“If you’re doing all of that, why did you come back?” Lake asked, his voice suddenly serious.
“I think you know why.”
Lake’s green eyes grew cool and hard, like little glittering emeralds as his jaw clenched. His gaze broke away from mine, looking around the room.
“So, you’re going to do it, huh?” he asked, looking at me again.
We’d argued about that so many times in the past. He thought it was foolish of me to pledge my life to someone that I didn’t love or even care much about. He’d argued that I would grow up, and my views and feelings on the matter would change. I’d argued that I’d remain loyal to my beliefs and upbringing.
Lowering my lashes, I inhaled deeply and exhaled.
“Lake, let’s not do this. It’s been ten years since we last saw one another, and I don’t want our reunion to be as stressful as our departure was.”
“Is that what this is, Z?”
I smiled at the nickname only he’d ever called me.
“You know what I mean.”
“How long?”
Blowing out a sigh, I laughed nervously. “Five months.”
“So, I’ve got just five months to make you change your goddamned mind? Couldn’t you have come back before now? Or reach out to me so I could find you in New York.”
Although a smile was on his sensual lips, there was an underlying current of hostility in his tone and a steely look in his eyes.
“Would you have come?” I whispered.
Hurt tinted his eyes, making them appear brittle like shards of glass.
“You know that I would’ve.”
“I don’t know that. I wasn’t the one that pushed you away, Lake.”
“It was a mistake, I...I had a lot of growing up to do.”
“Maybe it was for the best then. It was time for me to start my life, and the position opened in New York...soooo.”
“And now you’re back...to marry that guy.”
“It’s not like I had much of a choice. There was no one that I would rather have in my life except for the one guy who always held my heart,” I teased, winking at him, trying to lighten the moment.
“Yeah, well, I couldn’t tell the way you cut all ties to me when you left. I’d have taken you as mine in a heartbeat, Liltee,” he joked.
“We both know that’s not true. Besides, you had several women at your disposal, and you weren’t ready to settle down. Your words, not mine. Doesn’t matter; we both know that you’re not the settling type, Lake. And besides, Sheffield Tech is my destiny, my inheritance, and the only thing I’ve ever desired—”
“Save the speech,” Lake growled through clenched teeth, clasping his hand on my bare upper arm.
Chills ran through my body.
“Come here,” he said, dragging his hand down to mine and pulling me out of the reception room into the hallway.
“Where are we going?” I asked, glancing nervously over my shoulder at the reception doors.
“Somewhere we can talk in private,” he gritted out until he found another smaller reception room.
Closing the door, Lake dragged me halfway across the room and trapped me against the wall with his hands on either side of my head. A fire burned in my belly as my chest heaved up and down at his nearness.
“Z, tell me...are you going to let them fuck up your life like this?”
“My life isn’t fucked up as you call it, Lake. I had a choice in the matter, and this is what I want! This is the same conversation we’ve had a million times or more. You know where I stand on the issue. Ten years hasn’t changed that.”
Lake took a step closer to me, confusing my emotions, when I noticed the darkening of his eyes and his hooded stare. I’d thought we’d moved beyond this.
“Do you still feel the same,” he asked, dipping his head, the warmth of his breath caressing my neck.
“The...the same as what, Lake?” I struggled to find my voice.
“That Daddy knows best?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m grown, and the notion of love and romance is for fairytales. It has nothing to do with my reality. I’m a responsible adult, and Sheffield Tech is mine! I’ll be damned if I just throw it away when I’ve thirsted for this, hungered for this, worked my ass off...hell had wet dreams to this!” I said, jabbing my finger to the floor.
“Responsible adults do what’s in the best interest of their lives, not what Daddy says,” he replied, dipping his head closer to me.
Lake’s fiery tongue dragged along the curve of my neck.
“Mmph,” I moaned. “Wha...what’re you doing?”
My fists clenched at my side, my mind, and body at war with each other. Logic appealing to me that I could not, would allow nothing to come between me and my dream. I needed to stop immediately. Yet, my body, starving for his touch and hungering for more, put up a compelling battle.
“You never lived your life. Not really. Not with this shit hanging over your head,” he said as his lips hovered over mine.
I took a brief step back before bumping into a wall.
“Nothing was hanging over my head. Again. I had a choice. I chose Russell and Sheffield. We’re getting married, and I...I’ve grown to love him in the years since I’ve been away.”
“Sure you have. Don’t you remember that summer?”
Glancing away from him, I said, “That was a foolish incident for two foolish kids. Not an entire summer. Besides, it was a mistake, and you had a girlfriend. Several. And you were clear on where you stood.”
“Do you love him?”
“I told you I do.”
“If that were true, you wouldn’t let me do this,” he said, taking another step closer.
“Do what?”
Lake’s hand went up to cup the side of my face as he brought his lips crashing down on mine, a groan escaping his throat as if he’d finally found his way home.
To my dismay, my arms lifted and locked around his neck, clinging to him. Wishing I never
