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"I can't wait for this weekend," she whispered, her fingers lingering against his lapel.

Jason stared down at her, a deep, rumbling laugh vibrating in his chest as he pulled her against his solid frame, holding her fast to his world. "Neither can I, Lily. Neither can I."

***

The door clicked shut behind Ethan, leaving a suffocating, vibrating emptiness in its wake. Lily stood frozen in the center of her office, her chest heaving as a visceral wave of revulsion washed over her. She wiped the back of her hand aggressively across her mouth a second time, desperate to scrub away the ghost of his forceful, uninvited kiss.

She dropped into her leather desk chair, trying to process the sheer whiplash of the last hour.

Just a short while ago, she had been floating. After leaving Jason by his truck—her skin buzzing, her heart soaring on a euphoric high—she had walked back into the agency lobby and practically collided with Sarah.

They had spent twenty minutes huddled near the reception desk, Lily breathlessly summarizing the coffee date and the incredible, undeniable shift in her universe.

She had walked into her office on a cloud, entirely unprepared to find Ethan brooding on her sofa like a proprietary shadow.

She had never expected that reaction from him. His arrogance, the sheer audacity to think he could force a physical connection and declare ownership over her—it was sickening. It proved exactly how little he actually understood her.

Lily pressed her fingertips to her temples, a resolute fire hardening in her eyes.

She needed to sit down with Sarah before the end of the day.

They had to restructure the entire campaign transition and cut Ethan out of their immediate orbit.

She refused to tolerate his suffocating presence for another minute, even if severing ties meant jeopardizing the enormous Vanguard account.

Her peace of mind, her safety, and her future were worth far more than a corporate contract.

She would tell Sarah everything, and they would handle the fallout together.

Taking a deep, cleansing breath, Lily forcibly pushed Ethan out of her mind. She refused to let his desperate ego taint the profound joy taking root in her chest.

Instead, she closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift back to the sun-drenched coffee shop. She thought of Jason.

She thought of the rough, solid texture of his calloused knuckles against hers, the scent of sawdust and pine lingering on his flannel, and the profound sincerity burning in his dark eyes when he told her he wasn't going to let things end.

He hadn't given up on them. Despite the wreckage, despite his own bruised pride and the jagged edges of their past, he had sought her out. He still wanted her.

Lily knew it wouldn't be easy. A single conversation didn't erase the hurt, and their fractured trust wouldn't magically rebuild itself overnight. There would be hard conversations ahead. They still had to navigate the emotional debris she had brought with her from London. But they were going to do the work. They were going to make it.

An unexpected vibration buzzed against the polished wood of her desk.

Lily opened her eyes and reached for her phone. The screen lit up with a new text message.

Jason: I know I said I wouldn't rush you, but this weekend feels a really long way away right now. Hope the rest of your afternoon goes by fast.

A brilliant, unrestrained smile broke across Lily’s face, entirely chasing away the last lingering shadows in the room. Her fingers flew across the glass screen, typing out a reply, her heart swelling with a blinding, beautiful hope for the very first time in what felt like a lifetime.

Chapter Eighteen

Lily

Lily pushed through the frosted glass door of Sarah’s office, locking it firmly behind her. The satisfying click of the deadbolt echoed through the space, providing a much-needed barrier from the rest of the corporate floor.

Sarah looked up from a stack of campaign mockups, her pen halting in mid-air. One look at Lily’s flushed cheeks and rigid posture was enough to tell her best friend that the euphoric high from twenty minutes ago had vanished.

"What happened?" Sarah asked, her protective instincts flaring as she stood up from her desk.

Lily paced the length of the Persian rug, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. "Ethan was waiting in my office. He ambushed me."