“And that’s my sign to go.”
“I should head out too,” Leo says, rising with me. “See you around, ladies.”
They pout in perfect unison with their overly filled lips, and Leo pays them no attention.
For all his vanity, fakeness has never been his thing.
We wave goodbye to Owen, then head to the elevators. “I thought you had a date?”
“Define date?”
“Fuck off. It’s ten, you have a booty call?”
He smirks. “That sounds more like it.”
“You’d better be here in the morning,” I warn.
“I’ll be there first thing. Your precious goddess will have the best nurse in the world.”
“You’re a dickhead.”
He salutes me and gets in the down elevator. “Safe flight. Let me know when you land in London.”
When I step in my elevator, I go over my checklist and make sure I’m prepared for my early morning wakeup call.
I know Maddie said not to wake her, but there’s no way I’m not checking on her before I go to sleep.
Quietly, I slip into our room to find she’s out cold, thank God. Skye is curled back-to-back with her, like she knows she needs the extra comfort.
“Skye,” I whisper.
Her head pops up instantly. I motion toward the door. “C’mon. Let’s go pee.”
In record time I get her outside and back, rewarding her with a treat before she bolts straight to Maddie’s side.
Tiptoeing, I check the bucket. It’s empty, but when I go into the bathroom, I can tell she’s been sick since I went downstairs.
I clean that up, get her fresh water, turn off the TV, and stand there a second longer than necessary…just watching her breathe before reluctantly going into the guest room.
It’s been years without Maddie, but now that she’s back, sleeping without her sounds like the worst kind of torture.
“You’re still here?” I ask Benny as I drag my suitcase through the lobby just after five in the morning.
He huffs, irritated. “Yeah. Working a double.”
I pull out my wallet and slap a thousand bucks into his hand. “Help Leo with walking Skye if you can this week. Maddie’s sick and is swamped with work.”
His brows shoot up. “I want to say this is too much…but you, Mr. Money Bags, can afford it.” He punches my arm lightly as I pass. “Here, sir, let me get the door for you.”
“Oh fuck off, stop pretending you’re good at your job.”
He lets out a belly laugh. “Just trying to work for my money.”
We step outside, and the moment we do, I freeze.
Every muscle in my body locks.
What the actual fuck?
