Page 30 of Lonely Heart

“There might be,” I replied. “I can call them back to double check on the amount of stock they do have available and get that here. But the current estimate for fulfilling the backorder is ten to twelve weeks. We might have been ahead of schedule coming into today, but if we’re going to finish this project on time at this point, we’re going to need to pick a different pattern for the remaining villas.”

Tate sat back in his seat and considered this. “I think we do what we need to do to keep ourselves on track for completion. As long as they’ve got something reasonable that will work for the remaining villas, it’s worth it to switch it up.”

“Agreed,” Wyatt said.

I nodded my understanding. “I’ll get on it right away.”

A buzzing sound filled the air, and when I looked to my left, I saw Cooper pulling out his phone. “Ah, hang on. This is Jules.” He slid his finger across the screen and answered the call. “Hey,Jules. What’s going on?” There was a brief pause as he listened to her. “I’m in a meeting right now and have to meet up with Mom afterward, but I’ll have Liam run over as soon as we’re done here. Is that okay?” Another pause. “Alright. Later.”

Cooper ended the call and Liam asked, “What do I need to do?”

“She’s having an issue with a door on one of the display cases.”

Recognizing there was still plenty of work that needed to be done, Tate said, “Okay, let’s keep going here, so you guys can all get back to work.”

For the next twenty minutes, we went over the remaining items that Tate and Wyatt wanted to discuss. Since my biggest focus was on the villas right now, there wasn’t much I needed to contribute to the conversation. So, I sat there and allowed my mind to drift, and unsurprisingly, I wasn’t consumed with thoughts of the work I had ahead of me.

Nope.

More thoughts of Ivy consumed my mind. Thoughts mixed with questions, more questions than I’d ever had about her.

And for the first time in my life, I finally understood Cooper’s disdain for meetings. Because the longer I sat in a chair at that conference room table, the longer it was going to take for me to get back to the hotel, where I intended to make Ivy’s well-being my top priority.

Yes, I’d decided.

Whether Cooper approved of me doing it or not, I wasn’t going to sit back and watch as Ivy fell apart. If I could help her through this, I was going to do it. And Cooper was just going to have to accept it.

9

IVY

It wasno surprise that I’d started questioning my instincts after my attack. But when I lifted my gaze from the computer at the far end of the front desk counter for seemingly no reason and saw that Marco had just walked through the entrance to the hotel, I wondered if perhaps it had been instinct or some odd sixth sense that had led me to it.

His eyes locked on mine, a friendly smile playing at his lips. Something fluttered in my belly—a new sensation I’d never experienced with Marco before my attack. I didn’t know what it was about and could only assume it was some subconscious response to the man who’d been there for me immediately after such a traumatizing experience.

Marco made his way over toward me, and I didn’t hesitate to start the conversation. “Good morning, Marco.”

“Good morning, Ivy.”

“Late start for you today?”

“I’m pretty sure I was here before you this morning.” His lips twitched with amusement. “I was just in a meeting with your brothers.”

My eyes widened in surprise. “All of them?”

“Yep.”

“Oh, I bet Cooper loved that,” I teased.

Marco laughed. “He wasn’t exactly thrilled to be there, but I’ve seen him in worse moods about meetings before, so it wasn’t awful.”

“I think that’s all thanks to Skye. She’s helped him to mellow out just a touch.” I smiled at him, taking in the lock of hair that seemed to have escaped and was hanging, slightly curled, just above his brow. “So, are you going to be spending your day working on the villas?”

“That’s the plan. But I’ve got a bit of an issue I’ve got to deal with, too.”

My brows shot up in question. “An issue with the villas?”

He dipped his chin.

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