Chapter 24 Lincoln
LINCOLN
@theanswerisno:
brB mom is calling
@theanswerisno:
Don’t go into the mines without me
@pancakesareelite:
I won’t. I’ll die. Instantly
@pancakesareelite:
Mommy’s boy?
@theanswerisno:
Yeah, kinda
@pancakesareelite:
That’s nice
My adrenaline was high as I pulled up to Shaun and Neema’s apartment. What just happened? Why the heck did I defend Elizabeth? I don’t even know the whole story.
I should not be getting involved. But she was scared.
Her bright red cheeks against her pale complexion were etched into my mind. Her rigid body. Her high-pitched voice. I had known something was very wrong since the first time she’d brought that man up. Why was he still following her? It had been weeks.
I’d acted on instinct. I didn’t regret it one bit.
“Lincoln, you’re mumbling to yourself in a strange, beautiful, genius kind of way.” Neema let me in. She rubbed my back and leaned in for what could possibly be termed the idea of a hug. “Also, it’s nice to see you. We’ve missed you.”
“There was a man stalking Elizabeth,” I announced to the room, which got the attention of everyone. I wouldn’t usually do such a thing, but I was still processing.
“We’re going to need a little bit more,” Dean said from one of the couches.
I paced the living room, rattling off exactly what had happened.
“Poor girl. That sounds horrible.” Neema rubbed a hand on her growing belly.
“What would he want from her?” I asked. My brain wasn’t going to let this go until it made sense. Until I could figure out how to stop it. I got the sense my threat was only a temporary solution.
“Could be anything, I guess,” Rose said. “Ex-boyfriend, scorned business partner, influencer gone wild, a stalker! I mean… she’s a Gordon-Bettencourt. It could even be a journalist looking for dirt on her dad.”
On autopilot, I found my way over to the leather armchair, the only single-seater in the room. “She was terrified.”
“Is she okay? Did you make sure she got home safely?” Claire’s brows furrowed.
“I offered, but she didn’t need me… She’s, uh, she’s got someone else,” I said, and my heart banged unpleasantly against my rib cage at the mere assumption she’d been referring to a partner. “Obviously. Why wouldn’t she? She’s…” I stopped midsentence as they all stared at me.
I shook my head. Elizabeth = employee = losing promotion or even losing job. She’s too beautiful and funny and smart for you anyway.
I turned my phone around in my hands, and it unlocked upon recognizing my face. Lily’s message remained unread.
Lily.
I intended to reply. But I hadn’t figured out my move, and with the late nights tutoring Elizabeth, admittedly I’d kind of forgotten.
My throat thickened. Was I cheating? No. How could I be cheating when nothing had happened with either of these women.
I was working with Elizabeth. I could hardly be blamed that she was so… immersive. I lost myself in her, around her. Working was hard. Focusing was harder.
And tomorrow we’d be alone in my car while we visited the site. But what really worried me, the thought I’d been denying, was that next week we’d be staying over on-site together for a few days as part of Elizabeth’s training.
Alone. At night. Sleeping in one cabin. In not-work clothes. Oh no. I needed a distraction before I combusted at the thought of it all.
I opened Lily’s message. A pang of guilt hit me square in the chest. Lily wasn’t just a distraction either. For a long time, Lily was my only person.
How did I get myself into this mess?
At the very least, I needed to honor her request.
“I think I want to meet Lily,” I said, wondering, not for the first time tonight, why I kept announcing everything. And judging from the looks on their faces, they were as surprised as I was.
“Are you sure?” Claire leaned forward, but her husband’s arm curled around her and she fell backward against him.
Beside her, William scooped Rose into his arms before kissing her, and while I considered myself a private man… I wanted that. I wanted to love someone so much I couldn’t stay away from them. I wanted to be loved by someone in a way that made us forget there were people around.
But I didn’t want it with just anyone.
I wanted Lily to be the person I hoped she was. I wanted her to love me the way I’d already fallen for her.
But somehow at the same time, in a way I didn’t understand, I wanted Elizabeth. In every way possible. I wanted everything or anything from her.
But that would never work.
I nodded. “She wants to meet, and I think I need to know who she is… whether she’s real and whether…” I trailed off, knowing they’d know what I meant without the pain of me having to dig any deeper.
Claire grinned. “And we’ll all be there.”
“Oh my gosh, I’m excited!” Rose squealed. She turned to William, who had been nuzzling against her neck. “Overpower brings people together.”
“How will you know it’s her? Are you going to arrange a meeting spot?” Neema asked at the same time as Shaun joined us in the living room with a tray of coffees.
I looked down at our open chat and the small silhouette of a woman with pink hair. “I feel like I’ll know.”
I finally typed out a reply.
@theanswerisno:
I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to message you. It’s a long, complicated story that I think I owe you at some point but for now, yeah. Let’s take it to the next level.
Sleep evaded me.
I kept thinking about the message I’d sent, and apparently checking your phone one hundred times does not increase the likelihood of a reply. It may even decrease your chances.
It was marked read.
Maybe she was angry at me for leaving her hanging for such a long time. Which was understandable. Maybe I didn’t deserve a reply.
The sun peeked through the gap in the blackout curtains, and my phone started making noise for all the wrong reasons.
I slammed the snooze button even though I wouldn’t fall asleep again. The twisting and turning in my stomach weren’t slowing. I was too anxious.
Lily. Work. Elizabeth. Meeting Lily. Promotion. Man stalking Elizabeth. Final internship test. Moving house. Mom. Dad. Work with Elizabeth. Lily not replying. Elizabeth being scared.
I was unraveling.
When I got to the office, Elizabeth was slumped over her desk. Maybe she had a rough night too.
“How are you?” I asked, freezing at the doorway and taking her in.
Her copper hair was tied back, revealing her pretty but tired face. Her gray eyes were hidden under lowered brows.
“I’m fine. You can stop worrying about me. I’m ready for our site visit.” She lifted one foot to reveal her clunky site boots, which didn’t look as though they fit properly.
Without making eye contact, I made my way to my closet, where I kept my boots, vest, and hard hat. “Just so you know, you can call me if you ever need me…”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
The sincerity in her voice only further pulled the last thread holding me together. I grabbed everything I needed and changed the topic. “There’s a really good bakery along the way.”
Her bright smile returned. “You know the way to my heart.”
That’s something people say all the time.
Ignoring the urge to obsess over everything she said, I gestured for her to follow me downstairs, and once we got outside, I unlocked my truck. The lights on my black Ford F-150 flickered.
Her eyes widened in my direction, and I got the sense she was back to her usual self.
“Is this yours? Or a company car?” She made her way over to the passenger side.
“Mine.”
“You know what they say… the bigger the truck, the—”
“Elizabeth,” I almost yelled, and it was all I could do not to choke on the laughter she summoned. Her cheeky grin made my chest feel as though it were being put back together.
I didn’t know it needed to be.
“The higher the gas consumption,” she finished with absolute delight. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”
Shaking my head, I opened the passenger door and kicked the step at the bottom so she knew to use it. I stayed near in case she needed assistance, but she held on to the grab handle and pulled herself inside.
I closed her door and hopped in on the other side. When I turned the engine on, the vibration provided the perfect amount of white noise, helping to quiet my thoughts.
She clipped in her seat belt, her cinnamon bun scent intoxicating me and covering all of my truck’s regular leather and coffee smell.
I turned on the radio before maneuvering out of the parking bay. Elizabeth went completely quiet, her gaze fixed on me.
If I wasn’t reversing, I’d give her my full attention to figure out why she was staring.
The radio automatically connected to my phone’s Bluetooth, and Blade Olive’s “Another Time, Another Place” echoed through the cabin. My insides cringed, but before I could change it, Elizabeth swiped my phone.
“You’re a Blivvy!” she shrieked, scrolling through my music app.
“A Blivvy?”
“Yeah, a huge fan of Blade Olive’s music.” She grinned.
“I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan. I just enjoy listening to every single song Jane Adams has ever created.”
“You even know her real name!” Elizabeth burst into giggles. She kicked off one of her shoes, slid her water bottle into the cup holder, and laid her phone in the console between us.
Within a few minutes, she fit. In my truck. But then again, she’d taken over my office, too, after I’d kept it just mine for years. Perhaps that was one of her many talents.
She then twisted and threw her coat across the back seat. “Every time I learn something new about you, it makes you even better.”
I’d need to turn up the AC if she kept saying things like that.
“Blade’s talented; there’s no denying it.” I turned onto the highway.
“Oh, you don’t have to tell me,” she said. “I saw her live a few years ago, and I had VIP tickets.” She squeaked, closing her eyes. “It was incredible. Can I show you my favorite song?”
“Of course.” I gave up on fighting the smile that came when she was around.
Elizabeth navigated to the song and hit play, but as it started, it stopped. My phone vibrated in her hands with my mother’s smiling face popping up on the screen. She panicked, tossing it into my lap.
I managed to catch it and answered, trying and failing at disconnecting the Bluetooth.
“Hi, Mom, you’re on Bluetooth,” I said as quickly as humanly possible.
“Hi, my boy,” she replied. “Aren’t I usually?”
“Uhhhhhhh…” I glanced at Elizabeth, who stayed as still as a mouse. Probably for the first time in her entire life. “I have someone with me.”
“Who?”
“You don’t know her.”
“A woman?”
“Mom,” I said, and if I weren’t driving, I’d be covering my face with my hands, but now I was forced to see Elizabeth stifling a grin. “A coworker. What’s up? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, darling. But Daniel is a bit worn out, and we’ve got all the furniture standing on the front lawn. I know you’re working, but you’re always working, so I thought I’d ask…”
I peeked at the time and looked at Elizabeth. “I could drop you back at the office, then pick you up after. We should still have enough daylight to walk the site.”
“Bring her along,” my mom said.
A strangled sound escaped me, and I leaned over my steering wheel. “Um,” I said, my voice weaker than usual.
“I don’t mind either way, as long as we get to stop at the bakery later,” Elizabeth said, and I could picture my mother wanting to analyze her voice.
“Darling girl, what do you like? I can make anything. Cheesecake? Carrot cake? Brownies? Are you Indian? I can make jalebi, laddu—”
“Mom…” I started and gave up. I’d already lost the battle.
“Any of the above!” Elizabeth yelled, clapping her hands together. Her turquoise nail polish glimmered in the sunlight.
“See you in ten minutes.” I hung up.
Blade Olive’s voice filled the car once more but all I could think about was that Elizabeth Gordon-Bettencourt would be the first girl I’d brought home to meet my mother.