Page 78 of Close to the Edge

“Because it’s the creator’s middle name,” Caleb replied.

“Oh, how special,” the female guest gushed.

“I couldn’t agree more. She’s one of a kind.”

Heart in my throat, I turned around. He stood six feet away. Resplendent in a black tux and snowy white shirt. His face looked a little thinner but the designer stubble and slightly windswept hair worked for him so splendidly, I couldn’t have pried my eyes off him if an earthquake cratered the ground beneath my feet.

The crowd seemed to part between us, and he loomed, magnificent, over me. “That was right, wasn’t it?”

Breath totally depleted, I nodded. “Short for Angela. Chance let me name it.” After witnessing the code that would make him and his company billions, he’d been so ecstatic he’d allowed me to name it. Regardless of how our relationship had begun, it was ending on my terms, with an achievement I was proud of. I’d chosen to let go of all grudges.

“It’s a beautiful name.” Caleb’s voice was a little gruff, his eyes a fierce blue that blazed over me from my crown to my feet and back again. “Hello, Lily.”

“Hi,” I whispered.

“You look...incredible.”

“Thank you.” In honor of tonight, I’d gone a different way with my clothes. Dressed top to toe in white, the only splash of color were the red soles of my white platform heels. Diamond-and-pearl pins secured my slicked back hair, and even the choker around my neck was white leather.

Caleb’s eyes lingered there the longest, setting my body aflame. “Lily, can we talk?”

Say no. Save yourself more heartache. “Yes.”

Relief drenched his face. He started to reach for me. Someone bumped into me, sending me one stumble forward.

“Okay, enough of this shit,” Caleb growled. He relieved me of my half-finished champagne glass, meshed his fingers with mine and tugged me through the crowd.

“Where are you taking me?”

“You’ll see.”

“But...I can’t leave the party.”

“You’ve given Donovan the algorithm. You’ve done his speeches. You don’t owe him a thing. Besides, we need to revisit our last conversation in Lake Tahoe. There are a few things I never got around to saying.” He gripped me tighter as I navigated the steps to the lower level, then increased his pace again.

“God, I haven’t missed this bossy side of you at all.” I tried to project irritation but the wild hum in my veins wasn’t anger. It was...joy.

“Sure you have. Or you wouldn’t be hurrying to keep up with me.”

He was right. I would go anywhere with this man, but at what price?

“I still want to know where we’re going.”

“We’re here,” he replied in a hushed voice, then pushed the door open.

I entered, and gasped. “We can’t be in here,” I whispered halfheartedly. But my excitement tripled as I gazed up at the stunning constellation splashed across the planetarium roof.

His fingers trailed up my wrists, my arms, to cup my shoulders. I redirected my gaze to his, saw the raw emotion stamped on his face.

“I’m fucking pissed at you.”

I gasped. “What?”

“You heard me. But God, I’ve also missed you. So much,” he confessed raggedly.

I stopped myself from blurting out that I’d missed him, too. “Have you? You were shitty to me.”

His face clouded with pain. “Believe me, I know. I’d do anything to take it all back.”

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