“Now, what?” he asks.
I shrug, suddenly shy under his gaze. I don’t know what the right answer is, and I don’t know whatthisis.
“There’s a lot against us,” he says, quieter now.
The words cut through whatever haze I was still in and reality rushes back, bringing me to my senses.
“Right,” I say quickly, sitting straighter. “Of course. If you want to just forget it happened, then—”
“I don’t.” The firmness in his voice stops me. I look up at him, surprised. He holds my gaze. “I don’t want to forget it,” he repeats. Something in my chest tightens.Hope.“I want to see where this could go.”
“But what about all the things against us?” I ask quietly.
He studies me for a moment, like he’s weighing it all up. “Then we deal with them,” he says simply. “One at a time.”
“That sounds . . . complicated.”
A small smile tugs at his lips. “It might be.” There’s no hesitation in him. No doubt. “We’ll work it out as we go,” he continues. “No pressure, Wynter. We take it slow . . . see where it leads.”
“And if it doesn’t lead anywhere?” I ask, searching his face.
His expression softens slightly. “Then at least we’ll know we didn’t walk away from something before we gave it a chance.”
I nod. “Okay.”
His hand lifts to my jaw, his thumb brushing lightly over my cheek before he leans in and presses a softer, slower kiss to my lips this time.
“I’ll walk you back,” he murmurs against my mouth.
A couple of days have passed since Ray said he wanted to see where things might go between us.
So far, it’s been good. Better than I expected.
He hasn’t scowled at me once. But he’s also barely here because work seems to have swallowed him whole, and the few hours he does come home are in the middle of the night. He slipped into my room sometime after three this morning and was gone again before I woke at six.
Not that I’m complaining. Anika keeps me busy enough.
“Has Ray gone?” she asks as I wipe her mouth. I nod, and her eyes sharpen slightly. “I need a favour.”
My stomach tightens because her expression is telling me it’s going to be a big ask . . . one I won’t like. “Okay . . .”
“Luke’s coming over.”
I groan, already shaking my head. “Anika, don’t put me in this position.”
“Please,” she whispers, her voice cracking. “He’s talking about going for full custody of Sebastian. Since the last hearing went his way, he thinks the judge is on his side. I need to speak to him before this goes any further.”
“Ray will lose his mind if he finds out.”
“He doesn’t need to find out,” she says quickly. “He told me himself, he’s slammed today. He won’t be back for hours.” Like that makes this any less of a terrible idea.
The intercom buzzes, and I freeze. She looks at me, pleading, her eyes glassy.
And just like that . . . I cave.Again.
Luke Malone is even more annoying than the first time I briefly met him. He’s definitely the kind of man who thinks money makes him untouchable. His bleached-blonde hair is styled within an inch of its life, and he’s dripping in expensive clothes. There’s a look in his eye that makes my skin crawl.
He steps out the elevator, his gaze dragging slowly over my body like I’m something to be assessed.
