Chapter 21
AVA
I was on a private jet, nestled into a luxurious cream leather seat that probably cost more than my car.
I even held a glass of champagne that was perfectly chilled and poured by a flight attendant who looked like she belonged on a fashion runway.
This entire lifestyle was surreal. Lincoln’s life—penthouses, jets, and private islands—was so far removed from mine.
I watched him over my glass. He sat in front of me, frowning at his phone.
“Everything alright?” I asked.
He looked up, and his expression softened.
“Of course.” The tiniest smile lifted his lips.
“I just got a text from a client expressing her disappointment that the toilet does not flush the other way in Australia. I don’t know why she felt the need to share that with me.
” His eyes swirled with a mix of amusement and bewilderment.
I laughed. I’d learned that his clients were mostly rising stars in their late teens to early twenties, and they adored him.
That said a lot about the kind of man he’d become, and God help me, my emotional walls were crumbling by the day around him.
It was getting harder to remember why I shouldn’t lose my heart to him again.
“It’s like I have a bunch of adult children running around the athletic world,” he joked.
“I think it’s sweet how comfortable they are with you. Jaden gushes nonstop about you. A good portion of his feature is about his amazing agent, who got him this far.”
The slightest tinge of pink—you had to squint to see it—seeped into his cheeks. “He gives me too much credit.”
“I think it’s well-earned. I’ve seen firsthand how you go above and beyond for these kids.
Agents don’t typically protect their entire well-being the way you do, Lincoln.
” Most of them just wanted that ten percent.
Of course, I learned that Lincoln donated his income as an agent to charity.
I had wondered why a retired billionaire athlete felt the need to work, and I finally asked.
His revelation had left me stunned. I thought it was so sweet.
He just kept giving me reasons to fall back in love with him… not that I had ever stopped.
“Well, I care about the rascals as much as they drive me up the wall with silly texts and insane questions at all hours of the day.”
Jaw propped on my hand, I studied him. He was so good to other people’s kids. I bet he’d make a great dad. My thoughts came to a screeching halt.
Whoa!
Why would my mind go there? Just because he was sweet to his “kids” as he sometimes called his younger clients, just because he was a sort of my hero right now, helping me with my investigation, and just because we had the most insanely amazing sex, did not mean I was falling back into his charming trap.
I gulped and sat up in my seat, no longer relaxed.
Lincoln’s eyes narrowed on me and moved over my face. “Are you okay?”
“Great.”
He wasn’t convinced. “Does your shift in mood have anything to do with those phone calls you get at all hours of the night? The ones that make you look like you want to jump out of your skin?”
I glowered at him for squeezing that in. I knew he’d been dying to ask me about it.
“No.” It was the truth. It wasn’t my psycho ex-fiancé that had me scowling, but my ex-boyfriend, who was… incredibly sweet. Damn him. He was reeling me back in, wasn’t he?
“Are you ever going to—”
“No.”
He snapped his mouth shut and sighed. “Fine.”
“I’m going to take a nap,” I said, getting up. I didn’t want him to give him the chance to ask me anything else because I just knew he’d been about to ask me about my failed engagement. I practically saw the question in his eyes sometimes when we were alone.
“You can nap right here,” he suggested.
“That bed looks more comfortable.”
The look he gave me said he knew I was full of shit, that I just wanted to escape his curiosity, but he didn’t comment.
After dodging a personal and painful conversation with Lincoln, I dozed off for a bit.
When I woke up hours later, we were in Belize.
We then boarded a helicopter to get to the island he owned, miles away from the mainland.
When we touched down on the helipad nestled between palm trees, I was left breathless by the beauty of the place.
We were surrounded by white sand and turquoise water.
My head stayed on a swivel, taking everything in as we made our way to a villa.
It was like something out of a dream. The two-story structure was made of white limestone, glass walls, and open terraces.
There were other smaller but equally posh villas lined up on either side of the main building.
“Lincoln, this place is unreal,” I gushed when we stepped inside.
He smiled, stopping beside me to look around. “Yeah. I love it here.”
Inside the villa was even more stunning. The open-concept space had tiled floors, crystal chandeliers, and white sofas. The scent of salt and sea drifting from outside added an atmosphere of peace.
Two men came in behind us, carrying luggage.
They offered quick, friendly greetings and moved along.
Lincoln had hired a full staff for his birthday bash.
There was an event planner, bellhops, caterers, bartenders, housekeepers, you name it.
I turned in a slow circle, eyes darting around, so I wouldn’t miss anything.
When Lincoln moved, I followed.
“I saw scaffolding and construction equipment from the helicopter,” I said.
“When I bought the place, I intended to turn it into a resort.”
“Oh.”
He grinned at me. “What, did you think I made billions from football alone?”
I shrugged. Logically, I knew he had to have his hand in other investments to make that much money.
“So when will this resort be in full swing?” I asked as we stopped outside a door.
“Actually, I’ve been having second thoughts about that. I mean, this place offers me so much solitude when I want to get away from it all. It almost seems a shame to make it open to so many people.”
I nodded. A private island to get away from the realities of life now and then sounded like a dream. “Yeah,” I murmured, examining the hallway. “I get it.”
He pushed the door open and went inside. I took one step and froze. My eyes went straight to the explosion of bags and boxes scattered on a king-sized bed, chairs, and the floor. It was like a boutique showroom.
“This is your room,” Lincoln announced, mentioning nothing about the dozens of shopping bags. The names of prestigious brands were scrawled on some of them.
“Okay…” I blinked. “What is all this?”
“Your stuff,” he replied casually.
“I don’t remember buying all this… stuff.” As if I could afford any of it. I glimpsed a Louboutin shoebox among the masses. I’d never even dreamed of spending that much money on one pair of shoes.
“I did.” He rubbed his neck sheepishly. “I may have gone overboard.”
“Overboard?” I scoffed. “This looks like a fashion week showroom! And I never asked you to buy anything.”
“I wanted to do something nice for you.”
I glanced at a Cartier jewellery box set on top of a gown bag. “Nice would be buying me a drink or two, not this. This is…” I swept the room again. “Too much.”
“You’re my girlfriend,” he said with a shrug. “I can buy you nice things.”
I snorted. “I’m your fake girlfriend, Lincoln. And that’s only when we were around your celebrity friends.”
Lincoln looked mildly embarrassed, with a barely visible tint of color creeping into his cheeks. “Fake though our relationship might be, you need to look the part. The things are yours, Ava. Accept it.”
I scoffed, ready to berate him for forcing me to accept his generosity. While I was aware that the meager wardrobe I’d left Springfield with wouldn’t fly in a place like this—I didn’t plan on attending A-list parties and billionaire birthday bashes, after all—I hadn’t asked for any of this.
Before I could tell him my mind, he said, “Oh, and our rooms are adjoined. I’ll see you when you get settled in.”
He dashed toward a closed door.
“Don’t you dare try to run,” I warned.
He stopped and slowly turned around, wearing a teasing smirk. “So close,” he murmured.
I fought my urge to smile back at him because that’s what Lincoln did to me. He made me want to fall back into our easy banter. “Adjoining rooms? Really?”
He sighed. “Look, Ava, I know it might be weird for you, though I’m not sure why. We’ve been sleeping together for the last few days.”
Heat spread through my face, to my neck, and shot lower to my core.
Not just sleeping together. We’d been having crazy, amazing sex.
Honestly, sex with Lincoln had become an addiction.
I found myself being jealous of every other woman he’d been with after we ended.
To think I had missed out on years of… him.
Folding my arms to somehow guard myself against my conflicting emotions, I shrugged. “That doesn’t mean we have to behave like an actual couple when no one can see us.”
Lincoln’s smirk faded. For a moment, something flickered in his eyes. I wasn’t sure if it was regret or pain because it vanished as quickly as it came.
He sighed, and all the teasing drained from his voice. “Look, Ava, I haven’t told any of my friends what we’re doing here. No one but Alex knows about your investigation or the real reason for this party.”
I stared at him.
“I’m just trying to make things easier. The less everyone knows, the better. If you’re that uncomfortable with adjoining rooms, I’ll fix it.”
My eyes skated away from him because I felt stupid for making a big deal about it.
It wasn’t like we were sharing a room. I’d been staying in his apartment for days, but our bedrooms were on separate floors.
Here, a silly part of me was worried about being too close to him. It was risky… to my heart.
“No, it’s fine. As long as we stay on our sides of that door.”