Page 70 of Lonely Heart

I chuckled. “Like you really needed to ask.”

She nodded. “Yeah, I guess that was silly.” Her eyes roamed over my face, taking me in once more. “Okay. You should get back to work. I need to get myself cleaned up so I can do the same.”

I moved to the door, Ivy following behind me. Before I unlocked it, I kissed her one last time, took in the sight of her desk, and whispered, “It’d really make my day to think about you without those panties on the rest of the day.”

“Oh yeah?”

I dipped my chin.

Ivy stepped away, moved over to the desk, and snatched them off it. Then she walked back to me and placed them inmy palm. “Keep them with you so you don’t have to wonder if I listened.”

I groaned. This was going to be a long day.

I tucked her underwear into my pocket, kissed her once more, and finally unlocked the door. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“I can’t wait.”

I wanted to kiss her again, but there was too much of a risk of being caught. So, I allowed my gaze to linger for just a few beats longer before I turned and walked off to head out to the villas.

Suffice it to say, I slid my hand into my pocket several times throughout the day and thought about my girl wearing her skirt with nothing beneath it.

That was just one more fantasy fulfilled.

19

IVY

Between the eventfulmorning I’d had with Marco, the daydreaming I’d done about our weekend, and the time I spent working on scheduling for the next month, I lost track of time.

As a result, I hadn’t done anything I should have to properly prepare myself for when the knock came at my door hours after Marco had come in to see me. And when Jules and Ava walked in, I jumped out of my seat and tried to hurry them out of the office.

“Oh, hey. Hi. I totally lost track of time,” I said after I’d grabbed my purse and moved toward them.

“What’s that?”

Damn. I knew it.

This was my sister and my best friend. Of course, they were going to notice something out of place, something that hadn’t ever been in my office before now.

Even if I already knew what they were questioning me about, I pretended I didn’t have a clue. “What’s what?”

Jules lifted her hand and pointed her finger at the tin on my desk. “That.”

I looked back at the tin, felt my heart squeeze, and said, “Oh, thanks for reminding me. They’re just some chocolate-covered cheesecakes. I want to put them back in my fridge.”

I moved back to the desk, picked up the tin, and walked it over to the mini refrigerator I had in my office—I had the fridge for those instances when I met with guests in my office, if they were booking our ballroom for a special event.

Once the tin was put away, I moved back toward the two closest women in my life and couldn’t avoid their inquisitive stares.

“Ready?” I asked, hoping they’d turn and leave.

No such thing happened.

Ava lifted her hand and pointed to the vase with the single rose in it. “What’s that?”

I pressed my lips together. “A rose.”

“I’m not an idiot, Ivy. What I want to know, what I’m sure Jules wants to know as well, is where the heck it came from.”