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Lincoln is finishing lighting the fire just as I enter the living room. He’s placed a couple of cushions on the floor for us to sit on.
“It’s colder at night in the house. That’s the problem with stone houses. Come and sit down by the fire.” He passes me a supersoft gray blanket and I make myself comfortable beside him. It’s the closest we’ve been since he zipped my dress up for me, and his familiar aftershave assaults my nose.
I’ve missed that.
The warm orange glow from the fire illuminates the entire room.
It lights up Lincoln’s handsome face but highlights his deep bags under his eyes. He looks tired.
He passes me a hot mug of chocolatey liquid. “Are you okay?” His voice is full of concern. “Have you been crying?”
“I’m still jet-lagged. I’m no good without sleep. Makes me emotional,” I lie, then I blow the top of my hot chocolate before I take a sip. Oh, that is nice.
“Me too.”
According to his dad, he hasn’t slept for weeks.
He clears his throat. “So you’re here?” He stares into the crackling, dancing flames.
“Yeah,” I whisper.
“You left your father’s business?”
“It was time to move on. I get job offers all the time. I needed a change.”
“And my dad made you a good offer?”
“Yes.” I can’t wait to manage the suspended restaurant. Who knew that the quick conversation Lincoln and his dad had about building a suspended restaurant high over the cliffs of Castleview Cove, the same evening Lincoln’s mother reappeared, would change the course of my career and life? “Your dad asked my dad if he could steal me.”
Lincoln shakes his head back and forth in astonishment. “He always does the honorable thing.”
“You’re just like him.”
“I’m not. He’s a much better man than I am. He wouldn’t have left you.”
It still hurts to think about that day. Knox wouldn’t let me wallow in sadness. He told me that Lincoln needed time to discover what it was like without me. Knox was right. Lincoln has been beating himself up since he left Santa Monica. He hasn’t been out with friends and has stayed in every night since his return, playing computer games.
“When did you arrive?” He wraps his hands around his mug.
“Two days before the ballroom meeting.”
“Where were you staying?”
“Ella and Fraser’s house.”
“With Pom-pom?”
“Yes.”
“And how did you get Pom-pom here? Did he not have to quarantine?”
“No. He is microchipped, has a pet passport, and he has all of his vaccinations.”
“And your belongings?”
“Shipped them express the first week. They’ve been at Ella and Fraser’s house.”
“That simple?”
