After an awkward beat of silence, he finally refocused on her and said, “Yeah, I’ll stick with what I’m good at—building my father’s empire and making a shitload of money in property development for the generations of Morgans to come.” His tone was sardonic in a way she’d never heard before, and it piqued her interest.
“Do you ever plan on producing some of those generations to come?” It was a forward question, one she’d normally never ask, but her curiosity had let that one slip out before she could think better of it.
His eyes darkened again. Maybe she overstepped. She opened her mouth to apologize, but he cut her off.
“My sister is working on that,” he muttered. “My legacy will be the work I pour into the company. I’ll leave it to her and Gabe to provide offspring that can inherit it all. Ruby already shows a decent mind for business with her lemonade stands and dog walking flyers,” he added, referring to Gabe’s young daughter. “She’d make a hell of a CEO one day.”
“Joel, it’s okay to put business aside once in a while and take time for you. Build something outside of properties and apartment towers. Something for you. Maybe evensomeonefor you. There’s no reason you can’t have a partner and children of your own. If that’s what you want.”
Joel stared at her, an odd mixture of pain and resignation in his eyes. And she knew she was missing a big puzzle piece in the life of Joel Morgan.
“One thing I learned is that buildings and apartment towers can’t hurt me, but love sure as hell can.” Then he seemed to very purposefully soften his gaze, and said to her, “But if anything could tempt me to try for love again, it’s seeing how you’ve transformed since you accepted Sean as yoursomeone. It brings me a lot of peace seeing you so happy and in love after everything you’ve been through.”
Ivy was going to ask him what he meant by him trying for loveagain, but his mention of her being in love tripped her up.
“Oh, we aren’t—I mean, I’m not. We aren’t even a thing—really,” she was sounding ridiculous even to herself. “We’re just kind of seeing where it’s going. No pressure. You know, casual.”
Joel considered her a moment, then tilted his head back and let out a raucous laugh. “Casual. Right. ’Cause the way he’s looking at you right now hasno pressurewritten all over it? Ivy, before you lecture me on love, you might want to stop denying what’s clearly laid out in front of you.”
Taking her gently by the shoulders, Joel turned her so she could have his view of the ring.
Sure enough, Sean was standing where he’d been most of the evening. One of the other trainers was talking to him, but Sean was staring over the man’s shoulder, his gaze fixed on her. Even from a distance, his eyes burned with passion. And something else. Something definitely, 100 percent, not casual.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
The invisible thread between them tugged and tugged until Ivy was moving toward Sean without much conscious thought, like she was being reeled in. Except he was headed in her direction as if drawn by the same pull. By the time she’d reached the main arena, he’d met her halfway.
Lord have mercy, the man looked lethal in a black suit. Professional and powerful. Self-assured and in control. So, unlike she’d ever seen him and yet so fully himself, it was beautiful. He suited this image, just as he suited his athletic gear. His confidence made it so he was always in his comfort zone.
She didn’t even have a moment to greet him before Sean wrapped his hand around her nape and brought his mouth down on hers for a ferocious and crushing kiss. He inhaled her, and she let him, because she wanted to soak it all up. The taste of him, the smell of his heated skin, the sound of the low groan that rumbled from his throat, the softness of his lips as they fused with hers in a kiss that stole her breath and the last of her brain cells at the same time.
When he finally pulled away, she was gasping. For air, for sanity, for more.
“You are stunning,” he said in a thick, gravelly voice.
As heat crept to her cheeks at the compliment, she lifted a hand to smooth a piece of her hair. “It’s all Hope.”
“No. It’s all you, Ivy. Trust me.” He pressed her palm to his mouth. “I spent every second I wasn’t focused on the ring looking for you in the crowd, and once I found you, you were all I saw. I’ve never been so damn jealous of Joel in all my life. It should have been me who brought you here, sat with you, wined and dined you.”
“Joel brought me here, but you’ll be with me the rest of the night.” Ivy reached up on tiptoes and nipped at his lips. “You can wine and dine me now.” She nodded in the direction of the reception area where dinner was being served.
“Damn straight. It bothered me, knowing everyone must have thought you were his.” He pulled her in so that every hard line of his body pressed against hers. His head dipped, and his breath feathered hotly against her cheek. “I want them to know you’re mine, Ivy.”
He sounded so intense, looked even more so with his dark, demanding eyes, and her last whiff of feminism must have gone the way of her brain cells because, by God, shelikedit. She wanted to be his. More than that, she wanted him to be hers. She wanted to officially put an end to her stupid friend-with-benefits crap and call a thing a thing. She wanted—
“From now on, we’re a couple. Not fuck friends. Not a casual fling. Not lovers having a meaningless affair,” he said decisively, as if he gave zero shits that they were in a room filled with people who could easily overhear his heartfelt declarations. “From now on, there will be strings attached, Ivy. Commitments, expectations, labels.”
“Labels?” Her voice was a high-pitched squeak. She didn't know how else to respond.
He’d said all the things she’d wanted in her head and heart, and it seemed so surreal. So unlike anything she ever believed she could have.
“Yeah, labels. Like boyfriend and girlfriend. Like partners. Like you’re mine and I’m yours, and every damn person we pass on the street is going to know it because I like PDA, and I’m going to PDA all over you, until you feel me like a tattoo on your heart.” He lay his hand over hers. “Like I feel you on mine.”
She was pretty sure she was ruining Hope’s carefully curated look by opening and closing her mouth like a guppy, but she couldn’t help it. She was feeling all the feelings, but no words were forming coherently on her lips.
Sean grinned and pulled her up on her toes until she was almost eye level with him. He kissed her gently, then held her gaze.
“Blink once if you’re with me. Twice if you’re not,” he whispered, a smile playing at his lips, because dammit, the man knew her. Knew when she was speechless and not capable of stringing words together.
