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"Why did it take so long?" Ethan demanded, standing up, unable to contain the boiling jealousy in his veins. "What happened out there?"

Lily dropped her purse onto the desk, her expression hardening. "That has nothing to do with you, Ethan."

"That contractor is not man enough for you, Lily," Ethan fired back, closing the distance between them. "He will never be on your level. He doesn't even know how to treat a sophisticated, intelligent woman like you."

Lily stared at him in sheer disbelief, her mouth parting to form a scathing retort.

Before she could utter a single word, Ethan reached out, grabbing her arms and pulling her against his chest. He crashed his mouth down onto hers, kissing her with a desperate, punishing force. The contact set his blood on fire, his body craving the connection, aching for the woman he knew was his.

The kiss lasted mere seconds. Lily shoved her hands against his chest, pushing him backward with surprising strength.

Ethan let her go, stumbling a step back.

Lily wiped the back of her hand aggressively across her mouth, her eyes blazing with fury. "What is wrong with you?"

"Lily—"

"No," she cut him off, raising a hand in a strict command. "You are confusing everything. Just because I stopped treating you like an enemy, and just because I understand what happened in the past, doesn't mean we are getting back together. You crossed a line. It is much better if we go back to keeping our distance."

Ethan’s chest heaved. He raised his hands in a placating gesture, smoothing his expression into a mask of composure. "I apologize. It will not happen again."

She glared at him, her breathing rigid and angry.

"If you need to be with this guy right now because you think you like him, fine," Ethan said, his voice dropping to a smooth, unbothered cadence. He adjusted the cuffs of his suit. "Go ahead. But I will always wait for you. You and that man are not going to last. And I will be right here when you finally see that you were made for me."

Without waiting for her to respond, Ethan turned and walked out of the office. He strode down the corridor, his chin held high, confident that it was only a matter of time before she came back to him.

Chapter Seventeen

Lily

Lily crossed the sunlit pavement, her heart hammering a frantic, deafening rhythm against her ribs. Hope and terror warred violently in her chest, tangling her breath as she closed the distance between herself and the gray pickup truck parked by the curb.

"Hi," she whispered, her voice barely carrying over the drone of downtown traffic.

Jason pushed away from the driver’s door, his broad shoulders shifting beneath the well-loved, worn flannel. He offered a small, tentative smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling against the glare of the late-afternoon sun. "Hey, Lily."

Her gaze swept over him, absorbing every detail—the scuffed work boots, the faded denim, the faint exhaustion shadowing his features. The reality of his presence hit her all at once, thick and overwhelming.

"It was just a business lunch," she rushed to explain, the words tumbling out in a breathless, protective panic. "Ethan and I together, I mean. We were having lunch with Vanguard's marketing director. Nothing else."

"I know," he said simply, though a shadow of lingering tension remained in his eyes. He shoved his hands deep into his front pockets, shifting his stance against the asphalt. "I actually came by earlier to see if you wanted to grab lunch. But you had already left the office. I should have called first."

"You’ve been here this whole time?" she asked, a piercing ache twisting through her chest.

"Sort of," he admitted, tipping his head toward a modest corner diner down the block. "I grabbed a booth over there to eat something while I waited and to keep an eye on the street."

A dizzying rush of butterflies exploded in her stomach, heated and electric, colliding with the profound magnitude of his dedication.

Jason cleared his throat, his gaze softening. "Do you want to grab a coffee? If you're too busy, we can schedule something for later."

Lily’s mind flashed right away to the video call scheduled with a tile supplier in twenty minutes. She didn't hesitate a second. "I'm free."

As they began walking side by side toward the café, her fingers darted into her purse, wordlessly tapping out a quick message to her assistant to reschedule the supplier meeting.

They stepped into the peaceful, sun-drenched coffee shop, the scent of roasted beans and toasted cinnamon wrapping around them. When it was their turn at the counter, Jason didn't even have to ask. He ordered a caramel almond milk macchiato—her exact favorite, the one he always surprised her with at the office whenever he had a spare minute, and the exact same cup he brewed for her every Sunday morning when they spent the weekend together.

He carried their cups to a small wooden table tucked near the front window, the afternoon light casting long, amber patterns across the grain.