Page 66 of The Snowflake Effect

“Nope. No.” I shake my head, still shocked. I expected him to offer me money again. A loan to get me through. But…move in with him? Did he hit his head while showering?

“This doesn’t have to be a big deal,” he goes on. “We’re both adults. You’re in a bind, and I’m offering a short-term solution. I care about you and hate seeing you stressed. So…what do you say?” When I don’t answer, he sighs. “Saying yes isn’t a sign of weakness, Shay. Accepting help is a sign of strength.”

I narrow my eyes at him. That nugget of wisdom certainly hits close to home, and Kolton clearly knows me well, but there’s more at play here than my stubborn pride. “What happens after six weeks? There’s no way we won’t get closer between now and then, and we still live a country apart.”

He shrugs a shoulder. “I don’t know, but we have now together, and like I’ve mentioned, I’m tired of always planning ahead.”

I almost laugh. Is moving in together really that easy? Just throw caution to the wind, buy myself time to solve my housing issue, and live with this man who makes my body sing?

I’m so close to saying yes and dragging him to his bedroom to seal this deal, but I resume pushing my food around. “There’s still a chance Hilary will be pissed if she finds out we’re sleeping together. She might think less of my work. And living with you, relying on you like I did on Richard, brings a lot of bad stuff back. I don’t want to repeat the same mistakes.”

His brows pull together as he wipes some crumbs off the counter. “And you think that’s what you’d be doing with me? Repeating mistakes?”

I replay my conversation with Lily this morning, about Kolton’s gifts and how each thoughtful offering reflected me. The real me. Not some arm candy with slimmed hips and straight hair, molded into his ideal woman.

Kolton gave me the movies I like. The food I crave.

No. Being with him wouldn’t be a mistake. It would be dangerous.

“Nothing about you would be a mistake,” I say, trying to find the right words, “but I’ve spent all this time craving independence.” I gesture around the house. “Living here and working for you doesn’t exactly scream independence.”

And Stella’s warning to take things slowly with Kolton probably doesn’t include moving in with the guy.

He massages his neck, then drops his hand. “The job wasn’t offered to tie you to me. I hired the designer I wanted. It happened to be the woman I wanted, too, but that doesn’t change your talent and what you’re accomplishing. Hilary sees it. Everyone sees it. And you have to know I’m not Richard. I’m not some insecure fuck who’s trying to control your life. I like you feisty, Connor.”

Again with that damn reference.

“I wouldn’t change a thing about you,” he adds. “Except maybe give you a few ski lessons, so you don’t crash into innocent bystanders.”

I mouth, Fuck you.

He smiles and mouths, Okay. Then, “Let’s give things a shot, Shay. The large columns outside may suggest otherwise, but this isn’t a castle. There’s no dungeon below. I won’t keep you against your will. Live with me. Go on a date with me. If things work out, we’ll deal with the future and how to make it work later. It’s high time we see if the glass slipper fits.”

“Jesus. How the hell am I supposed to say no after that? The glass slipper?”

His chocolate eyes smolder at me. “Say yes, baby.”

“Maybe?”

“Fuck your pride, Shay. Fuck your bull-headed nature. Hilary will understand. Live with me for the next six weeks, and we’ll see if we’ve built this thing up between us, or if we’ll have more fun together than we did in Aspen. My bet’s on more fun.”

No way would I take that bet, and swimming upstream is getting exhausting.

“Yes,” I say.

He straightens and cocks a brow. “Yes?”

“Did I stutter?” The irony of my choice of playful insults isn’t lost on me and my inner stuttering child who struggled with her words. Not something I’m ready to share with Kolton. “But I need to talk to Hilary about this before you get all needy and clingy around me at work.”

He puts his beer down and prowls around the counter, my uneaten food forgotten. A first for me. His pupils are blown wide with desire, his gaze searing into me as he passes the island’s first corner.

Lust, like a long-suffering hunger, pools low in my belly. I’m ravenous for him, but as he rounds the last corner, my phone rings.

“Don’t answer it,” he says.

But it could be Hilary. After losing one job tonight, I’d rather not piss off another boss. I pick it up and frown. Why the hell is Cruella calling me at this hour?

Kolton is in front of me, practically on top of me. He snakes an arm around my waist and repeats his, “Don’t answer it.”