Page 52 of Crash
“That’s what got to me with Ash,” she went on. “He left when I needed him most. Granted, he thought he was doing the right thing, but if you did that to Violet? She’d never recover, Linc. I can understand Ash’s anger when it’s put like that.”
My throat tightened. “I get it, Ren. I get it so fuckin’ clearly the entire world is crystal.”
“But you still want her?”
Glancing away, I took a deep breath. “More than anything.”
Ren shoved me playfully. “Then go and get her.”
Twenty-Two
Violet
I’d made a decision to take my life back, but that was only the first step.
It was the biggest one of all, but it was only the beginning of a longer journey. There were so many things I wanted to tell Lincoln and so many experiences I wanted to share.
I waited in the kitchen at home, nervously glancing at the clock on the microwave. We’d agreed to meet here for dinner since I wasn’t that into going out to a restaurant. Being alone with Lincoln was exactly what I wanted, but I was terrified at the same time.
I guess it was the fear of being alone with a man.Especially with a man who I wanted to touch and had fantasized about touching me.The thought made me squirm, and when the buzzer on the gate went off, I jumped about a mile. Jamming my finger on the button to let him in, I went to the front door and opened it.
I smiled as Lincoln filled my vision. “Hey.”
His dimple appeared. “Hey.”
I stepped aside, letting him into the house, and he was just…here.
“No spiders?” he asked, turning to face me.
“No.” My gaze crossed a red mark on his cheek, and I frowned. “What’s that on your face?”
He shrugged. “Ash had a go.”
“Ash punched you?” I exclaimed. “Thatasshole.”
“Vee, he’s just looking out for you. He pisses me off, but I get it. We worked it out, or I should say, Ren mediated and got us to see eye to eye.”
“Still—”
“Vee,” he murmured, reaching out. He let his fingers trail across my cheek before letting his hand fall back to his side. “What’s for dinner?”
Laughing, I shook my head. No Ash talk tonight. Turning, I led Lincoln into the kitchen. “I’m not much of a cook,” I said. “I thought we could order something, but I didn’t know what you liked…” I watched in confusion as he opened the fridge and began poking around. “What are you doing?”
“Seeing what food you have,” he said like it was obvious. It was, but was he going to cook? Shit, how hot was he right now?
“Don’t tell me you can cook,” I said, hovering by the kitchen counter.
“I’m not a genius, but I’m not dead yet.”
“That’s Ash’s stuff,” I said, watching him dump a container of raw chicken breast onto the countertop, followed by a jar of pesto and a tub of cherry tomatoes.
“I’ll pay him back,” Lincoln replied, his voice muffled from inside the fridge. A moment later, he came back out with a jar of mustard and said, “Just sit back, relax and watch me blow up your kitchen.” He finished off his statement with a wink, and I sank back onto a stool with a sigh, my heart fluttering.
“Do I have a choice?”
“At this point? Nup.”
Two seconds in the place and already was making himself at home. Sometimes his confidence made me feel small in comparison, but that was something I had to get over.
