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My heart skipped a beat as he pressed a tender kiss to my mouth. The kiss spun and coiled through me, zinging all the way to my stomach.
When I lifted my lids, it was like seeing him for the first time. The blue of his eyes, the flash of delight on his lips, the possessive gleam that spoke of desire and implied how much he wished we weren’t in a public place but back in his office with only each other.
How badly I wished for that, too.
“I’ll see you tomorrow night?” he said.
I took a deep breath. I had to kick my brain back into gear.
Ice skating. With Hawk.
“I—yes. I can’t wait.”
Tomorrow night. For some reason, with the worry still cascading from his body in waves, I foolishly couldn’t help but wonder if we’d make it that far.
TWENTY-EIGHT
hawk
The day after Christmas,and it was already back to business. Everything seemed to be in line for the production and manufacturing of commercial-sized bags. I stalked past the huge pallets of plastic waiting to be stuffed, inhaling the manufacturing floor’s typical smells of metal and fudge.
Several of the workers down here stopped adjusting and tweaking the machines they stood beside and waved. I waved back, making my way toward the exit and up the elevator, back to my office.
I’d worried the candy would lose its homemade quality, being packaged differently and in larger quantities, but my team assured me it wouldn’t make a difference.
The bag on my desk was proof of that. The candy was still as divine, and my mouth watered with satisfaction as I slipped it free from its wrapper and popped it in.
Reassurance shone with this decision. Revamping thepackaging and distributing it in larger commercial stores wouldn’t destroy the ma-and-pa feel of my stores after all.
Having commercial candy available only increased interest in people coming to the original boutique shops.
My financial advisor predicted this would double our profits. I was trying to determine the best use of those funds.
I sank onto the chair at my desk and lifted the lid to my laptop. The kids at the hospital. Jarom, Laura, Henry. Their sunny, eager gazes, the excitement in their cheeks. Their jokes, their smiles, the bells in their laughter. Those kids deserved help. Cures, college funds. I wanted to sponsor them somehow. I opened a search bar, only to pause.
The thought of college funds brought my thoughts back to the discussion Ella and I had had before we’d left the hospital.
I wasn’t sure what I expected when I told her about The Pact, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was brewing. Something I couldn’t see.
None of the other guys had come to the ball. I considered contacting Adrian, but if anything had happened with Gabby’s safety—or with The Pact in general—he would have reached out about it.
I hadn’t talked to Maddox or Duncan in a while either. Were either of them dating anyone?
Had they heard anything more about anything going on?
I decided to start with Maddox. Sinking back in my reclining chair, I swiped the screen on my phone and tapped out a message.
Me: Hey, dog. Anything new with the theme park?
Starting with a different question than the one I really wanted made it sound like I wasn’t contacting him just because I wanted something. He owned Wonderland theme park here in Westville—and numbers had been struggling for a while now.
Besides, I cared. Really.
His park was legit, with some cool attractions and killer rides. I’d gone a few times, which was why I was surprised it’d been sapped so hard all of a sudden.
Several minutes passed before the dots appeared on my screen.
Maddox: Attendance numbers sucked hard-core just before we closed for the season. How are things for you?
