Page 55 of Let Me Love You

Lana

You better not leave the group message!

“Mommy, I’m so happy,” Summer says, pulling my attention to her and off my annoying best friend.

She’s the easiest girl to make happy when all I need is hot chocolate. “I’m glad to hear that.”

Victor strides over with the three mugs strategically in his hands and places them onto the table. He sits across from us again and passes us our own drinks.

“Why are my two girls smiling over here?”

My heart does a flip. “Summer was just telling me she’s so happy.”

Victor turns to Summer. “All I need to do is get you some hot chocolate and you’re happy? I’ll have to remember that.”

She shakes her head. “No. I’m happy because I’m drinking hot chocolate with Mommy and Bubba.”

“What’s the difference?” Victor asks.

“Before it was only ever with Mommy, but now you’re here.”

Her simple words wring out my heart like it’s a shirt that’s been soaked through. Our lives have been lonely ever since my mother passed away, and Harmony went off to college. But I didn’t realize until now how much Summer felt it, too.

I go to reach for Summer’s hand, but Victor beats me to it. “I’m glad I can be here with you then.”

A series of flashes go off, and when I turn my head, one of the girls who was at Seb’s birthday party stands there with a camera. She flashes me a smile before sauntering off. Wow. Not a single ounce of shame.

Don’t those fuckers know not to photograph my innocent, young child?

Victor reaches across the table. “I’ll do my best to have those pictures deleted and to stop them from doing that again while we’re with Summer.”

I know he means it, but that will never happen. For the next year, this will be our lives.

Chapter 25

Victor

After back-to-back virtual meetings with my marketing team, the development team, and Mr. Lexington, I push up from my temporary desk in one of Sully’s spare rooms. When I had insisted on staying at a hotel, he convinced me it would be best for everyone if I stay with them while there’s still an active threat roaming around.

How can I argue with that?

I pull out my phone and check my messages. Two emails and a text message. One email is from Rose and has the XT Phone in the subject line. No matter how much I want to ignore her, I can’t if she has something for me about the launch.

Serenity’s name pops up, and my heart does a little tap dance inside my chest.

Matt’s name appears in my email. He could have information about the intruder at Serenity’s. And before I can allow myself to get lost in Serenity, I need to find out what he has for me.

I open the email. My eyes scan the whole message, which only contains three sentences, and my heart plummets.

Mr. Barlowe,

I traced the mark on that guy’s wrist to a gang in Boston. I’m not sure of his identity yet, but I have a man I trust to send in to infiltrate the Wilted Rose. So, with your permission, I will send him in so we may find out more.

Matt

I email back immediately and tell him to have his guy go as he planned and I’ll give them each a fifty-thousand-dollar bonus if they get me the information I need. With that handled, I pull up Serenity’s text.

Serenity