I nodded but didn’t admit a break from Sabine wasn’t the worst part of this recuperation.

“Fine,” Bryant said. “I’ll get working on the press releases and letting your sponsors know what’s going on. I’ll talk to the team, too.” He gave me a long look. “You have eight weeks to heal and recover. Focus on that, Hayden, and we’ll take care of the rest.”

“Sounds good.” My eyelids were growing heavy, the last dose of medication kicking in.

Sabine gave me a hard look. “Don’t embarrass me while you’re there.”

I frowned. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“Good.” Her features softened and she gave me a quick kiss on the forehead. “You look like you’re about to pass out. Take a nap, Hayden. The next eight weeks are going to be hell.”

They left me alone, finally, taking their conniving and manipulations with them. They both meant well, but they were ruthless when it came to my brand and business dealings. A break from them both may be the best part of this disastrous situation.

That, I thought as I slipped into sleep, and going home.

17

Heaven

The line at my neighborhood coffee house was long but the service was quick. I spotted Lea already at a table, steaming cup in front of her, and waved. We had the day off from work and we needed to catch up before I started back the following day.

I gave her a hug before I slid into the green vinyl chair across from her. I swirled my cup, mixing the cream in my iced coffee.

“How did everything go at work while I was gone?”

Lea looked tired, but a light twinkled in her eye. Her dark hair was twisted in a bun on top of her head with little purple strands sticking out of the top. A thin row of silver hoops lined her earlobe and she smiled. “Smoothly. Well, other than the day we ran out of epoxy and I had to send Micah to the craft store to find some.”

Micah was one of the runners on the show. Running out of something like epoxy could hold up production, which was a huge no-no in the business. Time is money and all of that. “Shit, did it turn out okay? Did they get behind?”

“No,” she replied with a look of relief. “But it was a mixture of an action adventure and a buddy comedy as Micah and Rory sped off to get to the store before it closed. Rory tripped on the curb in the parking lot and showed back up covered in blood.”

“Oh no!”

She waved her hand. “Just his lip. It bled way more than it was actually injured. Anyway, we got it all together and done on time.”

“Sounds exciting. I miss all the fun.”

She eyed me. “What? Hanging out with four ex-boyfriends wasn’t fun?”

“Ugh.” I leaned back in my seat. “It wasn’t a vacation, that’s for sure.” I gave her a rundown of Hayden’s injuries and the plan to move him back to Allendale to heal. I briefly explained that I stayed over at Anderson’s that first night and then moved to a hotel for the second. I kept my interactions with the boys limited after that. It was too hard. Too complicated.

“I guess it would have been too easy for things to slip back into place, right?” she asked.

“That’s part of the problem. The lure to slide back into our old roles is pretty alluring. But it’s wrong. We can’t do that. We’re not t

he same people, but at the same time it’s just like this thing is hanging over our heads, you know?”

Lea stirs her tea and I noticed her nose wrinkle.

“What? I asked.

“Nothing.”

“No really, what’s going on?”

Her eyes flicked to mine and I noticed the twinkle again. Finally, she admits, “I had a date last night.”

“You did!? Why the hell are we talking about my tragic, yet incredibly boring life? Tell me!”

Tags: Angel Lawson Allendale Four Erotic
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