“Yes, sir—” He swallowed. “Cyrus. I meant to say Cyrus.”
I chuckled. “Sure, you did.”
Fuck. I enjoyed knowing I could strike fear into the hearts of certain others, but I’d never meant to become someone the business owners I dealt with were afraid to report back to.
My insights weren’t vital to the success or failure of most of their enterprises, but I liked to think they knew they could come to me for help if they needed it. Eddie was right, even if he had said it in more of a Luna way than a me way. I had invested a whole bunch of money into most of these businesses.
I’d invested a shit ton of money into this particular business, and if it had tanked because he was too afraid to speak to me, I’d have ripped his fucking junk off and fed it to him with a spoon.
I’d rather have any of the business owners come to me than fail just because they felt they couldn’t approach me. On the other hand, I’d never wanted any of them to approach me.
“If you don’t mind me saying, Cyrus, you’re looking well,” Eddie said cautiously. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in such a good mood.”
I laughed and raked a hand through my hair. “Yeah, well. I had a good weekend. Relaxing.”
Despite my nerves and misgivings about Luna meeting my brother and his fiancée, the night had gone better than I ever could have wanted it to. Drinks at the bar had given me insight into Luna beneath the surface and had also taught me that we shared some of the tragic events in our pasts, and then as an added bonus, I’d gotten to make her come a couple times before she fell asleep.
It had been the best night I’d had in a while and I’d ridden the high of it ever since. I’d also convinced myself to stop overthinking all the confusing shit and to just live in the moment with her.
That was what I did best anyway and I didn’t see why I had to change now. I grinned at Eddie and gave him a casual shrug. “Yeah, well, finding out that you guys are climbing so fast in one of the up-and-coming industries to watch sure doesn’t hurt.”
Eddie’s eyes slid away from mine to focus on someone off screen. When he focused on me again, he reminded me of the shy kid who had first pitched to me two years ago. “Actually, Cyrus, now that you mentioned our climbing, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about. Something that we think will give an edge over even our biggest competitors.”
My brows rose and I rested my elbows on the armrests of my chair, linking my fingers together across my stomach as I inched my face closer to the screen. “Oh? What’s that?”
“It’s a bit of a long story to get into over a call, but maybe we can schedule a meeting sometime.”
“I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to make it to your neck of the woods for at least the rest of this month. Texas isn’t exactly on my way to the gym, you know?”
Eddie chuckled. “True, but didn’t I see your name on the guest list for that entrepreneurial event coming up in Venice?”
“Um, yes. Yes, you did. I’d almost forgotten about it actually.” Mostly because I’d pushed it to the back of my mind while waiting for Luna’s answer, which still hadn’t come. “Thanks for reminding me.”
“Sure thing. We’re going as well. Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Should we find some time while we’re there to meet up?”
“Great idea. I have some meetings scheduled there already, but let me check my calendar, and I’ll let you know when I’ll be able to see you.”
“Whenever you’re available, we will be,” he assured me but then bit his lip. “The only presentation we’re really keen on going to is the one that’s being made by Landon Parker. You know the guy who—”
“I know who Landon Parker is.” My good mood slipped some and the muscles in my hands tensed.
Landon Parker was the man now married to my ex-wife. Which meant that the She-Devil was going to be there in all her smug glory. Fuck my life.
“Let me tell you what,” I said, interrupting Eddie again. “I’ll send you a few times that I’ll have available. You pick the one that suits you best and we’ll meet then. Congratulations again. I’m proud of you guys, but I really need to run.”
After he said goodbye, I ended the call and groaned as I buried my head in the heels of my hands. Why the hell did she always have to make these appearances in my life whenever I was least expecting her to?
Not for nothing, but I fucking hated my ex. If I showed up single again, she was going to wipe the fucking floor with me.
Of course, she wouldn’t do it to my face where I could defend myself. No, I’d spend the entire time hearing from random strangers how I was still hung up on her, how I’d never get over her, and how she had really been the driving force behind my success.
It was bullshit. All of it.
Fury rolled through me like a thundercloud, taking my previously good mood and threatening to dissolve it for good. Clinging to thoughts of Luna since I didn’t want to be taken over by the darkness that I associated with my ex, I slowly felt the cloud disappearing.
Once it was gone, there was nothing I wanted more than to see her. Luna was messing around with some arrangements when I walked up to her back door, and I watched her through the small window.
She was swaying to the beat of music I couldn’t hear, a smile etched onto her face as she plucked a flower from this bucket and that to add to the arrangement. Before I could startle her again, almost as if she felt me watching her, she turned to face me and her eyes zeroed in on mine.
I saw her mouthing my name as I opened the door, unable to keep a smile off my face. “Hey, babe. Looking good. Don’t stop on my account.”
Bringing her in for a hug as the door swung closed behind me, I buried my face in her hair and let the sweet, floral smell of her chase the last wisps of the darkness away.
She hugged me tightly, then pulled away to look up at me. Her big blue eyes found mine, and though there were questions in them, I was stunned again by how crystalline and deep they were all the same time.
“Hey, Cyrus. It feels like I’m having deja-vu, but did we have plans for today? I thought you were just going to call me when you were done with your conference call, not come over.”
“Isn’t a visit better than a call?” I dropped a kiss to the tip of her nose. “I wouldn’t have been able to do that over the phone, would I?”
“No.” She sighed and ran a hand through the long ponytail her hair was pulled up into. “I wish you’d called, though. I’m busy with these arrangements for a corporate event tonight. It was a last-minute order, but I couldn’t turn them down. I could have saved you the trip.”
“Worth it to be able to hug you for a minute.” I meant it as a joke, although also not really, but Luna just looked uncertain.
Eventually, she smiled up at me and pressed a kiss to the corner of my lips. “Yeah, it’s good to see you too, big guy. I really need to get back to it, though. I’m supposed to deliver these just after five.”
“Can I see you tonight?” I needed to talk to her about Italy and it couldn’t wait any longer. “Please?”
“I’m sure I can fit you in,” she joked, making a show of removing an imaginary diary from her pocket and paging through it. “Ah, here we go. It says I’m having dinner with you at my place at seven. Apparently, I’m cooking.”