“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
BAILEE “How much?” I asked through my teeth as I glared at him, too angry to even blink. “Oh, Bailee,” Caleb said, pulling at a piece of my hair, and I yanked my face away. “You will never make enough to release the lien.” “How much?!” I demanded louder, yanking myself out of his arms. My che
BAILEE Alex groaned as my mouth connected with his. His fingers threaded into my hair, holding me closer as he took control. My shoulder blades were still against the wall as he leaned into me, but my hips were forward, pressed into his, and his hand slid from my hip to the top of my ass. “Mh
BAILEE“I wasn’t disgusted! I was bothered because you clearly regretted it. I could see it on your face.” My head snapped back, and I licked my lips as I shook my head. “What? No! I was just… I don’t regret it. It was nice. I just don’t think we should do it again.” He laughed, but I could see the hurt on his face as he stepped back. “Right.” “Alex,” I sighed, guilt rearing up as I watched his face harden to hide his emotions. “Let’s just go. Do you want me to take you home, or do you want to go back inside and finish the night?” He sounded exhausted, but from how he had shut himself off from me, I knew he was hiding his real feelings. I just wished I knew which ones were real. “I think it would be best for us to go home,” I said, staring at the small white button on his shirt, unable to meet his gaze. “Okay,” Alex said, turning to leave and holding his arm out for me. We still had an image to uphold, and it wouldn’t look good for either of us to leave the party in the mid
BAILEE I closed the front door quietly behind me, scared to wake up Brinley, but I was relieved to see the monitor on the coffee table and Ben on the couch in front of the television, still awake. His arms were crossed defensively as he glared at the screen, and for a moment, I thought he was angr
ALEXANDER Ben picked up my call on the first ring the next day. I had expected him to have questions about what had happened, as pictures of Bailee dancing with Caleb and me getting between them were all over the tabloids and news. Nathan had been fielding calls from reporters all day. They all
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