“Adventure, excitement, youth?”
“Is this just a mid-life crisis?” I asked.
“I don’t know what it is. I just know that I can’t fix it. He has to do that himself.” She paused. “It feels stupid to talk about, especially with what’s going on.”
“It’s not stupid. This is your marriage. Your life.”
She fell silent for a moment and then asked, “How did I get here, Barrett?”
I felt tears prick my eyes, but I held back all the emotion that threatened to surge out of me. My own life was in turmoil. I was avoiding calls from my doctor. But I’d have to face it sooner or later. Burying my head in the sand hadn’t made the problem go away. It had only exacerbated it.
“How did any of us get here?” I asked. “Listen, I have to go. Thank you for taking the kids for a little while. I’ll be in touch and let you know what’s going on.”
She sighed. “Sounds good. Keep me posted.”
“Will do.”
I hung up with her and clenched my phone in my hand.
And then I made the call that I was dreading but knew I couldn’t put off any longer.
“Hi, this is Barrett Campbell. I’m trying to get hold of Doctor Elm—yes, I’ll hold.”
As I was hanging up with Dr. Elmond, the elevators opened and Flynn strode into the penthouse suite. He already had a five o’clock shadow across his strong jaw.
He sat down on the couch next to me and without a word, pulled me into his arms. I pressed my face to the crook of his neck and held onto him for dear life.
“What do we do?” I whispered.
He sighed. “I don’t know, love. I called Duncan. I sent the jet for him.”
“I know, I just talked to Ash.”
“Of course you did. I already spoke with Sasha. He’s willing to come to London and lend a hand.”
“I have his jet,” I reminded him.
Flynn nodded. “I’ve already called the pilot and he’s ready and waiting. I want you to take Sasha’s jet and fly home. I need you home. Safe.”
I didn’t bother fighting him. I was scheduled to see Dr. Elmond later that afternoon anyway, and there wasn’t anything I could do to help if I stayed.
A part of me wanted to tell Flynn. To blurt it out. But then he’d drop everything to be with me. And I just couldn’t burden him with more worry. Not right now.
Nodding slowly, I stood up. “All right, Flynn. I’ll go home.”
“You’ll have to leave through the staff entrance,” Flynn said. “The paparazzi is swarming the hotel.”
“Lovely,” I muttered.
Flynn escorted me down to the lobby and through the door that led to the staff area. We walked past the laundry facilities and one of the kitchens that dealt only with room service. The security agent sitting in a partitioned glass booth waved as we headed outside.
The winter wind blew against my skin, like an ominous harbinger of things to come. I hunched lower in my coat as I waited for the driver to load my suitcase into the trunk.
Flynn turned me toward him, lifted the flaps of my peacoat, and leaned down to kiss me. When he pulled back, his cobalt blue eyes glittered with intensity.
“Keep your phone on,” he said. “When I have news, I’ll call.”
* * *
