Page 11 of The Ex-cavenger Hunt

I grin, feeling a rush of excitement at her words. I take her hand, my fingers wrapping around hers in a firm grip. “Deal,” I agree, my voice filled with enthusiasm. “But I reserve the right to introduce you to some hidden gems along the way.”

Lily’s eyes sparkle with mischief, and she leans forward, her voice dropping to a secretive whisper. “Hidden gems, you say?” she teases, her tone playful. “Now I’m really intrigued.”

Zoe narrows her gaze. “Are you sure about this?” she asks, her voice laced with concern. “I’m pretty sure that’s how my last thriller started—and they found the body of the chick in a lake.”

I sit back in my chair, my hands spread wide in a gesture of openness. “If you want, we can take you to our headquarters so you can see we’re not kidding about the company,” I offer, my voice sincere. “There, we can go through your plan and make some adjustments—driving from Boston to Arizona to New York and then Portland seems illogical.”

“Sure, but I’m not a hundred percent sure of their whereabouts, and I want to do it in order,” Lily says, her voice hesitant.

I lean forward, my elbows resting on the table, my eyes locked with Lily’s. “See, you need an expert,” I say, my voice confident, almost cocky. I can feel the energy thrumming through my veins, the thrill of the challenge ahead. “My intel will be able to get you where you need to go—with more efficiency.”

I can see the uncertainty in her eyes, the way she’s weighing the options in her mind. It’s a look I’ve seen before, in boardrooms and client meetings, and I know I need to convince her, to make her see the value in my proposition.

I reach across the table, my hand resting gently on her arm. “Lily, trust me. I know what I’m doing. With my resources and your talent, we’ll be unstoppable.”

“Fine, don’t make me regret this.”

Instead of giving her an answer, I just smile. This is such a simple task, what could go wrong? Nothing. I’ll show her that those losers are perfectly fine without her and that she deserves . . . Well, I’m not sure what but I hope she finds it along the way.

Chapter Seven

Ethan

We’re in the conference room. I’m listening to Lily who’s talking about the articles Cleo sent her as she threatened her . . . with me.

“What I don’t understand is why you’re saying that I’ll be grabbing your ass during the ceremony.” And maybe there are a thousand other questions I could ask but this point really bothers me.

“Your brother said you spanked a bridesmaid once at a family wedding,” she tells me.

I can’t help but laugh. “Seriously, that’s what he’s saying? It was one time and pretty harmless.”

Lily crosses her arms. “I don’t see why that’s so funny. Stop laughing.”

“It was actually the bride,” I say once I calm down.

She gasps, horrified at my confession. “How could you?”

I shrug. “I was four. Mother says I was playing with my cousins in the mud, came running to show them a key I had found and tripped. My hands landed exactly on the bride’s ass. She spent the entire party with my handprints.”

Lily burst into laughter. “No way that actually happened. I mean poor woman, but that’s hilarious.”

I nod and shrug. “But that’s what Dominique uses to make me look bad.”

“So, if I don’t find a date, you won’t grab my ass.”

I wink at her. “Unless you ask really nice, sweetheart.”

She scoffs. “In your dreams, Montgomery.”

“Probably, but now that you know about that story, tell me more about these life changing articles.”

“It was like they were describing my own life,” Lily says, still chuckling from my horrible wedding debacle. “All of these failed relationships and wondering what went wrong. It sent me down memory lane, thinking of all my exes and realizing I never found closure with any of them.”

I nod in understanding. “Closure can be a tricky thing to come by,” I say. “I admire you for going after it so head-on.”

“Thanks,” she says with a soft smile, her cheeks flushing slightly at the compliment. “My sister thinks I’ve lost it.” She rolls her eyes, letting out a small chuckle.

“What about the rest of your family?” I ask, tilting my head curiously.

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