Page 126 of This is a Kissing Book

“I guess I should try to get some sleep,” I say finally.

“Yeah. Me too.”

As I head back toward the guest room, I remember the letters I wanted to keep safe in case Drecken’s men were looking for them. I pull them out of my bag, running my fingers over the faded ribbon.

These belong to Linc. To his family’s history.

I leave them outside his bedroom door without reading a single word. Whatever secrets they contain, they’re his to discover.

September arrives with crisp morning air that makes the whole city seem to stand up straighter after months of wilting in the heat.

Back at Meridian, it’s business as usual—if you can call investigating insurance fraud and dodging corporate espionage usual. Recalling my very first encounter with Linc—over the phone—and everything since, I leave a chocolate on his desk. It’s something of a peace treaty. A love note.

I visit Wendy and Carmen on the thirty-third floor because I miss them and need something normal in my life. I stop by the coffee cart in the lobby and grab three pumpkin spice lattes.

“Jules!” Wendy practically bounces out of her chair when she sees me. “We were just talking about you.”

My old office is already decorated for fall, complete with delightfully plump ceramic pumpkins, sprays of silk autumn leaves, corn husks, seasonal flowers, and candy corn overflowing from a glass bowl. It’s wonderfully, aggressively cheerful and just what I need.

“How’s life working with the boss’s son?” Carmen’s eyebrows bob as she accepts her latte gratefully.

I let out a long exhale. “It’s …” I pause, trying to find words that won’t reveal too much. “Like a corn maze.”

Wendy almost chokes on her drink. “A spider’s web?”

Carmen adds, “Are you bewitched and bewildered?”

We all dissolve into laughter, which makes me feel alive again.

“So what you mean to say is things are complicated?” Wendy leans forward, eager to hear more.

“We haven’t defined things,” I admit.

Carmen points out, “And there’s the whole HR issue since he’s technically your boss.”

Wendy says, “That’s temporary, though, right? I thought he was only supposed to be here for the summer.”

The first day of fall is a week away. Soon, kids will be heading back to school, the leaves will start changing, and Linc will go back to whatever his real life is—yachting? Partying? Gallivanting the globe? I have no idea. The thought makes me feel like I’m dropping rapidly to the building’s ground floor.

“True,” I say, sipping my latte to avoid their knowing looks.

They pepper me with more questions, but I play dodgeball by asking about work gossip and office politics. Still, when I go upstairs, I feel lighter. Ordinary friendships and normal conversations are the things that keep me grounded.

When I get back to the thirty-ninth floor, I find Maxine exiting the side door of Linc’s office.

“Can I help you, Ms. Drecken?”

“Just dropping off some files for Abraham.”

“You can leave them with me.”

She glances over her shoulder. “Oh, he’ll find them.”

Something about her shifty gaze and the slight tremor in her voice makes me remember that she’s after his job—not that he’s exactly eager to take it for himself.

In the coming days, Linc is busy with “business,” whether that’s shady dealings with thugs, uncovering fraud schemes, or regular, straightforward reports, I’m not sure. But a mere week into fall, he and I are on a plane to Las Vegas for Mom and Brad the Dad’s anniversary party as if everything between us is … well, normal.

Linc insisted on flying us first class, which means I spend most of the flight trying not to gawk at the differences between the seating placements, complete with actual legroom. Even so, it’s hard not to fidget with the edge of my seatbelt.