揇akota, can you come down to Lincoln抯 office??a smooth voice asks.
揓ane? Where are you??
My heart skips a beat at the phrase Lincoln抯 office.
She sighs. 揃ack in my old office today. It抯...well, you抣l see.?
揥hat抯 this about??I ask faintly.
揑s she coming??I hear another voice in the background, high-pitched and concerned.
揥ait. Is Anna in your office with you??I pause. 揋uys, what is going on??
揥e抮e having a meeting,?Jane says, clearing her throat.
揢mm梬hat抯 this about? It sounds pretty urgent.?
Silence on the other end of the line. Dread and hope blow through me in equally heady doses.
揥ell, will one of you come with me??I ask.
揝he wants us to go with her,?Jane whispers, probably to Anna.
揘o, we can抰! Tell her...?Anna抯 voice fades out.
揇akota, I抦 confident you won抰 need the backup,?Jane says.
I glare at the phone.
揙-kay. Well, tell Anna if I抦 being set up, I抣l never speak to her again,?I say sharply.
揥ill do. We抣l talk after...you抣l see.?Again, with that cryptic phrase, she hangs up.
I slam the phone down and groan.
Oh, well. I might as well get this over with.
I swear, I抦 going to give this colossal bonehead a piece of my mind for dragging me into this. He can抰 just drop in and out of my life on a whim.
If he抯 returned to mess with me, I may just quit on the spot.
With the payments starting from the wedding line in a few months, I抣l have more savings than I could ever dream of to tide me over until I find another job梠r shut myself away from the world in a cave to hack out poems.
My knees feel like cement as I hitch an elevator ride up to the C-level suite.
I storm past Lucy, who抯 back from maternity leave, stalk past my old desk, and throw Lincoln抯 door open.
It抯梕mpty?
My breath heaves out of me.
I don抰 get it. Why go through this much drama just to get me here if I抦 alone?
Wary, I walk in for a closer look. I peek under the desk. I抦 not sure why because jumping out of a closet seems a bit much even for him. It抯 quiet, though.
Too freaking quiet.
Until a small dark shape moves behind the window and stops on the balcony.
揌oly shit!?I mumble, falling back and catching myself.
My heart races. What was that?
It抯 way too small and fast to be a person...
Moving to the glass door in front of the balcony, I push it open cautiously.
揅aw!?A huge raven barrels at me.
I throw my arms up, shielding my face like I just became an extra in Hitchcock抯 greatest film. 揂aahh!?
Swoosh.
Something drops near my feet as the bird darts over my shoulder.
Its deafening calls fade as it flies, soaring through the space between a couple tall buildings across the street.
I drop my arms, trying to catch my breath as I see it.
A rolled-up piece of paper, tied with what looks like a gold ribbon, lays beside my feet.
...a scroll?
No way. He had a carrier pigeon梐 carrier raven!梔eliver a message?
I pick it up, too curious not to read it.
Nevermore,
I realize the bird drop was probably over the top. I抎 apologize for the theatrics, but I had to get your attention somehow. Texting wasn抰 getting the job done.
I抦 sorry I hurt you.
I was an asshole of the highest order. Worse, I was a total fool.
When I said there was nothing between us, I let the past get the best of me. I was rattled because for the first time since shit went down with my ex, I lost control.
I know my mother told you about that.
In the heat of the moment, in self-defense, I became an angry, uncontrollable wreck. A monster I swore I could never be again.
I抦 not the sort of man who loses control easily. But when I抦 around you, I can抰 help it.
You make me feel things I didn抰 know I could.
You give me passion, and that scared me at first. Only, now I抳e realized true stupidity is pushing away the only woman I抳e ever loved.
When I stepped away from my position here, it was to protect both of us.
I tried to shield our hearts from the ravages I抳e watched love inflict on so many good people. Let me explain.
Wyatt loved a woman more than his own life. She abandoned him, left him broken, and he descended into chaos.
The only thing my parents ever loved as much as each other was me. When my dad died, my mother lost her spark. She might take no crap from anyone and live an active life, but she抯 not the same woman.
Then my own engagement with Regina. Her betrayal savaged me. I beat the man she was fucking within an inch of his life when he goaded me into a fight. It damned near cost me my own life.
This was my fear梐 fear I won抰 be ruled by anymore.
I also won抰 make any grand promises.
If you hear me out, I can抰 promise you perfection. I can抰 guarantee I won抰 screw up.
The only thing I can offer with certainty is all my fucking heart.
I thought if I just stayed away梚f I kept us apart桰 could spare us the pain.
Wrong. This exile is killing me.
Dakota Poe, you scare me, and you also keep me honest.
My recklessness speaks for itself. The truth of how deep my feelings are for you.
You抮e the spark I needed to come along, shine right through me, and show me that what抯 truly frightening is spending my entire life denying my biggest passion梱ou.
Woman, I need you back in my life.
I抣l do whatever you want except walk away without another word.
Love,
Lincoln
Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!
Hot tears run down my cheeks in rivulets.
God. How could anyone not cry after that?
And how am I supposed to stay strong when he抯 sending love letters by raven?
I clutch the letter with one hand, wiping away my tears with the other.
I抦 about to retreat into his office so I can get back to my desk and hide, but I see Anna, Cheryl, and Jane standing behind the glass door gawking at me. They抳e got what looks like a peanut gallery of twenty people behind them.
Just flipping great. There抯 no escape.
My choices are stand on this balcony forever, fling myself over it, or slink back inside and deal with a barrage of awkward questions like I抦 the President of Bad Decisions holding a press conference.
Diving off the building looks more appealing all the time. I抦 joking.
Maybe if I just stand here long enough, they抣l get bored and go away so I can make my way in with my tail between my legs?
揇akota??A velvet voice vibrates behind me like distant thunder.
Uh-oh.
I know it抯 him before I even turn around.
The few stray tears streaming down my face burst into a harsh sob that racks my entire body.
My hands shake. My being trembles. My heart knows this is it.
It抯 either turn around and face him or run.
I抦 not sure which is worse.
Until he says, 揘evermore, if you keep crying, at least do it where your head belongs.?
I turn toward his voice.
He comes at me with his arms outstretched. He closes the distance between us until his fingers brush my arms, gingerly clasping them, pulling me in.
It抯 the hardest thing I抳e ever done to bury my face against his wall of a chest.
Harder than wearing a wedding dress in a honeymoon suite with no husband.
Harder than sparring over cinnamon rolls.
Harder than watching that last pained look on his face as he told me to get out of his life.
But I push my face into him.
I lay my cheek against his warmth, his strength, his everything, and breathe.
I抦 inhaling Lincoln Burns like it抯 the very last time, because God, it might be. I take a few deep, rattling breaths of his masculine scent before I lurch back.
His eyes glow like dark amber, searching mine, asking so many questions.
The letter was sweet, sure, but it抯 not a conversation.
I can抰 just run back to him so easily.
揇akota??His face tightens and his arms drop to his sides. 揑 don抰 blame you for being scared梖or questioning me. You didn抰 want to be hurt. We抮e on the same page. I just do a better job of hiding my emotions.?
Why is he making this so hard?
I gather another reluctant breath into my lungs.