“Says who?”

He smirked. “It’s written all over you.”

I no longer held the relaxed position of someone who didn’t care. My hand was clenched around my bicep, my fingers tapping against my arm.

“Fine. I want her. Happy?”

“Not really. It’s the first time you’ve wanted someone longer than the time it takes to play and get yourselves off. What gives? What makes Elena different?”

A good question. What made me want to give her the world on a silver platter when the most I cared for a woman before was whether or not she was interested in what I liked. “She’s different.”

I was saved by another knock on the door. “What?” I snapped, irritated with all of the interruptions.

Brock stepped into the room, his jaw clenched so tight I thought it might break under the strain. He acknowledged us as he stepped into the room.

“Who pissed in your cheerios?” Miller was still having trouble keeping himself from laughing.

Brock growled at Miller. Before he had a chance to strangle him, I redirected Brock’s attention to me. “What do you have for me?”

No small talk, no preamble.

“Palmer is completely aware of how he should and shouldn’t behave in the future, if he wants that future to be a bright and happy one.”

“I had a feeling he’d understand once you’d had a nice discussion with him.” As much as I hated doing any of the business at the restaurant, the whole situation needed to be handled immediately.

“We had a nice long chat about how he remembers hearing certain things about Elena.”

That sobered Miller up. “What happened with Elena?”

I sighed, not wanting to explain it but knowing Miller wouldn’t let it lie if I tried to push him off. “Some dipshit client approached us outside the movies last night, wanting to talk about the money he owes.”

“Jesus Christ. I hope you told him to fuck off.”

He was now sitting up straight, his eyes bouncing back and forth between Brock and myself. Miller was almost always a hothead. He probably would have done a lot more to Palmer.

Brock took the seat next to Miller. “Palmer and Tolley bet at the same place downtown. Sports. Not your place. Miller,” he added. “Way Palmer told it, Tolley was in there boasting about how he pulled one over on you. That no one in their right mind would want his dumbass wife.”

I slammed my fist down onto the desk. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me? How has someone not seen to this asshole before? He must have enemies.”

Brock shook his head and I knew he was as puzzled as I was as to why Dominic Tolley was still walking, let alone breathing. In our business, guys with big mouths didn’t last long. It only took one piece of information to fall into the wrong hands, and the whole house of cards could come crashing down.

And trust me—no one wanted to be that guy.

“How did Elena take that?” Miller asked.

I scoffed. “Not well. Claimed I was using her as a fucktoy and didn’t really want her.”

“Jesus. That some fucked up shit. What the hell are you going to do about it?”

I moved to face Brock. “I want you to pay that bastard a visit today. Make it very clear that he’ll owe me every goddamn dollar if he doesn’t stop sharing our deal with the fucking world. If I didn’t think I’d take it too far I’d visit myself. But we need this guy breathing.”

Brock stood. “Will do. I’ll make sure he understands.” There was no mistaking the menace in his tone.

Once Brock closed the door behind him, Miller moved to the chair in front of my desk. “What are you going to do to fix shit with Elena?”

“I fixed it last night.”

“No, brother, you put a Band-Aid on it. Something that big doesn’t get sorted overnight. If she means as much to you as I think she does you need to make it very clear that she’s your priority. That you want her above anything else.”

“And how do I do that?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Take her somewhere she’s never been. Do something that shows her you pay attention. That she’s on your mind.”

Maybe Miller had a point. “When did you get so soft?”

“Fuck you. I paid a lot of attention to Mom and Dad. We work in a business that would scare the shit out of most women. You find a good one, you’ll want to keep her. If you want to keep her, you need to show her that you won’t let the business interfere with your life with her. That you can separate the two. Keep her safe.”

A plan began to form in my mind. Something she’d never done and probably wouldn’t get the chance to do again, unless she stayed with me. The question was whether I could pull it off or not.

CHAPTER 20

Elena

“Wake up, sleepyhead.”

My eyes opened slowly to find Ashton sitting on the side of the bed. In a suit he was sexy; in a pair of jeans and a tight T-shirt, he was what dreams were made of.

“Morning.” A quick glimpse at the window and I got confused. “Umm . . . or night? What time is it?”

“It’s almost three in the morning.”

He pulled back the covers and I did my best not to swallow my tongue at the way his jeans stretched across the curve of his ass. I sat up and attempted to straighten the rumpled mess that was my hair, making myself somewhat more presentable. In comparison to him, I’d never come close. He gripped my fingers and pulled them up to his lips.

“Don’t. You’re always beautiful.”

He left no room for argument, although it didn’t stop the blush from staining my cheeks.

“Thank you.” Still not great at accepting compliments, I attempted to change the subject. “Why are you up and dressed?”

Picking up the bag at the end of the bed. “I have a surprise. I need you to get up and get dressed.”

“But—”

“No buts. Get your sexy ass out of that bed and get dressed. I’ll wait for you downstairs, otherwise we’ll never get out of the house.” His heated gaze traveled down my body. Reaching down he adjusted himself, staring at me longingly as he sucked in a deep breath, before walking out the door.

I sat for a moment, feeling my heart dance in my chest as I wondered what on earth he could have planned. There had been so many surprises—each one more wonderful than the last. I pulled the sheets up to my face and grinned.

“Hurry up!” he called from the stairwell.

Jumping from the bed, I washed up quickly and threw on the jeans and T-shirt Ashton had left on the bed. I’d been too busy staring to notice the outfit earlier. Pushing my phone into the back pocket of my jeans, I took the stairs two at a time. It might be the crack of dawn, but it had been a long time since anyone surprised me. And with Ashton, each surprise was better than the last.

“Ready?” he asked, shaking the car keys.

“Yeah.”

I reached for the bag at his feet, but he pushed my hand away and picked it up himself. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked as we walked down the steps to the Bentley already waiting in front.

“Nope.”

I stuck my bottom lip out, hoping it would get me more information, but after he’d loaded the bag into the trunk and rounded the car to open my door, his thumb swiped over my bottom lip.

“It won’t work, Elena.” He opened the passenger door and gestured inside the car.

“Fine.” I slipped into the seat, listening to his belly laugh all the way around the front and into his own seat. It was hard to keep up the pretense and not laugh with him. By the time we pulled out of the drive, I’d given up and giggled right along.

I had a hard time sitting still during the whole drive. Theories about where we might be heading flipped through my head at such speed, I could barely keep up with them. Ashton turned the car into a small airport, pulling up and parking behind one of the hangers.

“Flying?”

“We are, but I’m not telling you any more.”