I’ve never felt any particular warmth for Gwendolyn, but this is a side of her I’ve never seen before. I don’t have a chance to respond—which is a good thing, seeing as I doubt it would’ve been anything less than scathing—because Lincoln’s voice breaks the silence stretching between us.

“You disappeared.” Lincoln’s warm breath caresses the back of my neck, indicating how close he is. “I’ve been looking everywhere for—oh, Mother.” He looks between us. “Everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine. I thought you might like a drink.” I pass him the scotch. “Gwendolyn and I were discussing how well the speech went.”

“And how important it is that people see how capable you are. Make sure you post on social media tonight, Wren.”

Lincoln takes the glass from me and shoots his mother a look. “Lighten up. Wren’s been on all day. I think it’s safe to say she’s done her job for the night and deserves to enjoy herself for a few minutes without being hounded.” He settles a hand on my lower back, but I step out of reach.

His smile is stiff. “Come on, Ruby and Amalie were asking where you went. If you’ll excuse us, Mother.”

“Of course, enjoy the rest of your evening. You would’ve made your father proud tonight.”

Lincoln gives his mother a curt nod, and I follow him back to the hall. “Everything okay? That looked intense.”

“Everything’s fine. She really just wanted to make sure I wasn’t shirking my responsibilities.” He’s in such a good mood, totally in his element, and I won’t take that away from him. He needs to see he can do this, that he’s good at it, and that his presence here will only make this a better company.

But what his mother said sticks with me for the rest of the night. As much as I care about Lincoln, I worry about Gwendolyn’s ability to come between us, and exactly what kind of recourse will follow if she finds out what’s really going on.CHAPTER 16SETTLING INLINCOLN“I’m not kicking you out of your penthouse. I’ll get out of your hair for a few days so you can have the place to yourself,” I tell Griffin. I can see about staying at Wren’s, but that could be complicated. In the weeks since we started sleeping together, it’s been pretty standard for her to come to the penthouse, and it makes sense since she’s contracted to work with me, but the other way around is tricky.

I don’t necessarily care if my family finds out we’re sleeping together, but I get why Wren is so adamant that we keep it between us. I don’t want to compromise her contract or her reputation, and I get what the optics are like, even if they’re a pain in my ass.

“The penthouse is huge, and you know you’re welcome to stay as long as you want. Besides, Cosy and I are only in town for three days, and then we’re back out again.”

“I should really get my own place.”

“What’s the point if you’re leaving in a few more months, anyway?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t want to be in the way.”

“Or maybe you’re getting comfortable in the concrete jungle.”

“Just thinking it might be a decent investment.”

“Can’t argue with real estate. Anyway, we’re traveling for two more months. We didn’t expect to stop in New York at all, so you don’t need to worry about being in the way. Oh, and the penthouse across the hall might be available soon, so if that looks like something you’d be interested in, let me know and we can get you into that.”

“You sure you want me for a neighbor?”

“Better having you all up in my business than my brothers nosing around, as they do. How’s the city treating you? You managing okay?”

I consider how things have changed in the past few weeks, particularly since Wren and I stopped fighting our attraction. I’d call it dating, but mostly it’s the two of us holed up in my cousin’s penthouse in the evenings since we can’t do the whole dinner and a movie date in public without all the speculation that comes with it. Naked movie watching is my new favorite pastime. “It could be worse.”

“Hey, we still have that place upstate, right? I’ve got a meeting as soon as I land, but I’m free after that. We could head out there, get away from the grind, drink too much beer, eat hotdogs for dinner and breakfast like we used to when we were in college.”

I tap on the arm of my chair. Wren and I are supposed to spend the weekend together. Out of necessity, I’ve been quiet about what’s going on between us with everyone except Griffin. He’s a vault, and I trust him not to say anything about my relationship with Wren. “Would Cosy come?”

“She doesn’t have to if you need it to just be you and me.”