So instead of hopping a bus to do damage control for Mom, I spent the day taking care of me.
Like an emergency me day. Nothing I’d never handled before. It just took time. And energy.
And walking, apparently.
I’d been so focused on my own thoughts, gotten so lost in my own head all day that I hadn’t even realized how much I’d walked around Manhattan till I looked at my steps in my phone and saw a five-digit number that seemed completely absurd.
But it certainly explained why my legs were so sore, and why I could think about nothing right now but getting out of the clothes I’d been wearing since 8AM, changing into my softest T-shirt, and collapsing onto my bed.
As I rounded the corner of my street, I finally turned on my phone, lifting my eyebrows as much as I could in my tired state at all the texts I had missed. Most from Dad, many from Adam, several from A.J, and some from Mia.
My eyes gravitated to Mia’s.
She was the only one who didn’t know about my total clusterfuck of a day, and since I didn’t feel like talking about it anymore, I skipped everyone else’s texts and went straight to hers.
And as soon as my tired eyes read them, my eyebrows jumped halfway up my forehead.
MIA: Uhhhh
MIA: Mr. Ass just came here looking for you???!?
I stopped and stared in the middle of the sidewalk, whispering, “What?” before dragging my thumb to see the timestamp on the texts. 8:17PM.
Nearly five hours ago.
My eyes were still wide, unblinking, but with the current hour fresh in my mind, I kept walking to my apartment, my eyes glued to my screen as I read Mia’s last rambling texts.
MIA: He asked where he might find you and he looked so fucking hot and he seemed so desperate to know so I just told him all the places I’ve heard you talk about before and I highly doubt you’re there right now but I don’t know I just said it because he was being very firm with me and honestly a little bit scary
MIA: Like in a way that makes me super horny but anyway I think I might’ve sent him on a wild goose chase through Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn oops CALL ME when you get this please!
I stared, covering my inward laugh of shock as I immediately went to my recents to call Mia back. But as soon as I lifted my head to put the phone on my ear, my hand dropped from my mouth, my heart stopped and I froze.
Chills erupted all over my skin as our eyes locked. And for a moment, I could only stare, convinced I was dreaming.
Because standing still as a statue in front of my apartment was Iain.
Hands in his pockets. Tie loosened.
Just watching me.
“Oh, thank God—Holland?” Mia answered the phone suddenly, making me blink. But it took her saying my name a few more times before I spoke.
“Hey. Sorry, I’m home and safe. But let me call you back.”
I didn’t take my eyes off Iain as I hung up, letting my feet float me over to him till I was stopped just a foot from him. His gait was his usual strong and authoritative, but I was close enough now to see the softness and the unfiltered worry in his searching eyes. They looked silver under the light of the moon, and he was so stunning I had to stare for a little longer before I could speak.
“What are you doing here?” I finally asked, my words barely above a whisper.
He stood so still, but his throat moved as he swallowed, and though his stare glinted with intensity, his voice was soft when he spoke.
“I heard about your mom,” he replied. There was a beat of silence as his jaw ticked. “Did she show up?”
“No,” I said slowly, taking a second to process just how many of the details he knew. Probably all of them. Thanks to Adam. “I think she was bluffing. About having my address.”
Iain nodded, processing my words with what looked like relief. But the hard look in his eyes didn’t relent as he said, “You should’ve told me, Holland.”
“Told you what?”