“Yeah,” I mumble.
“Wanna talk about it?”
“I’m not sure I should…” It could reflect badly on Warren, and Belle is sort of his boss, isn’t she?
“Oh, darlin’, it’s perfectly okay. You tell me what you’d like or nothing at all. But know this—there ain’t nothin’ you could tell me that’d make me turn my nose up at that boy. He’s a sweetheart. I know you know that too.”
I smile softly. “Yeah, I do.”
“Me and Ram have known Warren goin’ on three years now. I’ve always thought he was someone special, but lately… Well, honey, he shines brighter because of you.”
I tilt my head and chew my lip.Then why’d he take off?
I swallow before speaking, then tell Belle everything since we sat down for breakfast.
“Do you feel like you were ever in any danger with his temper?” Her tone is sincere and concerned, despite her previous statement on behalf of Warren’s character.
“No. It was just a knee-jerk response to back away. I know he wouldn’t hurt us.”
“All right. I assume you’ve been to his daddy’s place?” she asks, and I nod in response. “Well, I could give you Bryce and Matt’s numbers, see if they’ve heard from him.”
“Maybe I’m overreacting. Maybe he’s somewhere calming down. I don’t want to embarrass him.”
“Well, that could be true. But in my experience…” She leans forward, finding my eyes as she offers a gentle smile. “If someone runs away, it’s ’cause they want to be searched for. Warren has wanted someone to care about him this much for a very long time. You know he calls you dove, right?”
“Yeah, he does that at home too.”
“Honey, that boy is head over heels in love with you. Has been for quite some time. Hell, I don’t even know if I’d seen him smile before he told Ram and me about you and that little girl of yours. He was smitten from day one. You go get yo’ man. You show him he matters.”
Renewed confidence surges through me. I stand. “Can I have those numbers, please?”
Belle leads me behind the desk and pulls up a contact list for each employee on the computer next to the desk’s phone. I hope I don’t have to call Bryce, but I doubt Warren would go to him anyway. I dial Matt’s number.
“Hi, Matt, it’s Chloe. Warren’s… girlfriend.”
I hear a creaking sound, like an old door in the background, then what seems to be footsteps on wooden stairs. “Hi, Chloe, I assume you’re calling to see if he’s with me.”
“Is he?” I ask eagerly.
“Not anymore. He came by about two hours back and told me what happened. He left about thirty minutes ago.”
I huff. “Do you know where he went?”
“He said something about going to a motel for the night. I told him he could stay with me, but he said he needed the space.”
“Any idea what motel he might be going to?”
“No, sorry. Although... I doubt he went far. He mentioned his phone was dead, so I guess somewhere he knew how to get to without it.”
“Okay. Thank you, Matt.”
“Hey, no problem. If you find him, tell himI told you sofrom me.”
“Pardon?” I ask.
“I told War you weren’t finished with him.”
I smile into the phone. “Okay… I’ll tell him.”
