Blaise:You ok?
Hadley laughed. It was do that or cry. Her heart ached. Her eyes hurt. And she needed a bodyguard outside the condo building.
None of this was okay.
She took a breath and another before turning over her phone so the screen didn’t show.
“It’s him,” Fallon said. “I can tell by your expression.”
“Doesn’t matter. I have nothing to say to him.” Hadley had refunded his six-figure retainer when she woke up this morning. Not that two hours of sleep was much.
Her phone buzzed again.
She ignored it.
The buzzing continued.
Hadley sighed. “I’ll read his text so it stops trying to notify me.”
Blaise:Can we please talk?
That seemed like the worst idea in the world. She knew where she stood with him.
Nowhere.
Another buzz.
Blaise:I’m sorry. Please, Hadley. Call me.
Despite everything, a part of her wanted to talk to him, but she couldn’t. Not after what he’d said.
There was only one thing to do.
She blocked his number.
Hadley stared at her niece and nephew, each covered with a fleece throw. Her sister had her laptop open and stared at the screen.
This—these three people and Tiny—were all Hadley needed. She might have dreamed of a happily ever after, but what she had with her sister and the kids would be enough.
It had to be.
* * *
The first time Blaise had woken up in his hotel room, Rizzo was sitting in a chair watching him. According to the bodyguard, Hadley was safe in San Francisco and being watched. The news brought relief but also regret because she was supposed to be with Blaise.
He must have fallen asleep again because he woke up again with Lex in his room instead. The bodyguard handed Blaise a glass of water and acetaminophen. Neither of which did much for his pounding head so he closed his eyes again.
The third time Blaise woke up, he felt as if someone was jackhammering his brain. He was also sober enough to know he’d made a huge mistake. Several, actually. But the biggest one he needed to fix.
Now.
So he’d sent texts.
He didn’t blame Hadley for not replying, so he called. It went straight to voice mail.
Was she asleep?
Or ignoring him?
