Page 122 of Heart Strings & Hotlines
“Failure is not an option.” He says it so plainly, as though he’s moved through life never allowing failure.
Could it truly be that simple?
When I don’t say anything, he bends at the waist and presses a gentle kiss to my forehead. It’s such a simple kiss, a gentle gesture that’s played out countless times in romance movies, but the impact of it in real life knocks me off-kilter.
“Gross,” Kara groans from somewhere behind me.
Thane truly means it when he says he won’t allow me, us, to fail. The strength of his conviction in and for us reinforces my resolve, and he did it all with a simple kiss, a transference of strength from his lips to my soul.
“Are you ready?” He whispers the words. He’s gentling himself for me, and it’s another steel beam shoring up my foundation.
“Yes.”
The corner of his lips twitch, and then he presses the doorbell.
The front door swings open immediately. How long was Rowan standing there?
I frown at her, and she has the decency to at least appear embarrassed, but I can tell by the sparkle in her gaze that she’s not at all sorry for spying.
“Come in.” She sweeps the door open with a flamboyant swish of her arm, and Kara rushes through the door in search of her friend.
After she shuts the door behind us, she hooks her arm through mine, forcing Thane to follow behind. Rowan is not an emotive person. She doesn’t voluntarily hug or hook arms, so I’m instantly on alert.
She deposits me at the kitchen island, and Thane slips in next to me when she turns to the fridge.
Sebastian enters the room with the confidence of a man in love, and I soften a little toward him. When I matched him with Rowan, I would have bet my entire future on the fact that she would never fall in love.
It’s a bet I’m now glad I never made.
Rowan sets glasses of lemonade in front of us all, and I study her as she moves about the kitchen to sit opposite me.
It might be the longest I’ve ever seen her go without picking at the black bracelet she wears on her wrist, and if Sebastian has given her that peace, I’ll attempt to be more open to accepting him.
“I know that face.” Rowan points to me. “So lay it on me. I know you have something to say, but if it’s about me and Sebastian, you can save your breath.”
“No, I’m really very happy for you.”
Her face lights up as she leans into Sebastian’s open embrace. In a short amount of time, that man appears to have changed the very fabric of what held my friend together for years.
“Okay, then spill it because you’re making me nervous.”
I take a deep breath, then study her very closely as I lay out my situation and my plans for the future.
The room falls silent for an uncomfortable sixty seconds when I finally stop talking.
“Someone is trying to steal your intellectual property?” Rowan plays with a new bracelet, a pink one, as she speaks.
“Everyone wants it.” If I didn’t know him so well, I would think Thane was annoyed with my friend’s question.
“Even you?” There’s an edge to her voice as she glares at Thane.
“Especially me. I want what it can do for people, but I’m not trying to steal it from her.” He finally glances up, then leans over the counter to stare at Rowan. “This upsets you.”
We spend a few moments explaining that Thane experiences emotions and tone differently than we do, and she finally accepts that, but it’s Sebastian who clears his throat.
“You want Rowan to run the hotline. But what are your next steps? How do you proceed from here?” Sebastian’s fingers drum against the granite, waiting for my answer.
“I’ll prove that my father has no claim on my company. My lawyers believe they’ll have at least this first injunction thrown out within a few days, and I’ll move fast to put safeguards in place before he can file another one. Once I know that the hotline is in good hands, I’ll need to invest in a technology company, or partner with one, but I have to raise the capital for that first. I have meetings with investors already lined up.”
