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“What?”
“Is there something in your pocket jabbing me or are you really that happy to see me?”
“Why don’t you invite me in and let’s talk?”
I step back and invite him in.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN
HOT! From Wildcard Entertainment’s Kristoffer Wild, Wildcard Media Representative, Paula Stone, and DJ Kensington’s legal representative, Carys Burke-Lennan.
Stone, “We’re excited to announce DJ Kensington has released the name of her first single from her new album, ‘Winding Path,’ which will release before her collaboration with Amanda Reidel.”
Lennan, “‘Love’s Pursuit’ will drop on your favorite streaming platform one week from today.”
Wilde, “Plans have been made for a worldwide stadium tour. Once the single drops, both Wildcard and Kensington’s websites will list the locations.”
The world can’t wait to hear your magical vocals.
#djkensington #wildcard #lovespursuit
—StellaNova
Ethan asks me if I want to eat before or after we talk. I decline food but ask if he’s thirsty. “I wouldn’t mind something to drink.”
Walking into the kitchen, I pull out a pitcher of sweet tea and a couple of glasses before carrying both into my somewhat inhabitable living room. Pouring a glass for each of us, I gesture for him to sit, but he declines. “I’ve been cooped up between the flight and to get to you.”
Sipping on my drink, I quirk a brow at the underlying desperation in his tone. “What for?”
At my question, his face blanks. “What do you mean, ‘What for?’”
“What do you want the outcome of this conversation to be, Ethan?”
Never in a million years did I expect what happens next. Ethan drops to his knees before shuffling over to me. Uncrossing my legs, he spreads them apart and maneuvers himself in between them. “You back in my life, however I can get it.”
“I already am,” I counter because, after our discussion at my apartment in Seven Virtues and my subsequent chat with Leanne, I don’t hold the same kind of resentment I did. I can logically see where the evidence wasn’t good.
What hurt was he didn’t trust in me—in us—enough to confront me with it.
His fingers graze the side of my temple. “Maybe in here, you have. But here”—his fingers trail down to the curvature of my breast where my heart’s thumping wildly—“I owe your heart an explanation. That’s why I had to get one of my own.”
Confused, my brows draw together. “What do you mean?”
Instead of answering me, Ethan reaches into his pocket. For one horrifying moment, I think he’s going to pull out a ring box. While a few months ago, nothing would have made me happier, now I’m terrified I’m going to have to say no.
Instead, he pulls out a small silver picture frame and hands it to me without saying a word.
I study it and frown. “Why did you bring me a picture of your sister and…”
“Not Paige, Fal. Look again.”
My throat closes up when I piece together the age of the photo and the fact that the little boy whose hand the woman’s holding isn’t one of the dark-haired, blue-eyed children Paige has had.
It’s the man on his knees in front of me. Absentmindedly, I cup his cheek while I study how carefree he looks holding his mother’s hand as they tromp through a field of sunflowers together. “You look so happy.”
“Next to the time I’m with you, I think that’s the last time I was.” He studies the photo intently. “Do you know that’s also the last time I was certain my life wasn’t based on a lie?”
“What?” While I’m still struggling to understand, Ethan takes the photo and places it on the nearest table. That’s when he explains the details of his job in the navy—including how he met Sam Aiken and Parker Thornton. I recognize their names from when he explained the situation involved in his hunting down the individuals at Devil’s Lair that might be behind Leanne’s death threats.