Page 11 of The Broken Keys

“Maybe.” She grabs her purse off the coffee table in the living room. “But it’s going to be a while.”

“Just as long as I’m there when you do.” I open the door, step out, and hold out my hand.

She blushes and freezes. Her smile falters, like she just remembered something, then she glances up.

I track her gaze. There’s a security camera tucked into the corner of the overhang. It’s tiny. I wouldn’t have known it was there if she hadn’t looked that way.

He’s watching, and that gives me an idea. “Take my hand, Lily. Let me show you I can be a gentleman.”

She hesitates, but then she does. “You’re pulling out all the stops, huh?”

“Every day until you tell me you don’t want me to.”

She must have suspected her mystery man could see her, but she took my hand anyway. My heart soars.

Maybe she is ready to move on. Maybe she wants him to know she’s with me. I want both to be true.

I weave my fingers with hers and lead her to my car. “If someone told me five years ago I’d be taking Livianna Hemings to dinner at Nobu, I would’ve laughed in their face.”

“Why?”

“Because I was too fucked up to deserve five minutes of your time, let alone an entire evening.” I tighten my grip. “Andbecause I wasn’t sure I’d get a second chance to do right by you.”

“You know what I think?”

“What?” I open the car door for her.

She stops and stares warmly into my eyes. “That we should stop talking about the past. Let’s agree to move forward. If there’s anything we need to address about our history, we can discuss it then. But for now, I just want to live in the moment.”

“I love that idea. You always were the smart one out of us.”

“You’re smart too, Callum. You just never gave yourself the credit.” She gets on her tiptoes and presses her lips to my cheek.

I never wanna wash my face again. She slips inside my speedster, and I shut the door. I round the front of my car and glance at that damn camera.

Everything in me wants to flash my teeth and flip it off, telling the fucking man who stole a piece of Livianna’s heart I’ve won, but I don’t. Even I know that would be the kiss of death.

The hostess leads us to a corner table with ocean views, away from the main dining area. I pull out Lily’s chair before sitting across from her as she takes in the candlelit room as if she’s memorizing every detail she’ll never admit she notices.

“You’re full of surprises tonight.” She smooths her napkin across her lap. “First the flowers, now actual manners.”

“Ah, come on, vixen. I’ve always had manners.”

“You have, but sometimes…” She studies my face, then she releases a deep sigh. “Things were never easy for us, were they?”

“Falling in love was easy.”

“That part was. It was all the other stuff that got in the way.”

The server interrupts before I can respond, probably for the best. We don’t need to start off so heavy.

After we order, I lean back and focus on what matters. Her.

“So, Marcus Chen. Tell me everything. How did that even happen?”

“Honestly? Blind ambition and some luck. I’d been working on this presentation for a while, trying to figure out how to scale internationally without losing what makes the brand special.”

“Which is what, exactly? I mean, I know you’re talented, but what makes Lehlani Rose different?”