Page 46 of The Vow Thief
I turned and walked out of Elliott’s office.
When I reached the hallway, the house had settled into a curated quiet. A faint rustle drifted from the kitchen. She was there, barefoot, hair wild, building a sandwich large enough to end a famine.
“Good,” I said, leaning against the doorway.“In the kitchen where you belong.”
She froze, then glanced over her shoulder, eyes flashing. For a second, I thought she might throw the mustard jar at my head. Instead, she shook her head and turned away, hiding the smile that slipped out.
I pushed off the doorframe and came closer.“You care to make one for me, too?”
She didn’t turn around.“Yes, sir. Anything else, sir?”
Her voice dripped sarcasm, but there was something playful buried under it.
“That depends,” I said, lowering my tone.“Are you planning to poison me, or feed me?”
She handed me half the sandwich without looking at me.“Guess you’ll have to take your chances.”
I smiled as I took it.“I usually do.”
We both bit into our sandwiches at the same time. I set mine down and said,“You want to talk about the next two weeks leading up to the ceremony?”
Lily burst into laughter.“You’ve got lettuce dangling off your chin.”
I pushed my chin out.“Well, get it. That’s your job now.”
She shook her head.“Uh-uh. It looks like a booger.”
I laughed so hard that the rest of my sandwich nearly hit the floor.
“I never saw you laugh one time while I was locked up,” Lily said.
I took another bite of my sandwich and stared at her. What was I supposed to say to that? She was right. It took a lot to make me laugh, and even more to make me forget myself long enough to do it.
But there was something about her. That sharp tongue, that glint of mockery under the prettiest face I’d ever had the misfortune of being assigned to watch. The snark was part of the armor, but it drew me in anyway.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and leaned on the counter.“You were not exactly a laugh riot, Lily. Jailhouse humor is hard to pull off.”
She smirked.“You never looked bored, though. Always watching, like I was a show you couldn’t turn off.”
She wasn’t wrong. I didn’t bother pretending otherwise.“You were a show,” I said quietly.“Still are.”
Her eyes met mine, the air between us shifting, charged in a way that had nothing to do with anger. She looked away first, reaching for the bread knife, pretending she needed to cut the sandwich again.
“You’re not supposed to look at me like that,” she said, her tone light but her voice lower than before.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re thinking about things that have nothing to do with security protocols.”
I smiled, slow and certain.“You have a way of blurring the lines.”
She set the knife down and crossed her arms, still not facing me.“And you have a way of pretending you don’t want what you clearly do.”
I stepped closer, close enough to smell the wine still lingering on her breath.“Careful, Lily. That almost sounded like an invitation.”
She turned then, chin tilted, eyes blazing.“Look all you want, but you will never touch this. I may be forced to marry you, but I will never touch you. And I will never let you touch me.”
I laughed, loud and unrestrained, the sound echoing off the marble.“Oh, Lily, don’t kid yourself. You were undressing me the first time you saw me. We won’t even make it two weeks, and you know it.”
