Page 121 of Heart Strings & Hotlines
I breathe in until my lungs burn, then I slowly release it through my nose. I do it again, and one more time for good measure, while Lottie stands before me, the picture of calm elegance.
“You and me are all in.”
She presses her hand to my chest, right above my heart.
“We are.”
This is why humans are so frustrating. We’re all in, forever. So what the hell does it matter if we work, live, and love together? If the business fails, we’ll build a new one. But nothing having to do with me and Lottie will ever fail. I won’t allow it.
“We’re all in…” Her voice is whisper soft. “So I know that you will help me choose the right fit. You won’t allow me to be taken advantage of. You’ll do this for me because you love me, and you want what’s best for me, and what’s best for me is knowing that I can do this on my own without someone bailing me out. I don’t want to be the kind of woman my father always said I was—someone whose place in life is to be a trophy that her husband parades around because being pretty is her only valuable commodity. I want to be pretty and parade the motherfucking trophy that I earned around myself, Thane.”
She’s already the trophy, the medal of honor, the queen, and she doesn’t even see it.
“Can you do that?” Her voice is a hushed whisper that nearly gets swept away on the sea breeze.
“Can I be your trophy husband?”
She laughs, and all the lines around her face disappear.
I pull her close and hold her tightly against my chest.
“I’ll be your trophy husband, Charlotte. And I’ll be your support beam while you build your house of cards. And then I’ll stand by your side while you cement those cards in place. You’re a queen, sweetheart, you deserve to shine.”
“It feels like there’s a but coming.”
I squeeze her a little more tightly. I love that she knows me so well—no one has ever even tried before.
“Oh, there’s a giant but coming.”
“Okay, what is it?”
“Allow me to supervise the tech team.”
She starts shaking her head against my chest, but this isn’t something I can back down from. I’ve been in her systems—I know how weak her firewalls are. I know where the vulnerabilities are and how to fix them.
“Hear me out. I only ask that you consider it. What you’re doing, and the potential you have for people of all abilities, could be life-changing in ways you can’t begin to imagine. This is personal for me as much as it is for you. I won’t have a hand in anything else. My name won’t be on any documents, but I want to make sure that whoever is handling this for you doesn’t miss anything. It’s too important, Charlotte. So please, for me, at least consider it.”
She sighs into me, and her body deflates. It’s the first battle in a war I know is brewing. “I’ll think about it. But let’s table this for tonight, okay? I’m exhausted. Let’s grab Kara and head back to the hotel. Sebastian and Rowan want us to come by tomorrow before we leave, and I need to put my proposal together for her. All my plans hinge on her agreeing to take over the hotline.”
It’s not a no, so I do as she asks and keep the rest of my questions to myself. For now. “Sure, sweetheart. I’ll grab Kara.”
“Thanks.” She kisses my chest, that spot above my heart, and marks it as her own.
Taking her hand, I walk us through the throngs of people, knowing we have a long night ahead of us, and I still haven’t proved that Lottie’s program is her own.
I have to fix this, otherwise her house of cards will crumble before she even has a chance to lay the foundation.
CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT
LOTTIE
“I’m nervous.”Thane places his hand on my lower back, guiding me up the steps to Sebastian and Rowan’s front door.
“If she says no, we’ll come up with an even better plan.”
I was about to press the doorbell, but I pull my hand back. “How can you be so sure?”
His pupils dilate with intensity that steals the breath from my lungs. If he were anyone else, I might even shrink away from him, but I know it’s not a glare filled with ill intent. This is hisI’ll set fire to all your enemiesglare.
