\u201cGreat job today, Matt,\u201d I said proudly as we finished up our training for the evening. I was exhausted about ready to return home. It was the day after I went out to dinner with my family, and I hadn\u2019t heard from Nan since last night. I was admittedly worried about her, but life had to go on.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks,\u201d Matt said with a bright smile. \u201cI learned a lot from watching the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed and rubbed his head with my hand, ruffling his hair. We walked inside and I paused when I saw Gavin walking towards us. His expression was hard to read, but his eyes poured into me. He didn\u2019t bother responding after I asked him for my favor last night.noveldrama<\/p>\n
\u201cHi, Dad,\u201d Matt said with a bright smile. \u201cWe just finished training. I learned new stuff from the competition and impressed Judy.\u201d<\/p>\n
I chuckled at his words; he wasn\u2019t wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cNice job,\u201d Gavin said to him, giving him an appreciative nod. \u201cCan you give us a minute, buddy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matt nodded and said goodbye to me before retreating to his room. I gazed up at Gavin, wondering what it was he wanted to talk about. He stepped closer to me, his expression suddenly softening and my heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. He brushed a strand of sweaty hair away from my face and tucked it behind my ear, his fingers lingering around my cheeks for a moment longer.<\/p>\n
When he spoke, his tone was low and thoughtful, like his words were meant for my ears alone and I felt a warmth spread throughout my body.<\/p>\n
\u201cMind to tell me why I just fired one of my most trusted maids?\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart stuttered at his words. I gawked at him; he was serious.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou fired her?\u201d I asked, already knowing he was talking about Harper. He raised his brows.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou asked me to,\u201d he reminded me.<\/p>\n
I nodded and nibbled on my lower lip; I noticed his eyes dropping to my mouth<\/p>\n
and the heat that crept up around my face made me release my lip.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought you would have asked more questions,\u201d I admitted. \u201cYou didn\u2019t even respond to my text.\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression darkened for a moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that I didn\u2019t ask questions and just fired her all because you asked worries me as well,\u201d he admitted, his tone a bit rough. \u201cBut here we are. Now, explain what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sighed and looked away for a moment, which apparently he didn\u2019t like because he grabbed my chin gently and guided my gaze back to his, leaving me no room for argument.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe showed up on Nan and Chester\u2019s date last night and caused a scene,\u201d I told him. \u201cPoured wine on Nan\u2019s dress and got everyone at the Whimsical Whisk to stare at them. It was bad and Nan was gutted. Chester almost killed her. They can\u2019t work together, and Nan can\u2019t see her again. I won\u2019t have my best friend uncomfortable coming over. If I have to live there, and if Chester has to work there, I don\u2019t want Harper there\u2026 I don\u2019t want my best friend heartbroken and guarded.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gavin\u2019s expression softened even more, and he nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay,\u201d he said, dropping his hand from my face.<\/p>\n
I raised my brows at his words.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s it?\u201d I asked. \u201cJust \u2018okay\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was it that you wanted me to say?\u201d He simply asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know\u2026 I thought you\u2019d ask more questions or argue about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cI already fired her; it doesn\u2019t matter anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, but as you said, she was your most trusted maid\u2026\u201d I reminded him.<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, but it seems I trust you more,\u201d he admitted. Besides, you\u2019re right. I\u2019d rather have Chester working for me because he is one of the best chefs and he continues well to the pack. I don\u2019t need him distracted or avoiding those he works around. Probably for the best.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was surprised by his easy assessment, and I nodded thoughtfully.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you,\u201d I said softly, meeting his gaze for a moment. I started to walk around him, but he grabbed my arm, stopping me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n
I paused and looked back up at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was planning on just going home and sleeping,\u201d I told him with a noncommittal shrug. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStay.\u201d<\/p>\n
His one word sent my heart into complete turmoil. His eyes were dark and brewing and it made my breathing heavy. I found myself nodding without much thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay,\u201d I breathed.<\/p>\n
Before I knew what was happening, he was pulling me into his body so I was flesh against him; his strong<\/p>\n
arms wrapped around my waist et<\/p>\n
possessively and his lips were claiming mine in a searing kiss that made me see stars. His mouth moved perfectly against mine and when I felt his tongue sliding across my bottom lip, I gladly parted my mouth to grant him access.<\/p>\n
Sara is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
We Built a Kingdom From Ashes That Still Remembered Love by Aila Frost 408 \u201cGreat job today, Matt,\u201d I said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shadow-slave-by-author-novelnozi-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21477\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}