Page 77 of No More Secrets

“Only one way to find out.” She waits for him to look at her before her smile explodes. Her chest inflates with excitement.

“What?” he asks, wary.

“Tomorrow’s Saturday. Jenna will be signing at the Grove.” He frowns, and she rolls her eyes. “You know,Tabby’s Squirrel. Big promo event before the movie release. Jenna’s here in LA. It’s going to be huge.”

“Oh, hell no.”

She pulls her trump card. “You promised what we did next would be up to me.”

He glowers. “That’s blackmail.”

And she isn’t ashamed one bit. She grins uncontrollably. She’s going to meet Jenna.

33

Lucas sits alone in a hotel room, staring at the minibar. He wants to open it and power his way through the shot-size bottles. Seven should do. Enough to make him feel numb so he stops stressing over tomorrow. But he worries about Shiloh in the adjoining room. She’s his responsibility, at least until they get where she wants to go. And he’ll only add to her unease if he’s hungover tomorrow and reeks of alcohol.

Sitting on the bed, knee jiggling, he roughly pulls at his fingers to distract him from the monster clawing up his throat, tempting him.What’s one drink?He hears the TV in the next room. From the sound of it, Shiloh’s flipping through channels. Where he’s nervous and agitated, she’s excited. She could barely contain herself in the car when he reluctantly agreed to go tomorrow. He took her to Target for clothes so she could wear something other than that sweatshirt that could probably walk on its own by now. She picked four outfits; she couldn’t decide. Lucas bought them all. And through the entire shopping spree, she talked endlessly of Lily and her own plans to study video animation.

Shiloh’s right, though, about Lily. He wants to apologize, has known the day would come when he’d have to summon the courage to do so. Olivia once told him she wished the three of them could be close like they were as kids, before their family imploded. That won’t happen unless he reconciles his guilt. Tomorrow’s event is that opportunity.

And he’s nervous as hell about it.

How does he start? What does he say? Will Lily even want to talk with him? Will she ever want to see him again once she knows the truth?

Why is he so damn thirsty?

He lurches for the fridge door, only to throw himself back on the bed. “Fuck.” He shovels his hair. His phone buzzes. He lunges across the bed for the distraction. “Hello?”

“Lucas, it’s Ivy. I’ve been trying to reach you all day.”

He knows. He’s seen her calls come in. He left a message this morning that he had family business to take care of and wouldn’t be able to open the market for her. Little had he known then how true his excuse would be.

“I’m here. Don’t know when I’ll be back, though.” That depends on the kid in the next room.

“Zea told me about Shiloh. I’ve been worried. Did you find her?”

Damn Sophie.He swears under his breath. He hadn’t mentioned Shiloh for that exact reason. He didn’t want her to worry. But apparently Sophie did, and she neglected to let Ivy in on her real name.

“I found her. She’s fine.”

“I’m so relieved.”

“Listen, Ivy.” He grips the back of his neck, looking at the carpeting. “I’m not sure when we’ll be back. I know I’ve left you in a bind—”

“It’s family,” she interrupts. “You take all the time you need.”

“Thank you.” The impulse to tell her he wants to buy the building sits on his tongue like a rider waiting for the bus. He realizes now that he never gave up on his dreams to design and build. They’ve just been waiting for him to go after what he wants. But he can’t make promises when his future is still unknown. He has to find out about Dwight and what the police suspect. Either Sophie is wrong about her information, or his mind is messing with him.

He sighs, resigned. “We’ll talk when I get back. ’Night, Ivy.”

He ends the call and listens. Shiloh’s room has gone eerily quiet.

Did she leave? Has Sophie found them? He’s been wondering if she’d follow, but he hasn’t seen or heard from her, which makes him just as nervous.

Come to think of it, maybe they should skip tomorrow’s event and head back now before she gets the wrong idea about him with Shiloh. But he needs to get Shiloh’s situation squared away before Sophie convinces the cops he’s kidnapped her.

Shooting off the bed to check on Shiloh, he hears her adjoining door unlock and open. Then she knocks. “Lucas?”

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