EMBERJeez. This guy. The feel of his lips against my skin while we were actually taking an honest to God walk along the beach while the sun was starting to set? It was like living my own personal version of the romantic comedies I liked to make fun of and secretly swooned over.His words played on a loop in my mind as the warm sand cascaded over my feet on our way to the ice cream parlor. Whatever you want, kitten, it’s all yours.My heart did a skippy, palpitating thing that would’ve had me worried had I been with anyone else. With Kaden though, I was getting used to it. My heart didn’t function the way a normal human’s did when around him. And I was perfectly okay with that.“You want to get a booth or eat and walk?” he asked as we stomped some of the sand off our feet on the welcome mat.“Eat and walk?” I suggested, letting go of his hand on our approach to the counter.The parlor was small and decorated in soft pink and baby blue. There were only a few booths, decorated in the sa

KADEN Standing in my dad’s office—my office—I looked out over the city below. Most of the buildings were obscured by low-hanging clouds, and the weather was gray and miserable, but it seemed fitting somehow.Today was my first day as CEO of Marx Inc. The papers were signed, the ink was dry, and since there were no disputes or objections filed to my stepping into Dad’s position, it was now official.While Ember and I had been in Florida, Scotty, who was now my assistant, had rearranged Dad’s office and gotten it ready for me. The mammoth desk was still in there, but so were all my screens, a new computer, two new monitors, and a color printer I didn’t have any use for.Scotty left Dad’s bar, sitting area, and conference table untouched, but he told me he could have any of it removed at any time. I told him not to worry about it. In a way, this would always be Dad’s office. I was only running it for him now.Besides, there was a good reason why Dad had each of those features in his off

EMBERSo, this was what it felt like when everything went to hell in a handbasket. My heart sank so low during those moments in Kaden’s office after he told me to leave that it felt like it might be at the soles of my feet by the time I left.Tears stung my eyes, threatening to fall with every step I took. I kept my head down when I emerged from Kaden’s office, allowing my hair to form a protective curtain as I hurried to the staircase. I couldn’t face the elevator right now.There was always someone in there who wanted to talk to me about something, and if I opened my mouth, the lump in my throat was bound to disintegrate from the vibrations in my voice box, and I was sure to become a rambling, blubbering mess.Slamming my fists into the door leading to the staircase, I burst onto the concrete landing and sagged against the cool wall. Shit. An hour ago, Kaden and I had gotten to the office together, happy and in love and sated from a morning of me wishing him luck for his first day

KADENMy head was spinning. I felt nauseous, my stomach twisting and turning as I tried to focus on the screen in front of me. I was trying to get everything with Ember out of my head and get some work done, but it was proving to be harder than I thought it would be.Despite everything, I still didn’t want to let my dad down. Sure, he told my girl he was dying and not me, but—“Fuck,” I muttered, dragging my hands through my hair. Again. I shuddered to think what I looked like by now. At least no one was bothering me.Scotty was keeping his distance, and most people would probably be leaving soon. They were giving me the day to get settled in, which was a fucking blessing since I had no idea how I would be able to handle meetings or making any big decisions today.I’d been so damn optimistic just this morning, determined to make this work no matter what. I was so damn sure I had this under control, that I was going to walk in as CEO and things would just fall in place.I was prepared

EMBERWhen Kaden’s lips crashed into mine, it was with such passion and fervor that a fresh wave of tears welled up behind my eyes. Different tears this time, happy tears. I couldn’t believe he was here, that he was in my arms and kissing me the way he was.An hour ago, I was convinced our relationship was toast. When I didn’t hear from Ryan, I thought the worst. I thought Kaden was so mad at me, he’d convinced Ryan he was right, and I was wrong. I thought Ryan wasn’t going to speak to me ever again either.I thought so many things, all of which were apparently wrong. It was hard to have faith in people when you felt as guilty and as badly as I did, though. In my defense, those weren’t feelings I had much experience with, and now that I’d felt them in their fullest glory, I had no intention of ever finding myself in a position like that ever again.From now on, I was going back to honesty. I still regretted the way I handled things with Mr. Marx, but I’d also learned from it. With Kad