Page 97 of Ink & Ambition

My father raises the containers. “Thought you might want some leftovers.”

Sighing, I try to walk past him out the door but he grabs my arm, stopping me. Kai and Keith are on red alert in the entryway.Oh good, an audience. Oliver’s favorite.

“Get in the kitchen,” he whispers harshly into my ear. “Do not play with me right now.”

Ripping my arm from his grasp, I stalk back into the house. I give the boys a nod, and they cautiously head back into the living room, Kai lingering just a bit longer with a curious expression on his face.

Oliver comes behind me, putting the tins in the fridge. When he closes the door, a long sigh escapes. “I apologize for dinner.”

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.”

“Alexander, you cannot be serious. This girl is nothing compared to you.”

I want to roar.

I want to scream.

I want to rip his throat from his neck.

Who the fuck is this man to tell me who Margot is. He doesn’t even know her. She is one thousand times a better person than I am. She cares more, worries more, loves more. She is every bit of the goodness in this world and I am lucky to have even the tiniest place in her life.

I want to say all of it. I want to shout from the rooftops how much Margot means to me. But instead, all I do is whisper. “She is everything.”

Turning on my heels, I ignore my father raging for me to come back inside. Shouting a goodbye to the twins, I run out the door, into the car and head right to Margot’s apartment.

She’s waiting outside, just like I told her to and luckily I’m only a few minutes late.

“I thought you forgot about me,” Margot laughs as she slides into the passenger seat. I reach across the car and grab her by the back of the neck, placing a rough but intimate kiss on her lips.

“Never,” I say as I break our lips apart, resting my forehead on hers.

“Everything okay?” She asks, sensing the shift in my mood even after everything that’s happened at dinner.

“It is now,” I respond, pulling away from the curb and starting toward the highway. I’m not sure where we’re going but as long as we’re together, we’re going to be alright.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Margot

IwaketoAlex’ssoft whisper in my ear. “Wake up, baby. We’re here.”

Blinking a few times, I give my brain time to adjust to what’s going on. Right, okay. Disastrous Thanksgiving dinner at Alex’s house, spontaneous trip to who knows where. Looking out the window, the first thing I see is black meaning it’s still nighttime, we must not have traveled too far, then. The next thing I see is an ocean and next to it, a little bed and breakfast called the Oceanside Inn.Oceanside, New Jersey?

“Where are we?” I ask, groggy from my car nap.

“We’re at the beach. My favorite place.” Alex unbuckles my seatbelt and I slide from the seat.

“That’s nice,” I say, still sleepy. Would it be bad if I just want to crawl into this B&B bed and sleep for twelve hours?Probably. After grabbing our bags from the back seat, Alex grabs my hand, leading me toward the door.

“Checking in for Prescott,” he says to the receptionist, his voice commanding. Sexy. The sound of it wakes me up a bit.

“Oh you late reservers!” The older lady croons. “I always like to pay close attention to the people who book the day of.” She taps a few keys on the keyboard then whispers dramatically toward us. “You’re not running from anything, are ya?”

Alex laughs. “No, ma’m. Just wanted a nice getaway for the weekend.”

“Well, you’ve come to the right place!” She cheers again. Her name tag says Susan.

“Thank you, Susan. We’re excited to be here,” I smile at her and she returns my grin. Susan tells us that we’re staying in room four and that breakfast starts promptly at nine am.

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