It’s just after nine when I pull Justine aside and whisper in her ear. “How do you think I did? Be honest.”

She just smiles coyly and runs her fingers over my tie, pulling me close to her. “I think you sold him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he invests.”

I can’t help but flash her a smile. “Good.”

She doesn’t let go of my tie. “Want me to get you a glass of champagne?”

“Nah,” I tell her. “I’m good. Actually, I have to get going.”

Her bottom lip juts out in a pout. “Why?”

“Dogs,” I tell her, tugging at my ear. “I have dogs. If I don’t take them for a walk, they’re going to shit everywhere.”

“When did you get dogs?”

“Yesterday,” I tell her. “I rescued two strays.”

She makes a face. It’s the reaction I thought I’d get. “Strays? You took in two strays and put them in your apartment?”

I shrug. “It’s the least I could do.”

“They might have fleas. Rabies. Who knows what disease?”

“They needed my help.”

She lets go of my tie but tries to look pleasant, giving me a thin smile. “Huh. Well, aren’t you just a giving man.”

“Someone has to be,” I say, an edge creeping into my voice.

“I guess,” she says, and steps away from me. “The world needs more people like you.”

I raise my brows. “Does it?” I can read the insincerity in her voice. It’s the line that people say when they don’t really believe it. It’s what they say in order to make themselves look like they care.

She takes a sip of her champagne and starts looking around for someone better to talk to. Who knew that just mentioning stray dogs would turn her off? If I’d known that, I would have talked about Lionel and the organization from day one. Then again, it wouldn’t have led me here to right now and I still have to do what I can to make sure it goes through.

I give her most charming smile, and from the way she blinks at me, I can tell she’s dazzled by it. I rarely use it, and when it’s sincere, it’s never meant for people like her. “I really want to thank you, Justine,” I tell her, grabbing her wrist delicately. “For inviting me here. This means a lot to me, and to Bram, just to have your father want to do good in a world that needs it. His help is really appreciated. And yours has always been.”

She softens a little bit, but she’s still regarding me with a wariness that wasn’t there before. Gone are the days of footsie under the table and eager hands in the back of a cab.

I lift her hand to my lips and kiss the back of it. “Take care,” I tell her. “And if you don’t mind, I’ll have Bram get in touch with your father.” With my other hand, I show her the business card her father gave me.

“Sure,” she says. “I’ll let him know. Take care, Lachlan.”

And that’s it. Though it was a lot to get through, it’s over now. It’s not quite time to celebrate, not until Bram and Justine’s father talk and work out the kinks, but I have a feeling it’s going to work out. The man was sold on what I was selling him.

I quickly exit the ballroom at the hotel and get into a waiting cab. I should go home to the dogs first, but the reality is they’ve probably already made a mess, so what’s the difference? I might as well tell Bram the good news.

It’s not long before the cab is dropping me off at the Lion. It’s a Monday but it’s still surprisingly busy.

I stride into the noisy, dimly-lit bar and immediately get a lot of looks. It takes me a minute to realize I’m wearing a suit and tie and I stick out like a sore thumb here.

“Look at you!” Linden hollers from a booth in the back. He’s sitting with Bram, Steph, and that fucker James. “Secret agent man, working for M.I. Six!”

I walk over to them and stand at the end of the table, hands jammed into my pockets. “Do you want to hear the good news?” I say to them, rocking back on my heels.

Bram’s eyes widen. “How good?”

I shrug. “Nothing is a done deal. But here.” I toss the business card on the table. “That’s his info. I had a very lengthy conversation with him. He wants to invest.”

“What?!” Bram yells, nearly jumping out of his seat.

I raise my palms. “Don’t get excited, mate. As I said, nothing is certain. But he’s interested. He heard me out. He wants to help. The ball is in your court now.”

Linden looks at his brother. “I think this is a cause to celebrate.” He looks back at me questioningly. “You do think we can celebrate, right?”

“If you want,” I say. “If we’re going on vibes and feelings alone, then I’d say yes.”

Bram lets out a whoop of joy and Linden pats him on the back. James gets up and says he’s grabbing some drinks so I slide into the booth next to Stephanie. She’s being oddly quiet, smiling at Bram and Linden but not quite looking at me.

Of course this in turn makes me want to look at her.

“Where’s Nicola?” I ask. “And Kayla?” I add, as if it were an afterthought.

It wasn’t.

Stephanie looks at Bram. “Well, Nicola is at home because Ava wasn’t feeling well. And Kayla was here…” They exchange a loaded look. Finally Stephanie sighs and turns to me. “Look, Linden told me you were on a date with Justine.”

My head whips around to look at Linden, who shrinks from my gaze.

“And,” Stephanie continues, “I told Kayla that.”

Now I’m staring accusingly at Bram. “You know that wasn’t a date. You practically forced me to do it.”

“I know!” Bram exclaims. “I know. By the time I got here, they’d already told Kayla and she’d left. She was upset.”

I groan and place my head in my hands. “It was just to secure the investment. That’s all.”

“I tried to text her that but she’s not answering me,” Steph says. “The messages aren’t being delivered. She must have turned her phone off.” She briefly puts her hand on my shoulder. “I only told her because she asked where you were and I didn’t want to lie. I know she likes you…I just didn’t think she had it that bad for you.” She pauses. “Honestly, she’ll kill me for saying this, but you’re making her behave like…I think she’s head over heels.”

Hearing that makes me both warm and cold at the same time.

“Did you and Justine…” she starts. “You know…”

I glare at her and she moves an inch away from me. “No, we didn’t. But still.” I get up just in time to see James approaching with a bottle of sparkling wine. “Tell me where she lives,” I say to Steph.

“What? You’re going to go over there?”

“Yes,” I say, bringing out my phone. “What’s her address?”

She tells me and I enter it into my phone. “Thank you,” I tell her, then I turn on my heel and walk off. Bram calls after me but I don’t turn around. Let him celebrate. This is his baby, his project. This is his passion.

I need to go fix mine.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Kayla

I floated through the entire day, as if on cotton candy clouds. It didn’t matter that I’d only had a few hours of sleep or that my eyes were rimmed with plum colored circles. I didn’t care that it was Monday, that I hate where I work now, that I won’t be joining the ranks of the writers on the other side of the office.

I know I should care about all of that. I know that on Sunday morning it was still a big fat splotch on this new future I had somehow built in my head.

But Lachlan, he’d erased everything. He’d taken over everything in me and had replaced all the shit with…well, I don’t know what. Something to look forward to. Something to look back on.

Fuck, I needed to see him again. He’d said we could do coffee this week, but I didn’t want coffee this week. I wanted him now. I wanted to quit work and just go back to his apartment, show up at his door like they do in the movies, and maul the shit out of him. That kiss was everything and still just the tip of the iceberg. If his lips could leave such an imprint on me, I couldn’t wait to see what else they could do.

I checked my phone obsessively throughout the day, wondering if he would text me. Wondering if I should text him. I lamented that the normal Kayla, the one who had no problems chasing after men, was missing in action. I was scared to hear the word “no.” I was scared to fuck something up before I even had a chance to have it.