Juniper Hill (The Edens #2)(63)

We piled into the car and Knox took the keys so he could drive. Then we set out for the Eden ranch.

My knees began to bounce as we pulled off the highway. I sat on my hands so they wouldn’t fidget.

Knox’s fingers drummed on the steering wheel, but unlike me, it wasn’t nerves. Energy radiated off his broad shoulders, and the grin on his face was intoxicating.

“You’re wired.”

“Yeah.” His blue eyes sparkled in the bright afternoon sun. “It’s the restaurant. Today was crazy busy. I’m still riding that wave.”

“You really love it, don’t you?”

“I really do.”

A pang of envy hit. “I don’t love cleaning rooms.”

He took a hand from beneath my thigh, threading our fingers together. “What do you love?”

What did I love? “I have no idea. I was never really given the freedom to decide.”

“You’re nothing but free now, honey.”

“Other than I need money to pay for rent and food. Speaking of which, you haven’t deposited my last rent check.”

“Haven’t I?”

I frowned. “If you don’t cash it, I’m moving into the loft.”

He chuckled. “I’ll cash it.”

“Thank you.” I glanced at Drake in the back and the mirror facing forward so I could see his face. His attention was rapt on the window and the world outside. “Mostly, I just want to spend time with him. More time.”

“You’ve got an Ivy League education. I bet if you started looking, you could find something online. People are working from home more than ever. Hell, if you want, we can turn the loft into an office.”

“Maybe.” That was so tempting. “But not yet. Not until I have some cash reserves built up.”

“I can cover you.”

“Thanks, but no.” My independence was too important.

“You’re stubborn,” he teased.

“Absolutely.”

He brought my knuckles to his lips. “I like that you’re stubborn. But I’d like it even more if you loved your job.”

“I don’t dislike my job.”

“That’s not the same.”

“I know,” I mumbled. “Eloise would not be happy with you if I told her you were trying to get me to quit.”

“Eloise wouldn’t be happy with me for a lot of things where the hotel is concerned.” He blew out a long breath. “My parents have been asking me to take it over.”

“What?” I sat up straighter. “When?”

“It’s been a discussion for a while. I haven’t really wanted to make a decision so I’ve put it on the back burner. But . . . I can’t ignore it forever. Their vision is to have all of the family businesses stay in the family. Griffin has the ranch. Lyla has Eden Coffee. The hotel is the next question mark and they’d like me to take it.”

Knox? Really? “Don’t get mad at me for this, but . . . I’ve always seen it as Eloise’s.”

He gave me a soft smile. “I’ll never be mad when you’re honest. And it is hers.”

“Then why wouldn’t they want her to have it?”

“She’s young. I love my sister’s heart, but there have been times when she’s led with that heart and made the wrong business decision. Mom and Dad just got out of a lawsuit with a former employee. It’s been . . . stressful.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize.” Eloise had told me a lot about her family and the hotel and Quincy in general, but not about a lawsuit. “Do you even want to run the hotel?”

“Not really,” he admitted. “But I’d rather take over than have Mom and Dad sell it.”

I grimaced. The hotel wouldn’t be the hotel without the Edens. Without Eloise.

“If I did it, hopefully nothing much would change. I don’t want to take Eloise’s job. But rather than her answering to my parents, she’d answer to me. And I’d be fairly hands-off, just there to step in for the harder conversations.”

Considering I rarely saw Harrison or Anne at the hotel, I doubted Eloise would mind going to Knox instead. Maybe she’d actually like having someone closer to bounce ideas off of. Still . . . why did this feel so wrong?

“Feels like a betrayal.” He voiced the answer to my unasked question. “Did you know that Eloise was named after our great-great-grandmother, Eloise Eden? It was her hotel.”

“She told me that on my third day.”

“She’s proud. She should be. She’s worked hard.” He waved it off. “Anyway . . . I wanted you to know. Get your thoughts. We don’t have to talk about it today.”

The nerves I’d been battling all morning spiked as we drove underneath a log archway. At its apex was the Eden ranch brand.

“Why am I nervous?” It wasn’t like I hadn’t met Knox’s entire family. His siblings were often at the hotel. His parents were too. Talia was Drake’s doctor.

But today was a family function at Harrison and Anne’s home. And I was the girlfriend joining a holiday gathering for the first time.

“You’ve got nothing to worry about. Well, except Eloise mentioned baking cookies. Steer clear of those.”