Chapter 42

Linny

I could get used to this.

I finger the edge of the small white card in my hand. It was delivered with a large coffee that was spiked with too much sugar and cream.

At first, I thought my dad had dropped the coffee on my desk after his afternoon run to the café around the corner, but then I saw the telltale small white envelope with my first name written on it.

It was a perfect match to the two that I’d received before from West.

My breath caught when I slipped the card from the envelope and read the masculine handwriting.

Us in your bed this morning: everything.

It had felt that way; like everything. Everything I’d always wanted in a relationship with a kind and generous man. Everything I’d always wanted in a lover.

Jeremy is becoming everything to me.

“I want those mock-ups on my desk by the end of the day.”

I hear my father’s voice approaching in the corridor, so I open the bottom drawer of my desk and toss the envelope and note inside.

Guilt wraps itself around my heart.

I can’t keep doing this. I can’t hide what I feel for West just to advance my chances at the CEO job.

“Linny,” my dad happily says my name as he rounds the corner and enters my office. “I got off the phone with Ivy Walker thirty minutes ago.”

I wrap my palm around the coffee cup, taking comfort in its warmth.

“I trust she had only good things to say about the Whispers of Grace campaign.”

I know that she did. I spoke to her myself this morning and her exuberance carried straight through the phone. I could feel her excitement over the increased interest in her store here in Manhattan and her website.

The next task she’s handed me is to create a buzz for her store in Las Vegas.

I’ve already been jotting down ideas.

“You knocked that one out of the ballpark.” He mimes hitting a ball with a bat. “It’s not often that we have a client who is that thrilled with the job we’ve done.”

I’ve done.

I want to correct him, but I don’t.

I don’t want Mitchell to earn an ounce of credit for this. I’m the one who put in the hours and effort to make Ivy happy.

“She told me about her store in Vegas.” He skims his hand over his head. “You’ll need to be there for the re-launch.”

The pain of what I did in Vegas a lifetime ago still lingers in my father’s eyes. I was twenty-one, foolish and naïve.

We never talk about it, but it’s always there like an invisible wall between us, keeping us a breath’s away from the closeness we shared before I went on that trip.

“I’ll handle it,” I say briskly. “I’ve started brainstorming ideas for that campaign.”

The corners of his mouth dip into a frown. “I’ll take the trip with you. I haven’t been west in years.”

Trust.

That’s what this is about. He doesn’t trust me to travel to Vegas and back without a life-changing mistake even though it’s been five years since I let him down.

“Am I missing out on a family meeting?” Mitchell appears in the doorway of my office. “What’s going on?”

My dad’s face brightens as he turns to look over his shoulder. “You haven’t missed a thing, son. I was just congratulating Linny on a job well done, and now it’s your turn.”

I don’t have the stomach to listen to my dad applaud Mitchell for his work on the bookstore account.

“I have something pressing I need to tend to.” I sigh. “Would it be alright if I caught up with you two later?”

“Of course.” My dad stands. “I’m proud of you, sweetheart.”

His words ring in my ears as he walks out with Mitchell, closing the door behind him.

I scoop my phone into my palm and text out a message to West.

Linny : Thank you for the coffee.

His response is instant.

Jeremy: My pleasure, angel. I had them make it just the way you like.

I laugh aloud, realizing that he must have been paying attention to how much sugar and cream my dad dumped into my coffee during our last meeting.

I start typing my response, my pulse quickening.

Linny: I’d like to cook you dinner at my place tomorrow night.

I press send and wait.

And wait.

Finally, his response pops up on my phone.

Jeremy: I’ll be there. Name the time and the wine.

My fingers fly over the screen before I press send.

Linny: 8 and bring a bottle of Rizon vanilla.

Jeremy: You’re a woman after my own heart.

He’s right. I am. I’m after his heart. I’m falling hard and fast for him. I hope with everything I am that he’s falling just as hard for me.