We’d talk. Careful conversations where neither of us says too much. Where I can hear her smile even when she's trying to sound professional. It's not enough. But it's something.
"Okay, so the remediation proposal she drafted..." My brother pulls sheets of paper from a folder. "EPA's initial feedback came back yesterday. They're impressed. She structured it so we're leading the cleanup voluntarily, which takes the teeth out of any enforcement action."
"That's brilliant," Lillianna says.
It is. Of course it is. Ivy's always three steps ahead, seeing angles no one else catches.
"She also negotiated a phased timeline," Sebastian continues. "Eighteen months instead of the twelve the EPA wanted. Saves us from having to rush and potentially cut corners."
"How much is this going to cost?" I ask. What I really want to know is whether she asked about me. If she's mentioned me at all. Did she forget about me as soon as we hung up?
"Twelve to fifteen million, depending on complications. But Ivy found grant programs for sustainable business practices. Could offset it by thirty percent."
Lillianna tilts her head, studying me and seeing all I'm hiding. "She's found a building for her practice."
“I know. She told me.”
“You two are talking?” she asks.
“A little.” Less than I want, but more than I expected when she walked out.
I want nothing more than to show up at that building with champagne and watch her eyes light up the way they did when she beat me to the pool. I want to pin her against the wall of her new office and kiss her until she remembers why she let me in her bed in the first place. I want to celebrate the woman who's brilliant enough to outmaneuver the EPA and stubborn enough to walk away from me.
But what I want doesn’t matter. It’s what she needs. And she needs time. So, time I’ll give her.
Lillianna smiles. “Good. That's great.”
Sebastian leans back in his chair. "Was it casual between you two?"
"It started that way. Hell, it was supposed to be two strangers on a train."
My brother's brows pull together. "Wait. What?"
I wave a hand. "Long story. But, to answer your question. She is so much more than casual."
"And?" he prompts.
"And she asked for space." I roll my shoulders, tension coiling up my spine. "So I'm giving it to her. I'm not going to chase her, manipulate her, or force her hand. She knows where I am."
"So it's over?" he asks.
"No, it will never be over. But I'm giving her the space she requested, and when she’s ready, I'll be here to show her that I'm the man for her."
My sister leans forward, elbows on the table. "And if she's not ready?"
"Then I wait."
"How long?" Sebastian asks.
I think about her in my library at 2 a.m., bourbon in hand, demolishing my arguments about the EPA. The way she beat meto the pool every morning just to prove she could. How she's the only person who's ever made me want to be better instead of just different.
"As long as it takes."
Lillianna studies me, then gives a small nod, like she's finally seeing something she'd been waiting for. "You really have changed."
"I'm trying," I admit.
Sebastian snorts. "Never thought I'd see the day where you'd wait for anything."
