“Yes?”
“Thank you. You’re the best.” I’d give her an extra quarterly bonus for having to deal with me.
I stewed for twenty minutes, thinking about what Walker had told me and how Jolyn was involved, then strode through the entryway to the check-in desk. Three hotel staff were helping others. I spoke to the fourth, a man wearing the blue and gold uniform, a brass name tag pinned to his chest withMathieuon it.
“Ah yes,” he said when I told him who I was. “Arrangements have been made for whichever room you like, sir.”
“Penthouse suite, please.”
“We have three available at the moment. Do you know which one you’d prefer?”
“Perfect. I’ll take all three.”
9
JOLYN
I paused mid-step,wishing I hadn’t come home at all today. My chest tightened to the point where I couldn’t take a breath. It was bad enough Emerson had returned, but to have Allan Croskey, our cousin, here as well made my skin crawl. The pair of them together… I’d found a pile of dead squirrels in the woods after Allan had left last time.
They sat in the drawing room, a chess board between them. From their postures, it looked like my brother was winning, as usual.
Before I could turn around and leave, Emerson caught sight of me. “Jo. Come here. I have something to tell you.”
I knew if I didn’t obey, he’d make it worse for me later. Especially if I acted contrary in front of Allan.
“What is it?” I asked, stopping beside them.
“You’ve been accepted to the University of Toronto in business, finance, and management. Congratulations.” He passed me a large brown envelope.
My stomach squeezed. “You’re opening my mail now?” I pulled out the crisp sheets of paper. “Wait. I didn’t apply for this program.”
“Father approved of everything.”
Could I have nothing of my own? Glaring, I turned away.
I should have expected it, but gasped when his hand snaked out to grab me. I wore a short-sleeve shirt today due to the warm weather, and his fingernails dug into the skin below my elbow, biting. I did my best not to react, even when Allan’s eyes were fixated on the spot where my brother held me.
“You haven’t thanked me.” Emerson spoke in a mild tone.
I clenched my jaw, eyes stinging with tears. “Thank you.”
“Set up the pieces. Watch them fall,” Emerson said as Allan tipped over his queen, his eyes crinkling in mirth when he let me go.
* * *
I should have been concentrating on the laptop in front of me, but my mind kept drifting to the man who’d left in a taxi three hours and forty-seven minutes ago.
While he was unconscious, I hadn’t been able to resist watching him sleep. He held the same magnetic force as when I’d been with him, but he was also different. Laugh lines accented the corners of his eyes now, a speckle of gray hair at his temples that only made him look sexier, and he’d let his facial hair grow, a light dusting of scruff along his jawline, instead of being clean-shaven like he used to be.
No matter the differences, he was still one-hundred-percent Landon, and irresistible as hell. There were moments while I watched him sleep, the pleasure of having him near outweighed the danger he’d put himself in to search for me. I’d stayed close, affirming to myself that he was okay.
At least he seemed to take me seriously and not go back to his original hotel. Marley had tracked his movements, noting he’d stayed away from MBI and Fort Pontchartrain.
I would likely never see him again, so nothing I felt right now mattered anyway. I needed to focus on destroying Emerson and all he stood for.
But…what if it were possible for a second chance? What if Landon found it in himself to forgive all the shitty things I’d done to him?Like there’s hope for that.
“This is stupid,” I said aloud, closing the laptop. If I couldn’t read more than a sentence at a time, then I was useless to Marley. I might miss something important. Standing, I paced the room, trying to clear my mind. Maybe I should go for a walk, or a run, orsomething.
