I had then promptly chastised myself for having such a ridiculous thought and bought the dress anyway. And now here he was, as if I’d conjured him. Argh!
“You need to go,” I said. “I don’t care what excuse you make, but you need to get back on that bike and ride off into the moonlight and give me the two more days you promised. Meet up with Severin at another vineyard.”
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” he said. He raised his hands in a what can you do gesture, which made me think he wasn’t sorry at all.
Why was I surprised? This was Knightley! He’d been a thorn in my behind from the day he’d come to the ACC. In a flash, “the incident” from our first corporate ask flitted through my brain, and I was furious all over again.
“This is so like you,” I snapped. “I should have known you’d do whatever you wanted, just like with Overexposure Media Group.”
Jason rolled his eyes. “I thought we made peace over that.”
“And I thought you read up on workplace personalities and knew I was a guardian while you’re a pioneer,” I said. “And yet here we are with you changing the plan without checking with me first. This is not how a guardian works.” I raised my hands in the air in exasperation.
“Would it help if I apologized for the Overexposure Media Group debacle?” he asked. “That disaster was one hundred percent my fault, and I truly am sorry.”
That gave me pause. A contrite Knightley was an attractive object to behold. I shook it off. It did not help with this situation at all, however.
“Apology accepted,” I said. “But I can’t do this right now. I’m supposed to be figuring out my own stuff.”
“I feel for you,” he said. His gaze was soft as he studied my face in the moonlight. “I really do, but Severin is on his way. I have all of the paperwork.” He patted the saddlebag on his bike. “We’re doing this. I’m sorry if it interferes with your timetable—honestly, I am—but according to Eleanor, you are the only one Severin trusts, so it’s imperative that you’re involved until we get it signed and sealed. Besides, I would think you’d want to see it through.”
Okay, Eleanor had said as much in Paris. And he made a fair point. I had done all the groundwork on this ask. It did mean a lot to me.