I scrub a hand over my eyes and down my jaw. “She left this morning. Said she was okay, but she’s not answering her phone.”
“Evan.”
“I know how that sounds.” My fingers tighten around the heel. “I just need to… tell her something.”
Her face softens, and she reaches out and squeezes my forearm once. “I haven’t seen her. But if I do, I’ll call you.”
I nod and head back outside before the tightness in my throat gets any worse. The heel thumps softly against my thigh as Icross the street, still dangling from my fingers while I pull my phone out again.
“Come on, Pen,” I mutter, but it’s straight to voicemail.
Flora’s would’ve made sense, but Penny’s got close with Gwen too, and Neverland’s only a block over, so I’ll try there next. By the time I pull up outside, my pulse still hasn’t eased.
Neverland’s quieter than usual this early, with chairs still flipped upside down on half the tables while Gwen counts inventory behind the bar. She looks up when I walk in and immediately barks a laugh.
“What the fuck are you holding?”
I stop in front of her. “Don’t.”
“No, seriously. Why do you have one tiny sparkly shoe in your hand?”
“She dropped it in the driveway.”
That earns another snort from Gwen before her expression shifts slightly.
“Penny did?”
“Yeah.” I look down at the heel. “You seen her?”
Her grin fades into a frown. “No…”
I clench my jaw but manage a nod.
“Hey.” Her voice softens. “You okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Bullshit.”
I lean one forearm against the bar and stare at the heel in my hand. “She said she needed time away.”
“Ah. And your brain immediately went full firefighter-catastrophe mode.”
I don’t answer, because yes. Obviously.
Gwen studies me for another second before sighing softly. “Prince, that woman is obsessed with you.”
Despite everything, the corner of my mouth almost twitches.
“She wouldn’t leave, not for good.”
I sigh. “I know.”
At least I think I do. Knowing and believing suddenly feel like two different things, and by the time I leave Neverland, the unease in my chest has sharpened into something harder to ignore.
I check the park next, thinking maybe she’ll be jogging her usual loop.
She’s not.
