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ALLISON

F ord swears under his breath. “He wouldn’t just leave without telling us.”

Connor pulls out his phone and dials.

We all hold our breath as it rings—then goes to voicemail.

I exhale sharply. “Okay, no one panic.”

“Too late,” Jake mutters.

Cole cracks his knuckles. “We should split up. Check the lobby, restrooms?—”

Before we can act, a security guard walks by, grumbling into his radio. “Yeah, yeah, the elevator’s stuck again. Some guy and a woman are in there.”

We all freeze.

Connor raises a brow. “What did he just say?”

Chloe turns wide eyes to Tara. “You don’t think?—”

Jake already has his hands on his hips, looking done with all of us. “Of course, Daltyn’s the one stuck in an elevator.”

Ford sighs, then claps his hands together. “Alright, troops. Let’s move out.”

The elevator is, in fact, stuck.

We take the stairs—so many stairs—splitting up and storming random hallways like a drunken SWAT team, hoping Jake is wrong and Daltyn isn’t in the elevator.

Eventually, Connor and I slow down.

Just as we round the next corner, Daltyn appears, looking way too calm for someone who’s been MIA.

“There you are!” I breathe, relieved. “What the hell happened?”

He rubs the back of his neck. “Uh… got stuck in an elevator.”

Connor crosses his arms. “And?”

Daltyn shifts. “And… helped a woman out with her psycho ex.”

Connor stares at him, brow lifted. “That all?”

Daltyn glares. “Yes.”

Connor smirks. “Mmhmm.”

Before Daltyn can say anything else, the rest of the crew finds us. It’s a flurry of chaos as everyone talks over one another, asking Daltyn questions he clearly doesn’t want to answer.

I meet Harper’s eyes.

“Let’s get some dinner.”

There’s a chorus of agreement. Everyone seems to settle down.

Good. Maybe this group won’t accidentally cause more trouble.

* * *

I should’ve known better.

Dinner is chaos.

Cole tries to order a hundred chicken nuggets just to see if the waiter will say no.

Ford keeps distracting Harper by murmuring dirty things in her ear.

Gram flirts shamelessly with the bartender and somehow ends up behind the bar, making drinks.

And in the middle of it all, Connor’s hand is glued to my thigh, fingers tracing slow, lazy circles, staking a silent claim. Like he’s giving me a dangerous reminder of exactly who I belong to.

I lean into him. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

He smirks. “Baby, this is the best night of my life.”

I roll my eyes, but I’m grinning.

* * *

In our suite, the insanity melts away.

A fresh bouquet waits on the table, alongside a box of my favorite dark chocolates.

My heart clenches.

He’s so damn thoughtful.

Connor wraps his arms around me from behind, nuzzling into my neck. “Wanted you to have something nice.”

I swallow. “You’re gonna make me fall in love with you all over again.”

He turns me in his arms, serious now. “Good. I hope you fall more in love with me every damn day.”

My breath catches as I smile up at him.

He searches my face, something vulnerable flickering in his eyes before he looks away. “My parents’ divorce… It’s the reason I made you sign that contract. I needed to know you wouldn’t just walk away.”

I stare at him, feeling the weight of his confession.

“You thought I’d leave,” I whisper.

He lets out a rough laugh. “I knew you would. We were reckless, Allie. But I couldn’t stand the idea of you waking up one day and deciding I was a mistake.”

My heart aches. I cup his face. “You’re not a mistake, Connor.”

His eyes darken. “Then don’t ever try to leave me.”

I press my lips to his, sealing the promise between us. “I won’t.”

And for the first time, I think he actually believes me.

I pull him closer, grinding over his hard dick.

He moans, and I smile against his lips, even more turned on by that sound than I was before.

Tonight, I’m going to show him exactly how much I mean those words.

Because Connor is mine as much as I’m his.