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. The one that contained everything Nathan could find on Bailee Evans. I had requested it after learning about Caleb Johnson’s divorce. I hadn’t known it was Bailee Evans at the time, yet I had discovered as much at the bar that very night. After seeing her, the last thing on my mind was calling Nathan to tell him not to bother digging into her past. A part of me still wanted to know everything there was to know about her. The next morning, when I walked into my office, it was there on my desk. Only, I hadn’t found it in me to read it yet. I hadn’t seen her in seven years. I knew nothing about her, and while that folder was the key to finding out how I could win her over, it
BAILEE The red carpet had been intimidating, but each time I started to feel overwhelmed, Alex would pull me closer to him and move us to the next area. His warm body against mine had felt so nice that a few times, I found myself leaning into him on my own, wanting to steal his body heat. It
“Baby,” Alex said, and I flinched before I could stop myself at the name. He noticed. His smile faltered, and he looked away from me toward the band. “Normally people dance after the meal.” “Then let’s go to the bar to get a drink,” I said, placing my hand on his thigh and holding his stare as I
BAILEE The table was tense when they called for everyone to take their seats for dinner to be served, even more so when the head of the foundation recognized ‘the very generous’ Alexander Kingston as one of their largest donors. George, Helen, and Caleb were fuming from across the table at the s
I gasped as he spun me harshly until the front of my body crashed into his. “You really are more trouble than you’re worth, you know that?” Caleb spat through his clenched teeth while holding his fake smile on his face. Filled with anger, I pretended to stumble, accidentally stepping on his foo
EPILOGUE “Go, go, go!” Sebastian screamed from next to me, standing and leaning over the person in front of him as if Ben could hear him over the crowd and the glass. Then again, with how loud the man was, he just might. I had only known Bash in passing from when I worked for Ben as his assista
HAVEN ONE MONTH LATER My eyes kept moving from the woman before me to the clock on the wall behind her. I wanted to be here, but I had more important places to be. She had run over with her last client, which made us run over and caused me to be late for an important game. Ben had been stressin
BEN Haven was empty for the next few weeks as she flew back and forth, cleaning out the house her ex-husband had left her. It had been Cynthia’s home, too, and Haven had been taking extra care and devotion to ensuring things were handled and gone through properly. I had gone with her a few times,
HAVEN Her hand was cold, and I adjusted her blanket to cover her arm. The lawyers had come in and refused to admit any fault of the hospital, even though Cynthia had her ID on her and even knew one of the paramedics who brought her in for them to have given the hospital her name. They should ha
HAVEN Sitting in the airport in the middle of the night with a toddler who got angry each time the loudspeaker called for another flight and disturbed her sleep was not what I had been prepared for. My mind was a foggy mess. All I could picture was Cynthia falling down the stairs. How long had sh
BEN Being excited about an ex getting involved in my life might not have been the best thing when things were already tense, but fuck did it feel good to know I did indeed have friends in high places and they were watching my back. Was I still expecting them to hold it over me and try to get me t
BEN It was odd pulling up to the house and finding there wasn’t a single paparazzi in sight. After today’s news, I expected them to be ready to break down my gate for a story, but no one was there. Instead, a blacked-out SUV sat across the street, and my stomach twisted when I realized it was pro
HAVEN I needed to get out of the house. Staying inside was driving me crazy, and I couldn’t take it anymore. My last job interview was a week ago, and while I keep applying, no one wants to hire the woman all over the tabloids with a sex tape. Our PR team managed to get it taken down, but it stil
BEN “Rangers player Benjamin Evans is today’s hot topic. Now fans were petitioning for him to be traded for his performance last season. Even I wanted him gone, and I’ve followed his career since he was being scouted.” The reporters around him laughed, and I gritted my jaw. “I know. I remember hi