“If this is the only reason why you called, I’m hanging up.”

“No you won’t. You love me too much.”

“Not that much.” Kane scowled, his face on the screen so close to mine, and lifted his finger.

“No! Don’t. Okay, okay, I won’t be crazy. I promise.”

“You can do that?” I asked and stuck out my tongue.

She hmphed and threw herself back into her chair, returning the look. “Of course. And I actually didn’t call you tonight to tease you.”

Kane’s brows rose. “No? I’m shocked.”

“Shut up. I’m serious.” As her tone changed, a chill slid down my spine. “I turned your phone on again today to see if that asshole called again and he has. And he’s not mad, Emmersyn. He’s big mad. Like, I’m glad you’re halfway across the country or I’d be super terrified for you.”

The phone was torn out of my hand and in front of Kane. I had to lean in far to see her face, but the fury in Kane’s tone was unmistakable.

“What do you mean? What’s he saying?”

Another shiver, this one warmer took place of the chill.

“It’s not so much what he’s saying, but how he’s saying it. Mostly he keeps saying you’ve thrown your tantrum and you need to get over it, get back home. There’s some gala or charity event you’re supposed to be going to next week—”

“Oh shit. I totally forgot about it. No wonder he’s pissed.”

“What’s it for?” Kane asked.

“Fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders organization. It’s mostly for the governor to start gearing up for his campaign next year but it’s being held at their flagship hotel.” My chin trembled and my stomach rolled. “This will make Lincoln pissed if I’m not there with him. Totally embarrass him.”

“When is it?”

I looked at Kane. “Next Saturday.”

“It’ll be okay, sweetie,” Heather said through the phone. She was chewing her bottom lip, which grabbed my attention.

She never hesitated. “What is it?”

“His mom called.”

“Irena?” She had always been kind to me. A former supermodel from Germany, she wasn’t Lincoln’s birth mom, but she was the only mother figure in his life since he was ten. His mom died in a car accident when he was three. She welcomed me into their family from the first time we met, and unlike his dad, who I knew saw my familial connections and approved, she simply liked me.

“Yeah, her message said Lincoln called her. She wants to talk to you.”

She might not have been Lincoln’s birth mom, but they’d never had their own kids, either by choice or complications. I never thought it kind to ask, but she always loved Lincoln like her own. She was fiercely protective, although frustrated when he went through hard times. I figured this was one of those hard times. But whether she’d call me to talk me into going back or would even listen to why I left, was something I didn’t know.