Blaise rubbed the spot over his heart.
I can’t.
Her words had slayed him. Hurt him deeper than he’d thought possible.
Until meeting Hadley, he hadn’t known how much he needed someone in his life—in his heart—but she’d chosen someone else. Now he was on his own again.
Alone.
And he didn’t know what to do.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Men suck.” Fallon’s angry voice was so loud Hadley had to pull her phone away from her ear. “Blaise is no different from the rest of them.”
Tears stung Hadley’s eyes. She’d hoped—believed—Blaise would be different. If she hadn’t, she would have never fallen in…
An announcement sounded—the boarding call for a Boston flight.
She blinked. Wiped her eyes. Tried to pull herself together.
Falling apart in the hotel room she’d checked into only hours ago had been hard enough. She couldn’t lose it here—in public at the airport.
And wait…
What Fallon said didn’t sound right.
Hadley sniffled before readjusting the phone at her ear. “I thought you weren’t going to blame all men for the actions of one. Or two.”
“Maybe tomorrow I’ll feel differently,” Fallon explained, her tone harsh. “But right now? I hate them all.”
A family of four ran toward the end of the terminal. The kids wore brightly colored backpacks. The man pulled a suitcase behind him. The mom held on to the hand of a young boy. A little girl carried a stuffed llama that was identical to Audra’s.
Hadley’s chest tightened. She swallowed past the burning in her throat. “I wish I were home.”
“You will be soon.”
The line of people standing at the counter told Hadley she wasn’t the only one trying to get to San Francisco tonight. “If not this flight, then the next one.”
“You’ll get on.”
“I will.” Hadley needed to think positively. The thought of being stuck in the same city as Blaise filled her eyes with tears. She blinked them away.
A part of her wished she’d stayed in her hotel room with a box of tissues, a pint of cookie dough ice cream, and her tiara on her head, but she could do the same thing with Fallon once Hadley arrived home.
Ice cream might not solve problems, but it wouldn’t make them worse. The disappointment, anger, and disdain in Blaise’s eyes had cut her to the core. And what he’d said…
Trying to calm herself, she inhaled, held her breath, and then exhaled.
“You’re too quiet,” Fallon said. “Talk to me. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
The only thing that matters to Blaise is winning.
He’d said that to Hadley, more than once.
But she’d forgotten.
And she couldn’t tell Fallon. Blaise was still her client. Even if he wasn’t, she would never betray his confidence or privacy. Wes’s, either.
