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I link our arms and smile to myself, looking back at her phone on the counter. She’ll need to come back to get it.
When we get to the elevator, I peek toward the door to the stairwell, then down at my watch, making sure there’s not a chance of us bumping into her parents sneaking into the penthouse. It’s close. I silently will the elevator to hurry the fuck up, feeling Ava’s hand slip onto my arse under my jacket. She wants constant contact too. I bet that changes when she finds out her parents are here. And that sucks. But, I will be setting the standard. Making sure everyone in our lives knows the deal. “I should make you give me an apology fuck here and now,” I say quietly, definitely not wanting her parents to hear that if they happen to be close enough to listen.
“Do I owe you an apology?”
“You do.”
“What for?” I see her thinking hard, searching for her crimes. There are plenty, and I’m sure more to come.
“You owe me an apology for making me wait too damn long for you,” I say, and she moves in closer, humming her happiness, as we step into the elevator when the doors open. I can’t lie, the urge to have a quick fuck against the wall is fierce. Her parents are already getting in my way.
Unreasonable?
Not at all.
But I resist, and we reach the ground floor with both our clothes intact.
Clive kills me as we walk through the foyer, nodding like he’s on some covert operation, avoiding Ava’s eyes. And now...
“Oh, Kate rang,” I say, pointing the fob at my car. “You should probably call her back.”
“You answered my phone again?” Ava asks, going to her bag where her phoneisn’t. “Jesse, I’ve left my phone in the tower.”
The tower? That makes me a knight in shining armor. Now, as I said, I would usually be a gent, put her in the car, and go get it for her. But today, I can’t be a gent. I huff and puff and pull my car door open and, bless her, she looks apologetic. I’m such a dick. I give her my keys and tell her to hurry up, and as soon as she’s back in the elevator, I go to Clive’s desk. “You can come up now, Clive,” I say over a laugh as he peeks around, checking the coast is clear. I slide his compensation across the desk, and he slips it straight into his hat. I look over my shoulder when I hear voices. Sam and Kate, but no Drew? “Where is he?” I ask, looking between them.
“A deal’s gone south,” Sam says. “He’ll be late.”
“Where is she?” Kate asks.
“She forgot her phone. Or, I made her forget it.”
“Crafty. Are Elizabeth and Joseph up there?”
“Yes, waiting for her in the kitchen.”
“Oh, I love it.” Kate claps. “She’s gonna shit her knickers.” And then she launches herself at me, hugging me to death.
“Fuck,” I blurt, my damn back exploding into flames. “Kate.” I reach back and disconnect her vise-like arms from my back. “Ease up, for fuck’s sake.”
“Shit, sorry.” She frees me. “You’ve done some crazy—”
“Okay.” I hold up a hand. “Today is a good day. Yesterday never happened, okay?”
Sam smacks my arm. “Congratulations, mate.”
I should rip him a new arsehole for being Kate’s bitch yesterday, checking the coast was clear for Ava to escape The Manor, except I don’t, because everything was okay in the end. “Thanks.” I go to the elevator and hit the button, pulling in my jacket, taking a breath. “Let’s do this.”
“I spoke to Elizabeth earlier.” Kate is like a jack-in-the-box. “She said you asked Joseph.”
I smile. Not really, I didn’t have to. “Listen, Ava’s brother will be here soon.”
“Dan?” Kate blurts. I look at her, curious. “I mean, sure, of course he’d be here.”
Odd. “You okay?”
“Fine.” She gives me a toothy smile as I step into the elevator. “Will you give me fifteen minutes?” I ask. “Cathy and Luigi will be here soon too.”
“Sure.” Sam puts himself in a chair and pulls Kate down onto his lap, and the doors close, carrying me up to the penthouse. I check myself in the mirror. Fix my hair. Smooth down my suit. And then walk up and down the small space, one hand in my pocket, feeling at her ring.
