Hey. Don’t freak out. I got clipped on the highway on my motorcycle. Bruised ribs. Some internal bleeding. Couple stitches. But they won’t let me leave unless someone signs me out. Can you come get me?
I exhale through my nose and push up gently so I don’t wake her.
The last thing I want to do is leave.
But he’s my brother.
My pain-in-the-ass, chaotic mess of a brother.
And even though I know his Badger will heal him, I can’t just ignore his message. I can’t leave him stranded.
I pull on my clothes slowly, carefully.
She stirs, but doesn’t wake.
Still smiling in her sleep.
God, she’s beautiful.
I tear off a sheet from her order pad and write the first damn love note of my entire life.
Honey,
I didn’t want to wake you. My brother’s in trouble and I need to go get him. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Please don’t think I’d ever just walk away from what we shared. That was real. You’re real. And I’m not letting you go. We’ll talk tonight.
—Eb.
I fold the note and set it on her kitchen counter.
I pull the door shut behind me, oblivious to what’s happening inside the apartment.
The draft from the door closing knocks the note loose.
The paper flutters, slips off the edge—and disappears beneath the couch.
And when Marigold wakes up hours later, warm sheets cooling on the other side of the bed—she’s alone.
I’m gone.
And my life just got completely fucked.
Chapter 14
Marigold
I wake up alone.
The sheets are still warm, but the man-shaped space beside me is empty.
No note.
No text.
No sign of Ebenezer Rogers or his sinfully perfect body anywhere.
My first instinct is panic.
My second?
