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Lily stared straight ahead at the illuminated numbers, but she could feel his gaze tracing the lines of her body.

Ethan did not even pretend to look away. He was blatantly checking her out.

His eyes dropping to the curve of her hips in her tailored skirt, then rising to linger on her lips with an intense, consuming hunger.

The enclosed space amplified the intoxicating scent of his cologne, making her skin prickle with unwanted awareness.

When the doors finally chimed open at the parking garage, Lily practically bolted out. She climbed into her car, dropping her purse on the passenger seat, and checked her phone.

A missed video call from Jason sat on the screen, alongside a text message.

Mom and Dad wanted to say hi, but I figured you were in the zone with the Vanguard stuff. We can try another time. Miss you.

Lily rested her forehead on the steering wheel, her throat tight with unshed tears. She was balancing on a wire, lying to the man who wanted to build a future with her, while falling right back into step with the man who had demolished her past.

She took a deep breath, clutching the leather wheel. It was almost over. In just a few days, the Vanguard deal would be signed. The project would close, and Ethan would board a flight back to England. Her life would go back to normal. And once the phantom was gone, she would sit down with Jason and have an honest conversation about everything.

Chapter Nine

Jason

Jason pushed the door of his truck shut, the metallic thud ringing through the concrete expanse of the parking garage. He leaned against the side panel for a second, a cluster of delicate pale lilac sweet peas wrapped in simple brown paper resting in his calloused grip. They weren't flashy or overwhelming, just effortlessly elegant. Exactly like the woman he was walking in to see.

He hadn't seen Lily in almost a week. Between the grueling final installation of the reclaimed walnut dining table at the Miller house and her brutal deadlines for the Vanguard pitch, they had been surviving on brief text messages and missed calls.

He missed her. It was a physical ache in the center of his chest. He missed the way she fit perfectly against his side, the genuine sound of her laugh when she finally let her walls down, the vanilla trace on her skin. He wanted to scoop her up and drive three hours north to the lake house near her favorite beach in Door County, just to get her out of the concrete grid of the city before autumn turned everything freezing and gray. Just the two of them, the crash of the waves, and a weekend to mend the strange distance that had crept into their relationship.

He locked the vehicle, gripping the wrapped stems, and walked into the sleek, glass-walled lobby of Bennett & Mendoza Consulting. The receptionist looked up from her monitor and offered a bright, welcoming smile. "Hey, Jason. You're just in time," she said, gesturing toward the elevators. "I just got off the phone with Sarah’s assistant. The executives are heading out now. They are just wrapping things up in the main conference room."

"Perfect. Thank you," Jason said, offering a grateful nod.

He rode the elevator to the executive floor, his heart drumming a steady, anticipatory rhythm against his ribs. The steel doors slid open, and he stepped out into the hardwood corridor. Up ahead, the frosted glass doors of the boardroom stood wide open. Three older men in expensive suits were walking toward the elevators, chatting amicably. Jason stepped aside, letting the Vanguard executives pass.

He approached the conference room quietly, hoping to catch her by surprise. Through the clear sections of the glass, he watched the scene unfold. Sarah and Lily were glowing. Sarah threw her arms around Lily, squeezing her in a fierce, victorious hug. Jason smiled, a wave of profound pride washing over him. She had worked so relentlessly for this. She had earned every single ounce of this triumph.

Then, the dynamic in the room abruptly shifted.

Another figure stepped into Jason’s line of sight. A man wearing a perfectly tailored navy suit. Ethan.

Jason froze. His heavy work boots suddenly felt glued to the hardwood floor.

Ethan stepped up to Lily and pulled her into a hug. Jason’s jaw locked, his knuckles turning stark white around the stems of the peonies. But what truly knocked the wind out of his lungs, what sent a cold shockwave straight down his spine, was Lily's reaction. She did not push the man away. She hesitated for a fraction of a second, her hands hovering in the air, and then she wrapped her arms around his waist. She hugged him back.

The gesture was not entirely defensive. It held a complicated, lingering gravity that made Jason physically sick to his stomach.

Jason moved closer, stopping right at the edge of the open door. They didn't see him. The roaring blood in his ears drowned out the ambient hum of the office.

"Congratulations, partner," Ethan said, his voice echoing in the large room. He stepped back, a terrifyingly confident, predatory smirk playing on his lips.

"We did the job," Lily replied. Her tone was strictly professional, yet laced with a fragile, fractured tremor. "Have a safe flight back to London, Ethan. I will email the final deliverables to your team by Friday."

Ethan reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a silver pen. He rolled it smoothly between his fingers. "I am not going anywhere, Lily."

Lily froze, the victory draining from her posture. "What are you talking about? The branding pitch is over. Your role is finished."

"The initial pitch is finished," Ethan corrected, taking a slow step toward her. "But Vanguard was so impressed by our synergy that they revised the scope of my contract. They asked me to stay on as their Lead External Consultant for the transition."

Lily’s face turned the color of ash.