Chapter 18 Owen
Owen
“Ineed more time.” I cringed, bracing for their response.
“Called it,” Amara said. Yeah, she did. She’d had my number for years.
I could practically see her pacing around her office with me on speaker. She was probably wearing bright orange or some other ridiculous color.
“Tad not getting it done?”
“He’s useless. We need new representation. And things are so much more complicated than I expected.” I rubbed at my brow, willing away the dull ache behind my eyes.
“More complicated” was an understatement. I had come to Lovewell two weeks ago with a simple objective. Now I was questioning everything and in over my head.
“Take the time you need, brother,” Enzo said.
He was my boss, but more than that, he was my best friend.
The guy I’d lay down my life for. I had five actual brothers, but no one looked out for me the way Enzo did.
“Family stuff is hard. You’re working your ass off.
And let’s face it, Linda’s got it covered. ”
Couldn’t argue with that. Linda kept the team working, and she’d kept me in the loop by forwarding contracts for my review and signature and flagging the important calls I needed to jump on. I truly wouldn’t have survived without her.
“But,” he hedged. “We’ve got the GeneSphere status check next week. The entire C suite is flying in, and we need all hands on deck.”
I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me, and clasped my hands on top of my desk. “I’ll be there.”
We’d been working on the new GeneSphere Pharmaceuticals headquarters for more than three years. The project was an endless source of stress and angst, but by far one of the biggest things we’d taken on.
“You want a plane?” Enzo asked.
“So that’s how it is now? You start rolling with literal billionaires and we’ve got planes?”
I could give Enzo shit about his roommates all day long and never get tired of it. His girlfriend Delia lived with a couple of billionaires and pro athletes in the most bizarre commune-type situation.
“I’m just saying, if transport is an issue, we can take care of it. We need you here. And the Boston Cares event is that weekend. My mother is on the board, so…” he trailed off.
“Mom will castrate you if you don’t show and donate,” Amara finished.
Their mother, Elena DiLuca, was a force to be reckoned with. And she had adopted me as one of her own, even though she had four kids and both my parents were alive. She had been working with this organization for decades and would be personally offended if I didn’t show up.
“I’ll be there,” I said. “Can’t let Mama D down.”
“Good. She’ll torture me if you don’t show,” Amara said. “And we can hang while my siblings are all coupled up.”
That had the wheels turning in my head. “Can I bring someone?”
“Who?” Amara asked.
“A friend.”
Her responding laugh was so loud the line between us crackled. “She’s a lot more than a friend if you’re willing to risk exposing her to my crazy mother.”
I ignored her, too preoccupied with the plan taking shape in my mind. “Are the Revs at home that weekend?” I wondered out loud. “Enzo, you think you can score tickets from your boy Beckett.”
Enzo had recently moved in with his girlfriend and her kids—and her friends and their kids and their boyfriends, fiancés, and husbands.
It was a whole thing. I didn’t give him too much shit, though, because he’d made some very powerful new friends, mainly Beckett Langfield, owner of Boston’s baseball team, the Revs.
That meant we rarely had trouble scoring tickets to any games we wanted to see.
“Yeah, man,” Enzo said. “Let me—”
A shout from down the hall pulled me out of the conversation and had my hackles rising. “Guys, I gotta run,” I said, already on my feet and heading to my door.
“Fuck.” The words echoed in the cavernous hallway.
I picked up my pace, all but running to the conference room where Lila was working.
When I burst into the room, I found her standing near the windows, staring at her phone.
“Are you okay?” I put my hands on her shoulders, bracing for the worst.
“Oh my God.” Her chest was heaving and her eyes were wide with shock as she tipped her head back and looked at me. “It’s admission day. I got so busy I totally forgot.”
I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer that she’d gotten in. She worked so damn hard, and she deserved this.
“I—” She gripped my arm and blinked, like she was coming back online. “I need my laptop.”
Still holding her shoulders, I led her over to the folding table she’d been using as a desk and pulled out the chair. Once she was seated, I leaned in, caging her in with my arms, and waited for her to log into the admission system.
This close, the citrusy scent of her shampoo enveloped me. Her hair was up in a ponytail today, highlighting her graceful neck. I had to fight back the instinct to place a small kiss right there.
With a deep breath in and a silent reprimand, I managed to get myself under control.
This was neither the time nor the place, and honestly, I wasn’t sure there ever would be a time or a place.
Getting involved with her was a bad idea for far too many reasons.
The first of which was that she was about to move out of state for graduate school. And then there was Cole.
Nope, I’d muscle through it. No matter how impossible that felt.
Because it had been less than two weeks, and I was already deeply infatuated with this woman.
With her laugh, her smile, her mind. I had a deep respect and admiration for her and for the way she’d show up, lattes in hand, ready to take whatever life threw at her.
Sometimes, part of me wanted to throw all my concerns out the window. I was greedy. I wanted to stay here, locked in the sea of file boxes, cracking jokes with Lila. I wanted this to last forever.
Then I’d shake myself and remember that I needed to get back to my real life and my actual job instead of sorting through old paperwork in this dusty office building.
These tasks should have been my worst nightmare, but Lila made this entire ordeal fun.
When I’d come back to Lovewell, it had felt like a prison sentence.
Now, I looked forward to seeing her every day, and the stress of dealing with this mess while keeping up with my day job felt more manageable with her around.
“Crap. I can’t even type my password correctly,” she said, her voice wavering.
“Shh.,” I said, rubbing her shoulders, hoping to imbue her with a sense of calm. “Take a deep breath and try again.”
She was so tense she was practically vibrating.
I wasn’t fairing a whole lot better. I wanted this for her so badly. I wanted all of her dreams to come true.
Finally, with a long breath out, she typed her password correctly. Then we waited, holding our breath, while the page loaded.
When the NYU logo appeared, she was out of her seat, jumping and screaming. “Holy shit. I got in!” she cheered. “NYU! I can’t believe it.”
I wrapped my arms around her and spun her around, relishing the way her body felt against mine. “That’s incredible.”
Quickly, I set her down again and took a step back. The sheer joy on her face when she looked up at me made my stomach flip.
“I can’t believe I did it.” Her eyes filled with tears.
With my hands on her shoulders again, I gave her a gentle squeeze and dipped down so she was forced to look at me. “You deserve this, Lila. You are going to do amazing things. I’m so proud of you.”
I’d never been a touchy-feely person, but I found it hard to keep my hands to myself around her. I constantly itched to stroke her hair, squeeze her hand, or put my arm around her shoulders.
Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to knock that shit off.
This moment was supercharged, and I could easily let things get out of hand, but I wouldn’t do that to her.
Not when she was flying high like this. So I took a step back and shoved my hands into my pocket, determined to let her have her moment.
“God,” she sighed. “I feel so lucky.”
“Lucky?” I scoffed. I couldn’t stop myself. How on earth could this woman think luck had anything to do with this? “You are smart and determined. You worked hard for this. Take the credit.”
She tipped her head and studied my face, her cheeks flushed.
“Say it,” I commanded.
“I did this,” she whispered.
I crossed my arms. “You can do better than that. Own it.”
She bit her lip, and it took every ounce of self-control I possessed not to grab her and kiss her until she realized how spectacular she was. Instead, I arched a brow, waiting for her response.
“I did it,” she said, lifting her chin, her voice clear and confident.
“Congratulations, Lila.”
“Thank you.” She beamed. “I worked hard.”
“And you deserve it. You deserve the world. Never, ever doubt that. Understood?”
She didn’t respond. She didn’t even nod. She just regarded me, her eyes wide and her smile broad. And before I could process what was happening, she jumped up and threw her arms around my neck, and then her lips were on mine.
Sweet and firm and insistent.
And for a moment, everything was right in the world.
I grasped her hips and slid my hands up her ribs, around to her back, finally exploring her the way I’d wanted to since that first day.
This kiss was messy, joyful, and enthusiastic. Just like Lila.
I slid my hands lower and cupped her ass, and in response, she wrapped her legs around my waist and raked her hands through the hair at the back of my neck.
She moaned into my mouth, the sounds vibrating through me, as I pushed her back against the wall.
And just like that, I lost hold of the last shreds of my self-control.
Wild, messy, and desperate, we kissed and touched and explored, as I lost my mind completely.
And then she was pushing me away. I eased her to her feet and took a step back, out of breath and desperate with need.
“Shit. Shit.” She hung her head, refusing to look at me. “I’m so sorry.”
Those three words were like a punch to the solar plexus. All the air escaped me as I searched her expression. My heart was racing and my cock was hard as steel, causing a lack of blood flow to my brain. I heaved in one breath after another, unable to interpret her words or her expression.
“Don’t apologize,” I said, working my way closer to coherent thought.
An apology meant she regretted it. And how could anyone regret what we had just shared?
My heart pounded out an erratic rhythm as I took one step closer and used two fingers to tip her face up to meet mine. “Lila, look at me.”
When she focused on me, her eyes were filled with a fierce, raw vulnerability that made me want to hug her until she never doubted herself again.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.”
She put her face in her hands. “I mauled you, Owen.” Her groan was muffled. “I pounced on you like a jungle cat.”
I huffed a breath. Did she think I wasn’t into that? If that was the case, then it was time to correct that misconception. “First of all, what you just did was hot. Don’t think for one second I didn’t enjoy the hell out of it. Second, you’re welcome to do that whenever you want.”
She slumped and hit me with an exasperated scowl. It was the cutest expression I’d ever seen.
I tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and cupped her jaw.
“Good-girl Lila always plays by the rules. She never takes what she wants and worries too much about what people think. But this version of you—the ass-kicking grad student who goes after what she wants—is irresistible and powerful and incredible.”
She inhaled sharply and took a step back, and my heart sank to my feet, taking my stomach right along with it.
“I can’t do this right now,” she said, ducking her head and sidestepping me. “I need to go tell my mom the good news. And call Willa and Mags. Is it okay if I head out early?”
I swallowed past the boulder that had lodged itself in my throat, mentally kicking myself for coming on too strong and scaring her off. “Of course.”
She gathered her stuff and headed out without looking back, leaving me breathless and confused.
My head was spinning and my heart was bruised. Lila had kissed me. And it had completely rocked my world. And then she’d walked away.
Maybe I should be thankful she had. She was headed to New York, and I was headed back to Boston.
Her life was just starting and I was settled. And then there was Cole. As much as I resented his part in all of this, he was the elephant in the room. They’d been together for eight years, and he was still wreaking havoc, if only indirectly.
I had no loyalty to him, especially after what he’d done a few days ago. But if it made Lila uncomfortable, then I’d have to step back and keep things the way they had been.
Logically, I had plenty of legitimate reasons to stay away.
But then I touched my lips. That kiss had rearranged my brain cells, and despite my better judgment, all I could think about was doing it again.
I’d had plenty of first kisses in my life. Some were awkward, others passionate. But this one had been filled with pure joy. And it was Lila. Sunshine in human form, a woman who was free to do what she wanted, when she wanted it.
And just knowing that she had wanted me, if only for a moment, made my heart crack wide open. Maybe there were other possibilities for me too.