Chapter 41

Caroline's eyes fluttered open to see Kirk smirking at her. "What are you doing?" he asked, amused.

Immediately, her face flushed red. "N—nothing!"

"But you closed your eyes just now—"

"I was … I just couldn't make myself look at the tie." In her haste, she told him the first excuse she could come up with. She looked around the spot she was standing in, trying to think of a way to get out of this predicament.

Suddenly, the painting he'd given her popped into her mind, and she mumbled, "I—I have to keep the painting somewhere … I'm going back to my room." With that, she darted out of the dining room and into her room, closing the door with a bang.

Kirk watched her the entire time. As he stared at the closed door of her bedroom, the smile in his eyes faded and was replaced with his usual icy look.

He'd almost lost control of himself … and he'd never done that in front of a woman before!

Maybe Sean was right. Maybe he did like Caroline a bit. But that didn't mean that it was l