Around us, the other guests continue to eat. Waiters glide seamlessly between tables with polite precision. In the corner, I see a woman cover a laugh with her hand, but I hear nothing above my own thundering pulse.
In the corner of my eye, Kyle nods over a huffed laugh. I don’t dare move. Lincoln’s hand on my shoulder tightens.
“You say that now,” Kyle says, still with a forced cheer. I won’t give him credit for much, but it’s clear he’s shrewd enough to recognize that no one here wants anything to do with him. And still, he keeps trying. “But I’ll convince you.”
Dinner is cleared from the table, and the distraction allows us all to take a collective breath.
Lincoln slides his hand to the junction of my neck and squeezes, and my breath catches in my throat. “I need to excuse myself for a moment. Will you be all right?” Goose bumps flood my body, tingling along my calves and shoulders and making my nipples hard. I fight the urge to cross my arms over my chest.
“Yes.”
He leans in and kisses my cheek before heading toward the bathrooms. I’m still blushing when Kyle runs his fingers down my arm. I flinch away from him, knocking Lincoln’s phone to the floor under my chair. Before I can move, Kyle leans down —too close, too close, too close— and holds it out to me.
His eyes drop to my blue corset top, and he better pick them up before I pluck them out.
“Your boyfriend,” he says, disdain dripping from every word, “dropped this. He should be more careful with his things. You never know when you’re going to lose them.”
I yank it out of his hands. “He doesn’t have anything to worry about there.”
“I’m not so sure,” he says, making my skin crawl. There’s something under his tone I can’t quite figure out. But before I do, he’s standing and throwing his napkin to the table. “This has been fun, but I’m a busy man with important people to see. Catch you all at the house next month. It’s looking like it’s going to be the best year yet.”
Nobody says goodbye, but it doesn’t stop Kyle from walking away.Good riddance, asshole.
Remembering Lincoln’s phone, I look down.
There’s a notification:
Thank you, Mr. Silver, for your ongoing contributions to PulseTM. As one of our top creators, your monthly earnings have been transferred to your account with a bonus to reflect the excellent boost in plays this month. Keep up the fantastic work!
When Lincoln returns, I stand, ready to get home and as far from Kyle as possible.
CHAPTER31
TAKE EVERYTHING, GIVE ME FOREVER
LINCOLN
“I need a hug,” Ivy says, throwing herself onto the couch before I’ve even registered the chime of the lift, the words muffled into my shirt because she’s already hooked around me like a bloody koala. No idea what I was doing ten seconds ago, because all I can focus on is how incredible she feels in my arms.
It’s instinct to hold her back. That’ll never be a problem. The issue will be never wanting to let go.
“I take it today didn’t go well.”
With her face still buried between my neck and shoulder, she shakes her head. Christ, she’s adorable.
I’ll never be able to give this up.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
I struggle not to laugh when she mutters a petulant “no” in response, then push my phone aside to run a hand along her back.
She sighs, and I feel her fingers curl tighter into my shirt.
My heart skips a beat.
“But you know what really annoys me?” she says. She pushes up off my chest, and then I’m staring up at an Ivy with fire in her eyes. “I knew taking this job would mean no benefits, but I didn’t realize it would be so mind-numbing. No phone, no music. They don’t even like it when I hum. Do you know what it’s like being in here with my thoughts all day?” She taps her temple. “Like a circus, but all the monkeys are played by that one guy from the Airflow commercial.”
In my life, I’ve been lucky enough to travel to over a hundred countries, and nowhere on earth have I met anyone as utterly captivating as Ivy Hawkins.
