AndrewI drove to Lanie’s in silence, my mind spinning in a million directions. The Bartlet account was squared away again, and Liza would be heading back home in the next few days, which was a blessing. The woman was far too comfortable in her own skin. I needed to assign her to someone else, but Thomas was about the only one I trusted to take on such an important account.“She’d eat that kid alive.” I pulled into the apartment complex and parked, sitting in the silence for a few minutes. It was odd to find myself at forty-five, sitting outside of an apartment building, gearing up to go in and make love to my girlfriend.It felt like a movie, one that I’d lived twenty years before.“Stop it,” I barked at no one and got out of the car, grabbing the bottle of wine I’d picked up from the country club gift shop before leaving. I needed to get my mind off work, but I couldn’t seem to shake the excitement bubbling up in me over the possible mastermind opportunity with a few other guys at m

Andrew“Lanie?” I stretched and pulled the delicious scent of bacon deep into my lungs. “Lanie?”“In the kitchen,” she called out. Just the sound of her voice put a smile on my face, until I remembered that I conked out on the pretty young thing.“Shit,” I grumbled as I got up and put my clothes back on. After checking my watch, my blood pressure went through the roof. Nine o’clock? “Lanie. Why didn’t you wake me up? I had my first meeting an hour ago.”My mood soured further as I jumped down the hallway, trying to get my shoes on. I hit my head against the wall, and a picture of Lanie and her parents fell and shattered.“Andrew? What are you—” She stopped at the end of the hallway and pressed her fingers to her lips, looking way too cute for the mood I’d descended down into.“It’s not funny.” I knelt down and tried to clean up the broken glass, only to cut myself. “I’m late.”“Then leave that there.” She moved down the hall, her feet bare and legs on full display.“Hey.” I glanced up

Lanie“So. What do you think of this one?” Erica twirled around, the cute green dress she tried on fitting her perfectly.“I think we’re going to find you and Matt missing about halfway through the evening.” I wagged my eyebrows. “When are you guys going to start talking about marriage?”“Soon. We’re not in a huge hurry. We have the rest of our lives, right?” She disappeared back into the dressing room.I ran my hand over a pretty black skirt as my thoughts raced around. I didn’t have forever. The rest of Andrew’s life was forty years? Where that was a long time, marrying a guy in his fifties seemed a bit much. Reminded me too much of my parents.“Try it on. It’ll look good on you.” A saleswoman walked up and pulled the skirt from the rack. “You have a beautiful figure. This with a silky pink top? Stunning, I bet.”“Yeah?” I tried to ignore the heat rushing up my chest and coating my cheeks. “Okay. Sure. I need something for my friend’s party anyway. I’d love to impress my boyfriend w

AndrewThree Days LaterMy Friday started with a shitstorm of massive proportions. Lanie still hadn’t returned the message I’d left her the previous night, telling her I missed her and wanted to chat. I knew I was in the dog house, and no amount of groveling could save me.I’d forgotten all about the New Year’s Eve party.Work had been weighing heavily on me, and I was exhausted, but all I could think was that I couldn’t let Raven spend another night in the hospital alone. Sure, Jason was there, but I didn’t like that idea any more than her being alone in a sterile room, confined by hospital smells and sounds. The kid deserved more than that. It was a lose/lose situation.But that meant Lanie had rung in the New Year by herself. That wasn’t acceptable. She had every right to be pissed at me. I’d shown my cards and proven that I couldn’t uphold a promise, and I felt like shit about it. No wonder she wasn’t talking to me.I raked my fingers through my hair as I tried to push the guilt d

LanieAndrew had messaged me early that morning to tell me he missed me. I didn’t answer. I couldn’t think of anything worth saying. Of course, I missed him too, but I was hurt. I’d spent New Year’s Eve alone after he’d promised to show up for me.The fact that it hadn’t been that big of a surprise was bothering me almost as much as the fact that he didn’t show. I shouldn’t be able to predict my fiancé bailing on me on one of the most romantic holidays of the year. In my opinion, it was the most romantic, followed closely by Christmas and then Valentine’s. And what made it even worse was that I was the only one at the party solo. How embarrassing.As I got ready to head to the school, I tried to forget about him. While at work, I needed to focus on my job, not dwell on everything that was wrong in my relationship and host a pity party inside my head all day long. I had to prioritize.Lucky for me, the day was sunny and bright, which helped with my mood instantly.Traffic was hell, and