Page 59 of Love You Like This

Did something happen?

No, he made me blueberry pancakes and we took a walk on the beach

While I was waiting for him to grab his keys I fell asleep and he claims he felt bad waking me so he carried me to his room

When I woke up the next morning I was curled around him

Hazel

OMFG

Hazel

Are you going to give him another chance?

I shouldn’t

I technically work for him

There’s a power imbalance

Hazel

Hot

I chuckle. She would say that.

He broke my heart once, I don’t want to let him do it again

Hazel

Maybe he can fix what he broke

I could lose my job

Hazel

They won’t fire you

They wouldn’t. I know that. But if I gave him a chance, and he hurt me a second time, I couldn’t keep working for the band. It’d be too hard.

We’re the last to arrive at the buses. I climb the stairs last, each step feeling heavier than the last. As soon as I turn the corner, I feel the weight of Xander’s gaze on me. My body comes alive as she always does.

Traitor.

I keep my eyes forward as I carry a duffel of lounge clothes for the bus to my bunk. I toss the bag down and take a steadying breath. There’s some work I need to get done on the ride to Arizona, so I pull out my iPad and AirPods.

Darren sits at the table, his laptop open in front of him while he violently assaults the keys. I sit down across from, intentionally putting Xander at my back to keep from making eye contact.

“What’d the computer do to you?” I ask as I turn on the iPad.

He looks up at me from under his glasses. “Just arguing with a radio station in Dallas. They want the guys to do a meet and greet before the show.”

I wince. “They can’t do them before.”

He runs a hand through his thick, dark hair. “Tell these assholes that.”

Hazel drops down on the bench beside me and pulls out her laptop. “Mind if I work with you?”