Page 40 of Lush

He grabbed my phone, his fingers brushing mine. The contact sent a shiver down my spine, but I forced myself to stay still, even as something hot coiled low in my stomach.

“They’re just trying to get in my head.”

“Tell me what you need.” His voice was lower and rougher, and I couldn’t stand my reaction to it.

“I’ve got it under control.”

“You don’t,” he murmured. “But lucky for you, we’re in this together.”

Taking my phone back, I headed out of the office. I made myself ignore how warm he was and his cologne as he caught up next to me. We were nearly out of the gallery when people rushed in. I instinctively grabbed his hand.

His skin was so incredibly hot, it sent shivers down my spine. Everything faded when I touched it—the noise, the crowd, the air.

I glanced up, meeting his gaze—darker now, intense, probing,searching.

I wanted to escape, but my body wouldn’t let me. His thumb brushed the back of my hand, just barely, and the air in my lungs turned heavy. He wordlessly pulled me close, his arm around my shoulders.

Did you forget you don’t love him anymore?

I held my breath as we passed a group of onlookers, some whispering, some nodding in approval, others clearly trying to sneak a picture.

Reese leaned in as if to kiss my temple, but his lips stopped a breath away, his voice just loud enough for only me to hear.

“Good enough?”

I forced the rise of my emotions down. “Yeah.”

Reese’s hands ran up and down my sides, his gaze lingering on me in a way that was almost tender—too tender for two people who were nothing more than a sham of a couple.

We slipped outside, the cool breeze offering a brief respite from the gallery’s intensity andhim.And then I spotted it. His red Ford Mustang Boss.

“You still have that?”

He released me abruptly, putting space between us. “Some things I can’t let go of.”

I slid into the passenger seat of his car. The last time I was in here was before Conrad and I got engaged. Reese started the car, and we sped off.

“I thought you wanted to talk.” I glanced at him, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

“You remember these drives? When we used to disappear like this?”

I remembered how I loved being the one in this spot, the girl who got bad boy Reese Ashbourne. He’s the boy they warned me about. The man I could never resist.

But that girl didn’t exist anymore.

Back then, it felt like being with him was a rebellion of myown, a chance to step outside the pristine lines I’d been groomed to follow.

Away from it all, I had time to think. Mama demanded perfection from us all. Years chasing her approval, making sure the King name endured,thinking if I just did more—smiled brighter, stood taller, won more—maybe I’d finally feel like I contributed enough.

But one day, I realized there wasn’t enough makeup, enough trophies, enough anything to fill the gap between what I was and what she wanted me to be. That realization had been like stepping off a cliff into nothingness.

The awakening was terrifying. I traded impulsive daydreams for sharp edges, naïve rebellion for clarity.

“I doubt we’re here to just reminisce, so where are we going?” I pressed again.

“It’s Tobias Merrick.”

I twisted in my seat to look at him. “What?”

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