Top Floor (Rendezvous #1)

Chapter 20

Luckily for Claire, Kane decided to clear up the misunderstanding and explained in detail as to why he was in Bishop Lodgings and speaking to Heath’s general manager. The whole time, Heath was silent and allowed for there to be an explanation before he finally commented.

“That’s fine.” He said before glancing towards the wider side of the lobby. “But that means you don’t really have business here today, right?”

Kane chuckled before he answered. “Not today, no. But now that I’ve said my appreciation to Claire, I’ll take my leave.”

Heath didn’t say anything as Claire quickly thanked him for visiting. Then he left.

Claire glanced at Heath to see that he was already staring down at her. She decided to man-up and fully faced him as she crossed her arms over her chest. “What?”

He stared at her for one second longer before he looked up towards the entrance doors. “You won’t want to hear it.” When Claire raised an eyebrow, he leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Let me rephrase that. You won’t want others to hear it.”

Then he stood up straight and saw that her lips were slightly parted in shock. Their fingers were still interlinked, so Heath ceased their contact, but he made sure that his fingernail scraped against her skin before they lost all touch.

Claire’s throat clammed up as she tried to fix her composure. Luckily, there wasn’t anybody looking at them any longer, though that was probably mostly because of the dark look on Heath’s face.

But then he did the unexpected.

He pressed his fingers into the indent of her back as he purposely leaned down so that his lips brushed against her ear when he spoke.

“Behave, Claire.”

She locked her trembling knees as he walked away from her with calm. Her glare had no effect on him as he glanced over his shoulder and smiled innocently at her. She gave him a furious look, but he just seemed amused by it before he disappeared around the corner.

Claire didn’t know how long she was standing there for, but soon enough, someone startled her by tapping on her shoulder. She jumped and turned around to see Mai grinning mischievously.

“Dinner’s at seven tonight, Claire.” Then Mai told her kids to say their goodbyes before they exited Bishop Lodgings. Claire groaned to herself, knowing there would definitely be an interrogation tonight, though she hoped that Mai would at least keep it a secret from Simon for now.

Who knows what he would do if and when he found out?

>>>>><<<<< 

“It’s Auntie Claire! It’s Auntie Claire!” Belle shouted as she jumped up and down at the doorway. Clay was right beside her, copying her with a grin on his face from the sight of Claire.

She stared down at them before narrowing her eyes. “Belle! Clay! What are you doing opening the door? What if I was a stranger? You can’t just allow anybody to get into your home! You have to wait until your mommy or daddy opens the door first!”