“Tell me something else.” She tilts her head. “Why ice cream? Of all things.”
I definitely wasn’t expecting that kind of question. It hits me hard in a place I usually keep locked down. But it's two in the morning and she's looking at me like she actually wants to know.
“My mom,” I say, spreading my arms out on the counter. “When I was a kid, she used to sneak me ice cream after dinner. My dad was strict about food, about everything really, but she'd wait until everyone was asleep and bring me a bowl. It was always mint chocolate chip. We'd sit in the kitchen and talk. It was our thing.” I shrug. “She died when I was seventeen. The ice cream thing just… stuck. Makes me feel close to her, like that part is still with me.”
She's quiet for a moment, her eyes wide with shock at my admission. “I'm so sorry.”
“It was a long time ago.”
“That doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt.”
No. It doesn't.
“You should get some sleep,” I say in a soft voice. “Tomorrow's probably going to be complicated.”
“Tomorrow's going to be a nightmare,” she groans.
“Probably. But we’ll always have ice cream.”
The corner of her mouth lifts. Just barely. Then she heads back to the bedroom. Reaper gets up and trots out behind her.
“Traitor,” I call after him.
His tail wags but he doesn't look back.
I wander back to the guest bedroom, collapse onto the bed, and stare at the ceiling.
My wife is sleeping in my room. My dog has abandoned me. And in the morning, we're going to have to start to figure outhow to run two empires while pretending we know what the hell we're doing.
This is fine. Everything is fine.
I close my eyes, willing myself to sleep.
A noise wakes me up around four. I shoot up in the bed and grab the weapon I keep under the mattress. Then I hear the elevator door open.
I jump out of bed and cross the room to look out the window.
She's outside running. At four in the fucking morning. In the dark. Alone.
Jesus Christ.
I pull on a hoodie, grab my sneakers, and dart to the elevator door.
This woman is going to be the death of me.
CHAPTER 11
ADRIANA
My feet poundthe pavement outside Lochlan’s building, my calf muscles tensing with each step. It’s quiet and dark, and being out here by myself isn’t my brightest move, but I needed to do something to drain the anxious energy that’s been rattling around inside of me. I chalked it up to a sugar rush, but it’s more than that.
It’s…him.The way he looked at me while I sat there sharing his prized mint chocolate chip, probably analyzing me as hard as I was him. The glimmer of fondness and love in his eyes when he spoke about his brothers. The way my heart hurt when he told me about his mom.
But more than that, it was impossible to sleep when the heat of his gaze had my insides on full boil.
Shit. I feel things. And I don’t want to feel anything.
But so much about him makes me feel like this may become less and less about a business transaction, and more about things I swore off years ago. Feelings make you weak. And I’m not in a position to be perceived as weak.
