Page 110 of Undone

I lean in then, pressing a long, heavy kiss to her temple before we walk into the other room.

• • •

We take our seats across the large dark oak table. I make an attempt at sitting at her side, even if it does put me next to LaBlanc at the head of the table. There’s a deep warmth lodged in my chest at the idea of her shielded on both sides, Holden sitting on the other.

A hand grabs my shoulder.

“I think that’s my spot.”

It’s the asshole from the rink, all those weeks ago. My brow furrows as I look at him, pressed blue shirt and navy trousers, an outrageously expensive watch on his wrist where it’s still touching me. I jerk away.

He eyes me and then Holden with a smile. “You’re being really friendly, huh, Lillian?” he says, his words and tone full up with innuendo and sarcasm I know she won’t catch.

“Who the fuck are you?” My voice is loud, but my chest is roaring, and her taste is still on my tongue, which only makes the protective rage I feel stronger.

“Toren?” LaBlanc cuts in with a smile. “Have you not met Lillian’s fiancé?”

Chapter 43

Lily

It feels like I’m underwater, unaware of what’s really going on around me. Everything feels muffled, the same way it does as I steadily sink into the dark abyss.

My mouth parts. I want to say something, but there’s an overwhelming panic racing through my veins and I can’t get my brain to stick to one thing.

It’s the first time anyone has actually said that out loud. Lillian’s fiancé.

“Lil?” Toren’s voice is choked, a cracking whisper. I almost flinch. “Say something.”

My mouth opens, but shuts again, eyes and nose burning like I’m breathing in the smoke of a burning house.

Toren’s eyes are blazing gold—bright but in a different way than earlier with my thighs clenched around his neck. I want to go back there, lock us in that bathroom.

Blinking, I look around. Toren and Carson are both still standing; Holden looks moments from standing too. Everyone else is silent.

When my dad first brought it up, I’d nodded along, thinking it was just an idea, a way to hand off the responsibility of me he didn’t want. And I knew Carson; he’d been my tutor, tried his hardest to help me pass my classes at Harvard, to stay in school. I’d flunked out anyway, but for a moment he’d been nice.

He’d been my friend, I thought.

But then, when my dad continued to invite Carson as my date to events he forced me to attend now, the meaning of “having Carson with me” changed.

He wasn’t mean. Polite, raised with clear manners. But it was clear even to me that he didn’t like me.

When everything happened last year, my world changed, and so did my dad. He’d always been overly cautious with me, restrictive. Now, he ruled my life with an iron fist. And then, it was like I blinked, and my entire life had been decided, without me. As if I was far away, watching it happen to me from high above—no control over my body or my life.

I feel the same way now, seeing the reality of my dad’s control collide with the dream of having Toren at my side once again.

“Toren?” a softer voice says. The pretty woman who introduced herself as Sahara Harris. I’m bad with names, but I could tell hers was important. “Why don’t you come sit with me?”

Blood rushing in my ears, I can barely make out the scratch of Toren’s chair against the hardwood as he pulls back. He stands to his full height, easily towering over Carson who goes a little pale when he realizes just how much bigger Tor is.

Carson takes his place and my chest burns. The seating change puts Toren across from me, Mrs. Harris next to him, watching him with the same concern I am.

Coach Harris says something first. Then Holden, who scoots his chair slightly closer to mine.

“Do you play hockey?” Holden asks, directing his question over my head.

Carson shakes his head. “I’m a sports agent, though, if you’re looking for representation. But I’m aiming to work mostly higher profile.”