Always.
Her heart skipped, and she wondered about the annulment papers their lawyers had prepared. She’d done some serious thinking after Ash had fallen asleep. Their worlds didn’t make sense together, but they did.
He texted.
I’m eating breakfast. Want to join me?
Okay.
Lover Boy coming?
He’s asleep.
A few minutes later, she found Forest in the hotel restaurant with Reggie. A half-demolished stack of pancakes sat in front of Forest alongside a plate of eggs and bacon.
Reggie waved her over when he saw her enter. “Good morning, Dr. Summers.”
“Please, call me Skye.” She smiled at him.
“Good morning, Skye. If you don’t mind”—he pushed back from the table—“I’ll go check on everyone upstairs.”
“Thank you for staying with Forest.”
Reggie shrugged. “After-concert parties can get kind of tiring when you’ve been around as long as I have. To tell you the truth, it was kind of refreshing to be apart from it all. Your brother is an interesting guy.”
“What did you do all night?”
Reggie put his hand to the back of his neck and stretched. “He straightened out my finances.”
Of course.
“Can’t believe I’ve been making so many mistakes.” He stood and shook Forest’s hand. “Thanks, pal.”
“No problem,” Forest said. “Just call, anytime.”
As Reggie left, she gave Forest a look. “Did you really spend all night discussing finances?”
He nodded. “Yeah, and I set him up with an investment account.”
“Your favorite band was upstairs, partying, and you were talking investments with one of their security guys?”
“Well, my favorite band drinks and fucks chicks. The only one who doesn’t drink was holed up with my sister. That kind of leaves me out on pretty much every level.”
“I’m not really into the rock-star lifestyle either,” she said.
Forest’s voice softened. “Funny, because it doesn’t look like you want to end things.”
But she should. “He deserves someone who isn’t broken.”
“You’re not broken.”
She returned a flat stare, unwilling to argue the truth. “Okay, how about this? He comes from a religious home. What are his parents going to say when they learn their son’s wife was once a whore?”
Forest’s eyes narrowed. “You were never a whore.”
But men had paid money to have sex with her. She would’ve done anything to keep her little Beanpole safe.
“Get your food, and we’ll figure this out.” He directed her to the buffet line.
