Chapter Five
Knox showered in Jade’s hotel room but had no choice but to put on last night’s clothes. He called the gift shop downstairs and had a T-shirt sent up to the room so he wouldn’t have to walk through the hotel in total formalwear.
After leaving the room, he stopped at the coffee shop in the hotel and ordered a coffee and an egg wrap to go, then he grabbed a taxi outside the hotel, gave the driver the address to his apartment, and sat back to enjoy his breakfast.
After spending last night with Jade and hearing her admit this morning that she was looking forward to seeing him again, Knox was in a good mood—even if the only time he would catch a glimpse of her was while they planned his sister’s wedding. Although he was happily paying, he wished Holly had had her mom to help her make decisions on things like flowers and cake. But Holly’s mother, Addison, was off with some guy in Palm Springs. Maybe it was guy number two or three by now. He only knew Holly deserved a mother who cared. Unfortunately, all she had was Knox. Even Theo, her brother by blood, didn’t give a shit about anyone except himself.
Knox’s cell rang as he let himself into his penthouse. A glance at the screen had him groaning.
Knowing he couldn’t put the caller off forever, he answered. “Theo. To what do I owe the pleasure?” The last time he’d heard from the prick had been the day Holly posted the photo of the two of them with Jade at the wedding expo, and Theo had laid into him.
“Dammit, Knox. Why Jade? Are you just trying to prove a point? That you can take her away from me like I took Celia away from you?” Theo asked, sounding even more pissed than the last time.
Knox couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “You’re kidding, right? Jade dumped your ass over a year ago. What we do now has nothing to do with you. Just like nothing about my life ever has… asshole,” he muttered more to himself than his stepbrother.
“I heard that.”
“And I don’t give a shit.”
“How do you think I felt waking up to find a photo of you and my ex on Page Six? Do you have any idea how many tags I got? People ragging on me? I told you to stay away from Jade,” Theo said, his anger barely controlled.
“And I told you I don’t answer to you.” Knox disconnected the call, then dumped his tuxedo jacket and shirt on a chair.
He placed the phone on the nightstand and plugged it in, then sat down on the bed. Bracing his hands on the back of his neck, he stared up at the ceiling, wondering what the hell was going on with Theo.
His brother was a lowlife piece of shit who only cared about himself, but still, his attitude worried Knox. If Theo’s focus was on Jade and not the playoffs, he’d never make it to the end of the season unscathed. And considering the fights he’d started on the ice and the sloppy way he’d played this season, Knox had no doubt his stepbrother was high on the Rockets’ trade list. And if he lost his position on the New York team, there was no telling who Theo would blame or what he’d do.
Knox hoped Jade wasn’t upset by the photograph taken of them. He’d have to check on her later, after her breakfast with her family.
His doorbell rang and he stood with a groan. “Now what?” Anyone who his doorman let up was on his approved list. Ted would call up before allowing anyone else past.
Which left Holly.
So he went to the door, expecting to see his sister. Not his ex-wife.
Beautiful in a cold, too perfect kind of way, Celia, with blond hair and icy blue eyes, was striking. Too bad there was no soul, no warmth behind the façade. He wished he’d seen it sooner and saved himself a lot of heartache.
“Celia. How did you get past the doorman?”
She placed a hand on the doorframe. “Ted always had a soft spot for me.”
“Poor sap can’t see past your beautiful face to the bitch beneath.”
She winced. “That’s cruel, Knox, but I understand. I hurt you. But time has passed and I was hoping we could talk.”
More like she’d seen the photo of him and Jade and, for some reason he couldn’t fathom, was jealous.
She leaned forward, exposing her generous cleavage that did nothing for him anymore. “Let me in, baby. We can talk about the good times we had. I’ll remind you,” she said, her voice deep and husky as she reached out to stroke his face.
“I don’t seem to remember any of those good times, actually.” He jerked away from her touch. “We have nothing to talk about. I’ve moved on. You should do the same.” He had no doubt she already had. This was a last-ditch effort to soothe her ego.
She withdrew her hand and clasped her fingers together in front of her. “I’m going to find a way to make it up to you.”
“Please don’t.”
She ignored him, and her gaze lingered on his, making him uncomfortable. “Goodbye, Celia.”
He closed the door without waiting to see if she walked away. And the first thing he did was pick up his phone and call down to the front desk. “Ted? Knox Sinclair. I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt this time and ask you to remove my ex-wife’s name from my visitors’ list. If any unwanted visitors get by you again, though, I’ll be calling the management company. Do we understand each other?”