Take Me Down (The Knight Brothers 2)

He couldn’t stop the grin that followed. “And that is one of the things I love about you, Emily Stevens.”

* * *

At Parker’s words, Emily’s mouth opened in shock.

Placing his hand beneath her chin, he closed it again. “You can’t be surprised.

She swallowed hard and it wasn’t easy. She had no moisture left in her mouth. “I can be floored that you said it out loud.”

He groaned, tipping his head and leaning it against hers.

“What I feel and what I can ultimately do about it are two very different things. And that’s why I don’t even want you to say the words back.”

But they were there, threatening to spill out. Of course she loved him. If it was possible, she’d loved him on sight, even when she’d thought she hated him. She couldn’t even list the reasons but she tried. He was everything she hadn’t known she was looking for. Her kind, protective, loving, generous city boy. She should be happy.

But the meaning behind all of his words caused her heart to race in panic. Yes, she knew he’d leave … eventually. And she knew eventually was becoming sooner rather than later. But she wasn’t ready. She loved him, too.

“But that’s not what we’re discussing now.”

Good, she thought, her heart rate slowing. A reprieve. She needed one along with time to catch her breath. This amazing man loved her and that was something she’d always have … even if she couldn’t have him. She glanced down and realized she’d been gripping his hand in hers.

She nodded in understanding. The more painful talk would come soon enough.

“Back to the bank loan. Look at the lengths you went to in order to hide the fact that you tried to get a bank loan from me. I admire your pride and determination to go it alone but–”

She glanced away. “I’m not going to be your charity case, Parker. You can’t support my whole family.”

He drew in a deep breath. “My family is … well, let’s just say that buying the real estate out at whatever price the corporation offered isn’t a problem. That would remove all temptation from the landlord and let you rent for market price.”

“With you as my landlord.” She bit down on her lower lip.

“I know how you feel about it but I can’t think of another way to make sure Harper keeps her shop. The new landlord is going to make her life difficult if she stays because he clearly wants to gut and build. So he’ll make it as hard as he can for her to stay without crossing the line of being illegal.”

“Oh my God. I didn’t even think of that. Harper said it would be hard to have a new landlord but…”

“Listen, all Harper will be doing is paying me. I’ll hire a company out here to keep the place in working order so you’re not having issues or problems. As for the joint business, I’ll float you two a small-business loan. You give me a business plan … show me what you have in mind, what you need financially, and we’ll go from there.”

Tears filled her eyes. “I didn’t want to have to do this but … I don’t know how to thank you. I fought Dad on the inn, Harper on the business … I think I was just afraid of relying on a man for my happiness.”

She threw her arms around his neck and he pulled her against him, burying his face in her fragrant hair. Yeah, his dick hardened and he wanted her, but he’d made her happy and that meant so much more to him than sex.

As she ran off to call Harper, Parker leaned back against the couch and groaned. He’d funded the renovation on the inn and now he was going to make an offer on a piece of land/shopping center in Montlake, Colorado. He hadn’t intended to tie himself to the town but that was exactly what he’d done.

But the strongest of the roots he’d be leaving here was his heart.

* * *

For Parker, the next few days were filled with meeting Harper’s landlord, calling Parker’s money manager to transfer funds and liquidate enough money to handle the transaction to purchase the land, his lawyer to begin working on a sales contract, and helping Emily and Harper construct a business plan for their addition and construction to turn both shops into one.

The landlord, who was a longtime resident of the town, had been relieved by Parker’s blunt approach, letting the landlord know Parker wanted only to save the integrity of the town and the shops that existed here. The man hadn’t wanted to sell but he’d been unable to find a way to turn down the amount of money the corporation had offered when it would enable him and his wife to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. Parker’s solution solved his problem.