“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Some loser sent them to me. I’ll throw them away tomorrow. Just like I did with all the others.” Alex’s face hardened, the muscle above his jaw flexing as he pressed his teeth together. “Others? Is some guy harassing you?” Ben asked, looking angry, but he relaxed
ALEXANDER “I need a favor!” Ben exclaimed, storming into my office with a smiling Brinley in tow. She had purple paint all over her face in the shape of a butterfly, and her hair looked like she had been attacked by a second-grade classroom with unlimited access to colorful ponytails and clips.
I hadn’t even realized he had been invited. His parents would normally be there, but Caleb hadn’t made his name big enough on its own yet to be included in most of the functions I attended. “Really?” I leaned back further, instinctively twisting my chair a few inches each way to rock Brinley as s
BAILEE “Bye, Bailee!” Lila, one of my employees, yelled as she jogged out of the shop. She was a good employee, but I refused to let her job come before her school and told her I would close for her so she could get ready for her school dance. “Have fun!” I shouted as I adjusted my bun. Ben h
I was sick of being treated poorly. These girls probably didn’t deserve my threats, but even if I wasn’t going to press charges, I wanted to at least scare them into being semi-decent people one day. Caleb, on the other hand, deserved nothing but pain and misery. “Don’t be such a Karen!” The se
BAILEE EIGHT YEARS AGO (Sixteen years old) I couldn’t help but stare longingly at the party on the beach. I wanted to be there for Ben’s birthday, but I had work to finish, and until I was done, there would be no fun for me. My parents owned a resort on the lake where Ben and I worked after s
“No!” I said suddenly, placing my hands on his chest. “No. I wasn’t saying that YOU stink. You smell incredible. You always do. You just have Amber’s perfume all over you. It's bad enough having to sit back and watch as you let her rub herself on you like a damn cat, but now I have to smell her on y
ALEXANDER The Tale-Tell Heart. I had thought that story was ridiculous when I was in school. The heart under the floor, beating, driving the madman insane… How could a dead heart beat? I got it now, though, because in my desk sat a file, one I could practically hear beating away, mocking me
BEN Bailee gently hit his arm with the back of her hand as she walked by him to a cabinet to grab a glass, and I laughed. “It was a week ago. Where is Brinley?” I asked, looking around for my adorable niece. She would probably love to hear my news with them. “She said she had to go find her train.
BEN I wasn’t sure when I decided to return to the city. Still, I found myself pulling up to Alex’s house five hours later, my back irritated from being in the car for so long, and only one text from the manager of the rehab center checking in and asking if they could get me anything since I missed
HAVEN “Hey, have you guys seen my…” Calum said as he trailed behind the security guard who stormed past us, but he stopped in our way when he saw my face. “You’re crying?” “Not now, Calum.” He ignored her, but I didn’t want to discuss this with him. We were just co-workers, not friends. He fli
BEN My hands were sweaty, and a chill went through me. I couldn’t trust anyone. Not my parents, staff, or even Haven after her repeated lies over the past week. If she had told the truth this time, I would be in serious trouble. My staff had access to everything that controlled my life. I wou
BEN My heart twisted in my chest. After seeing her picture, I knew in my gut that Siri was mine, but Haven had lied so many times that even hearing what I had wanted to hear, I wasn’t sure I could believe it. “There wasn’t anyone else?” I repeated. If there wasn’t anyone else, then Haven hadn’t
HAVEN “That’s not possible,” I said, shaking my head back and forth. This room was too small for us to hash this out now. I felt like I couldn’t breathe with Ben so close, and his body heat made me uncomfortably warm. “Look at me, Haven,” Ben demanded, and I ripped my eyes away from the stack o
HAVEN I had resented Benjamin Evans for many things over the years, but the feeling of dread that now bubbled in my gut when I drove to work was the cherry on top. This job was finally something I had outside of my home that I had worked hard for, and that made me happy, and he made me not want t
BEN “Haven, like your old assistant Haven?” Bailee asked, and I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “The one and only,” I grumbled in response, rubbing my temples as I tried to fight the headache that was rapidly coming on. “That’s great! Did you guys talk?” Bailee asked, sounding as excited
BEN “Bailee,” I answered, tucking the envelope under my arm as I swiped my key card and opened the door to my suite. “How are you feeling?” She had another baby on the way, a boy this time, but she had been having some stress-related complications that had worried everyone around her. Granted, sh