Page 66 of Knot a Bad Idea

I bark out a bitter laugh as I take his outstretched hand. “You nailed that on the head. I’m April. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

OperationMalicious Complianceis back, with April Version 2.0.

Skylar would smack me for sounding so dorky.

To my surprise, Connor takes my gloved hand and presses his lips to it. “The pleasure is mine, April. I’ve been waiting to talk to you since I first heard about you.”

I take my hand back, confusion and trepidation building in me. “What have you heard?” I ask cautiously.

“Oh, nothing bad,” he says quickly. “I was actually going to talk to you about your café, if you don’t mind.”

He appears genuinely excited, and his green eyes are bright with interest.

He’s polite, warm, and appears intelligent.

Immediately, Devyn’s face flashes in my mind.

She would like him.

“Actually, that would be great,” I admit. “I’m happy to discuss anything surrounding it.” I tilt my head, curious. “What would you like to know?”

“I’m always looking to invest in smaller businesses and was wondering if you have any plans to expand.”

“I…”

I should have been prepared to talk about this, but I had no idea anyone would even bother to ask about it.

My tiny little café in the middle of nowhere?

What on earth would anyone want with it?

“Sorry, I know that’s kind of weird to just ask,” he laughs awkwardly. “Especially since we just met. But Liam and I were chatting, and he was mentioning how great your café is. And I was wondering if you would be open to a discussion.”

He cocks his head and grins, and again, Devyn flashes through my mind.

“Sure, I guess? If you don’t mind me asking, is there a reason you’re interested in my café?” I motion to the guests in the ballroom. “I mean, I’m sure there are more interesting businesses out there, or ones that could churn out more profit.”

“Ah.” He chews his lip and shifts his weight on his feet, looking a bit awkward.

VeryDevyn’s type.

“I own an indie coffee company and am always looking to spread my product out,” he says.

My ears perk up. “Wait? Really?” I gush. “My best friend and I are coffeeenthusiasts.We try our best to use local, ethically sourced coffee as much as we can. It’s one of the things I love the most about my shop.”

His grins so hard dimples show. “Yes! I want to work with cafés and hopefully spread the word about the product. If you like, I could even give you some first to try, and then you can decide if you want to carry it.”

I’m genuinely excited, and for a moment, I forgot about all the drama with Pack Axton.

But then I hear shattering glass and follow Connor’s confused glance.

To the side is Donovan, watching me with daggers in his icy eyes. The sound was from him squeezing his glass so hard it shattered in his hands.

13

APRIL

“Excuse me for a moment,”I say to Connor, who looks at Donovan with shock in his expression.