“Do you think she’ll fold?”
“Not a chance in hell,” she answered bravely. “But then that will be that. And I’ll do what I please with no one left to stop me.”
“And your inheritance? Your future?”
“Well, if I know my mother, my money, home, and relationship with her will disappear, as will my place at Bower along with any opportunity to do something meaningful there. I suppose I’ll get a job in public service somewhere, another charity maybe. Anywhere, as long as it makes me happy. That’s really all I want—to be happy. And as for my future, well”—she looked up at me with timid hope—“that depends on you.”
Sweet God, when you look at me like that … I thought, pressing down hope of my own, reluctant to accept the implication that she wanted me until I knew for sure.
“If your happiness depends on me, I could deliver as soon as right now. Every thought since I first met you has been chased by the memory of you. But what I want is secondary to what you need. Maisie, you need to be sure. I can’t …” let you in, lose you, lose myself “Are you sure?”
She considered the question for only a heartbeat. “When I think about walking away, I don’t feel afraid. I feel relieved. Would you be on the other side?”
“I would be,” I said quietly.
Worry gathered her brows. “I’m not the only one who has something to lose. What about your family? Your future? The lawsuit? Wouldn’t I put you in danger too?”
“It’s nothing I can’t handle. The lawsuit would likely get harder, yes. But it would be easier to ruin your mother if you weren’t in the room—I can’t deny that.”
She chuckled.
“My family will love you, and renouncing Bower would go a long way in terms of brownie points.”
Her lips curled up in a smile. “You said will. Not would or could, but will.”
“I did, didn’t I?” My mind raced with possibility, my smile light with the fantasy of having her after believing I never would. But that smile fell as I searched for pitfalls. “What happens if your mother accepts your terms?”
The weight of that question made itself known.
But she answered, “Then I suppose I’ll have to add a term to that ultimatum. You.”
I could have burst out of my skin and taken flight. “But not yet,” I amended, stroking her hand, watching her lips. “Don’t put yourself on the line for me, not until you know. In the meantime, we’ll keep it a secret.”
“Until after the lawsuit,” she added. “It’ll give us time to figure out what this is, and we’ll know where the chips fall. If she finds out before …” Her face fell. “If we think she’s bad now, she’ll be impossible once she finds out. And your family will pay for it.”
“Don’t worry—we’ll do our best to make sure she doesn’t find out until we’re ready, until all this is over. It’ll make it easier to break the news to everyone if we know who’s won and lost.”
“Exactly, and it won’t put any more stress on your mother.”
“What about yours?” I asked.
“I couldn’t give a good goddamn about what stresses her. And if today goes like I think it will, it won’t matter.”
“And the lawsuit? Will she keep forcing you into the middle of it?”
That smile of hers widened. “I’ll give her that, because it will allow one very useful thing—I will be privy to every move my mother makes. Which means you will be too.”
“A spy, huh?”
“Why not? It’s one of the few ways I can help you. Because what she’s doing is cruel, and if I don’t do something to try to stop her, I won’t be able to live with myself.”
“Maisie,” I started, my heart thudding painfully in my ribs as I gave her a final out, “I don’t want to be something you regret.”
“If I can have you, it’s because I’ve made a choice for myself. And I could never, ever regret that.”
“Come here,” I said, my throat tight as I tugged her hand and leaned back to make room for her.
She took the signal, standing to make her way to me. I snagged her waist the second she was within reach and guided her into my lap.
Her arms wound around my neck, her eyes on my lips and breath shallow. And I looked into her eyes, cupped her face, and wondered if I was already lost.
“Maisie?”
“Yes?”
I thumbed her bottom lip, savoring the feel of her weight in my lap. “I’m about to kiss you, right here in this café, in front of all these people. I’m about to taste the lips that have haunted me since I tasted them last. I’m about to kiss you, Maisie, and when I do, I’m—”
Her lips crashed against mine, hard with determination, mine firm from surprise. But a heartbeat was all it took for the sweetness of her mouth to soften, to open, to meld in a seam that sealed more than our lips. It sealed a promise, a wish, a longing I’d believed would never be satisfied.
And if I learned anything from that long, languid kiss, it was that satisfaction was guaranteed.
The kiss slowed, stopped, and when she leaned back with heavy lids, she laughed. “I’m sorry, but I thought you’d never shut up.”
I stole another kiss. “Come to my place tonight. I’ll make dinner, and you can tell me what happened with your mother.”
Her smile faded, the light in her dimming at the mention. “At least it’ll give me something to look forward to.”
“Yes, it will. Whatever happens, I’m here. Just say the word.”
“Thank you. For all of it, Marcus. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet.”
But she smirked. “Don’t tell me what to do. I think I’ve had enough of that.”
“Should I ask you to kiss me again?” I baited with a tilted smile.
“Oh, no—you can tell me to do that anytime you want.”
And she granted my wish, just like I’d hoped she would.
11
Pavlovian
MAISIE
Against all odds, I found myself kissing Marcus Bennet, curled up in his lap like a cat, boneless and braindead in his arms. At eight-something in the morning. In front of twenty people.
And I couldn’t have been happier about it.
We parted with a sigh, the blue of his irises barely visible for his wide black pupils. Both of us smiled sheepishly.
“Tonight at eight.” His words came out rough and hot, words that said we would be doing a lot more than eating dinner and talking about my mother.
My stomach flipped at the thought.
“I don’t want to leave,” I said, fiddling with his lapel.
“I know. But go do what you need to do. I’ll send you my address. Just let me know what happened when it’s all said and done.”
“I’ll probably be on my way home to pack my things,” I joked, not at all joking.
“You never know. Maybe she’ll surprise you. She’s good at that.”
“It’s one of her special gifts.” I slid off Marcus’s lap, ignoring the looks from a few surrounding tables. When I turned, I bit down a smile at the sight of him discreetly adjusting his pants before standing.