Haze

I lean forward to graze my lips across her bare knee. "It's not silly if that's your dream, Isla."

She pinches the bridge of her nose, her eyes shuttering for a moment. "I wanted the crop to be for just you and me. The collar I was wearing too."

I swallow back my emotions. "I understand."

"I know there are others." She closes her eyes again. "I didn't want to be just one of them."

"There are no other women in my life." I rest my chin against her knee. "You could never be like anyone else."

She glides her hand over my forehead. "Thank you for tonight. I want more."

"We'll do whatever you wish, Isla, whenever you wish."

Her hand stops on my cheek. "Was it special, Gabriel? Did it feel as special to you as it did to me?"

"It was everything to me. Everything," I say before I kiss her.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Isla

"I quit." That felt better than I ever imagined it would.

"Sure."

No, just no. Fight me on this Cicely. Get mad. Give me something. Throw me a fucking bone.

"Sure?" I round the counter so I'm facing her directly. "What do you mean?"

She shrugs her orange fabric colored shoulder. "You quit. I get it."

I stomp my foot. This isn't happening. I need some satisfaction here. "You're not upset at all?"

"Are you asking if I'm going to miss you, Isla?"

I'm not asking that, am I?

She looks down at a stack of papers in front of her. I follow the movement as her shaking hands scatter the papers about before she pulls them back into a pile.

"What's wrong?" I reach forward and grab her wrists. "Tell me what's going on."

Her shoulders stiffen. "I saw Lance last night."

"Lance?" I try to remember if she ever mentioned a Lance before. No, there's no way. I'm sure I would remember that. "Who is Lance?"

"You know who he is."

Apparently she did mention Lance and I was too awestruck by her choice of wardrobe that day that I zoned out. I'm going to go for the obvious. "Is he the man you loved?"

She nods quickly. "He came to see me. We went for dinner."

Somehow we've become confidantes since I quit my job twenty seconds ago. "Did it go well?"

I'm greeted with a loud sniffle. "He wants to get back together."

"That's good?" I ask cautiously. "It's good, right?"

"He's a secretary, Isla," she hisses. "He works for Alec Hughes as his secretary."

If I knew who Alec Hughes is that might make this easier to understand. I'll take a random shot in the dark. The only Hughes I've ever heard of is the man who owns the company that Cassia is interning at. "Hughes Enterprises? Lance works there?"

"Don't sound so impressed."

"I'm not."

Her head bolts up. "So you agree with me? You wouldn’t date a man who is a secretary either, would you?"

"I once dated a guy who cleaned windshields at red lights for tips, Cicely. I'm not the best judge."

She smiles. She actually smiles. "My parents think it's ridiculous. They want me to be with someone like Mr. Foster."

He's taken. Hands-off.

"Why do you give a fuck what your parents think? They're not dating him."

"They have a reputation. They don't want it sullied by someone like Lance," she says every single one of those words with a straight face.

"Sullied? Do your parents live in this century, Cicely?"

Another smile, this one brighter. "I don't want to disappoint them, Isla."

I tap her on the chest. "This is what you worry about. It's your heart, Cicely. You love this guy, don't you?"

"I love him more than anything."

"Don’t lose him. Sully whatever you need to in order to keep him."

She nods, straightening the legs of her orange pantsuit. "I'll take your advice but I'm still not going to miss you."

"I won't miss you either." I pull her into a tight hug. "I won't miss you at all."

***

"You decided to go ahead and settle with your mother?" Gabriel cocks a dark winged brow. "You feel confident that's the best decision for you."

"I do." I'd gone to Garrett's office after work today. As much as I had wanted to quit on the spot yesterday, I did give Cicely a full two weeks' notice. I don’t want to leave her in a bind and I won't start working at the music school until a week after that.

My plan now is to polish my craft so that when I do land an audition with Juilliard, I'll be prepared and I'll have the funds in place to pay for my own tuition.

"I'm happy for you then, Isla."

I don't push him on whether he believes it's the best decision because it's not his life. It's mine and putting the drama with my mother behind me will give me the emotional freedom I need to finally move forward without all this weighing me down.

"I need a financial advisor." I look across the table at him. "Can you offer any suggestions?"