Page 160 of The Silver Fox Brother

"Well, my brother was your type as well. For a while."

The words land like a stone dropping into still water. My stomach twists. The mention of Rowan puts a sour tone on the moment, briefly popping the bubble we've been floating in. Knox sets down his wine glass and looks at me.

"What did you see in him anyway?"

The question catches me off guard. He continues before I can answer.

"His boyish charm?" The sarcasm is evident in his tone.

I look down at my plate, then back at him.

"I don't know. It seemed like a good fit at the time. Convenient. It made sense."

I pause.

"At the time," I add.

Knox nods slowly, taking another bite of his food. He follows it with a sip of wine, his eyes never leaving mine. He's studying me like I'm some sort of hidden code he's trying to decipher.

I deflect. "So what was your type?"

Knox raises an eyebrow.

I continue. "I mean, you are one of the most eligible bachelors on the East Coast. Probably the country. You're a very sought-after man for business and perhaps more." I pause.

"Weren't you jet-setting with some model last year?"

Knox smirks. "Is that a question or are you just being facetious?"

I lean back in my chair.

"No. I think your reputation precedes you.THEKnox Sterling of the Sterling Dynasty. Featured in Forbes not once but twice. Bloomberg. GQ." I smile, taunting him slightly.

"Ladies love Knox."

His face goes deadpan. "I have dated. Nothing really ever stuck."

Now I'm curious. I lean forward.

"So you were never married? Never engaged?"

"Never married," Knox says.

"Probably the last time I came close to asking a woman to marry me was almost ten years ago. But it ended before I had to get down on one knee."

I nod, listening.

He continues. "I've dated some high-profile people and some not-so-high-profile people. It's all the same in the end."

The words tumble out of my mouth before I can think them through.

"What about kids? Do you want that? Do you want marriage? Do you want a family? A name to carry on the Sterling legacy?"

Knox looks at me and cocks his eyebrow.

"I've created my own legacy."

He pauses, swirling the wine in his glass.