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“That’s good, I guess. Especially considering how incredibly fucked up that situation is rightnow.”

“I bet it’s not as fucked up as you think.”

She studied him again. There were so many thoughts and emotions running through her that she found it difficult to make her brain work. “Why didn’t you say something?”

The lips of his mouth curved slightly. “I didn’t think you wanted meto.”

She looked out her passenger window, knowing she’d break again if she met Sam’s eyes. She’d dismissed him so easily, put her sights on the unattainable Micah Preston, what the fuck had she been thinking? Micah was right—she was emotionally unavailable.

They pulled into the circle at Micah’s hotel and Sam again let the car idle. “I could come in, if you want meto.”

She pictured inviting Sam into the hotel room she shared with Micah. “That might be weird.”

“I suppose it wouldbe.”

“Thanks, though. For everything.” She got out of the car and waved goodbye as he droveaway.

Inside the room, the tears Maddie had expected to fall generously didn’t come right away. She’d been fired. And she felt like shit about it. But Beaumont had fucked her before. She had survived then, she’d survivenow.

But Micah…Micah... Just the thought of his name shot like a bullet through her heart. She was such a fool. She couldn’t even be mad. All along he’d said it didn’t want a relationship, how had she convinced herself that he had told her anything different?

She pulled out her phone to read the text he had senther.

She was just a journalist. What I say to her doesn’t matter.

She stared at the screen. He probably hadn’t realized she’d been fired yet, but she’d hoped for more in his response. She’d wanted him to say…what? What exactly did she expect?

I’m sorry. I love you.That’s what she wanted.

Micah had been right about her here, too—she was a hopeless romantic. She wanted a guy who loved her, who gave up everything for her, who wasn’t afraid to tell reporters how he felt, who didn’t care that choosing her might jeopardize his career.

She’d told him she loved him. And he’d told the world he was single.

Such an incrediblefool.

She turned her phone off and tossed it on the nightstand. Then she wrapped her arms around herself as the tears began to flow, fast and steady. Even in the generic space of the typical hotel decor, she felt Micah’s presence. She wished he were there to hold her and comforther.

But he couldn’t fix her when he was most of the reason she felt so forlorn. She grabbed a T-shirt of his from his laundry pile, threw herself onto the bed and curled up in a ball, clutching his clothing to her. It smelled like him. She stayed like that, sobbing, for more than anhour.

When she’d run out of tears, she shook herself out of her stupor, and turned her phone back on. She scrolled through two more texts from Micah. The first said, Are we okay?The second read, Where areyou???

She erased both messages and dialed a number from her favorites list. “Bree, can you book a flight for me tonight? I want to comehome.”