I pressa kiss to Slade’s mouth, and he kisses me back, but his face is taut with tension, and his eyes lack their usual brightness this morning.
“I love you.” He attempts to give me a reassuring smile but fails.
“I love you too,” I reply, following him to the building’s main door and giving him a reassuring smile as he looks at me before he leaves.
The press is there, hounding him the moment he steps out, fully suited and pristine, looking every inch the hot businessman. I’m still getting used to seeing him dressed like this. He looks great in a suit,reallygreat. I count no fewer than four women double-take and check him out as he strides the few feet across the sidewalk and slides into the backseat of the car his father has sent for him.
I get it. He’s beautiful. All tall, broad, and muscular. His dark hair and blue eyes make him striking. And his jaw and mouth just scream to be kissed, then sat on.
But they’re all falling in love with the gorgeous parts of him. The perfect pieces the world sees.
I fell in love with his scars.
Slade Beaufort, the cowboy who stole my heart with his brashness, put there to protect other people from the monster he once thought he was.
But he’s the most incredible man I’ve ever met. And I’m terrified about how today’s going to go.
“Fuck me, are you sure he only has the one brother who’s already taken?” Mel quips as she glides in through the doorman-assisted entrance after fighting her way through the crowd outside.
I manage a smile, and she bumps shoulders with me as we walk to the elevator. She’s agreed to come and sit with me while Slade does this, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
“He’ll be all right,” she says as we ride up to Slade’s penthouse.
She studies me and I must look like I’m about to dissolve into a puddle of anxiety because she wraps an arm around me.
I nod weakly, the lump in my throat that’s been there since Sterling called Slade this morning, growing.
Sterling said the family needs to talk. Slade’s dreading it. But he’s also relieved. They’re finally going toreallytalk about it. It’s what he needs. It’s what they all need. I offered to go with him, but he said this is something he has to do alone.
Mel and I settle down to watch a movie after she’s toured Slade’s penthouse with her jaw on the floor. But I can’t bring myself to share her excitement over the billion-dollar views, or the home gym and spa, or any of the expensive artwork or luxury furnishings.
I can’t do anything except sit and wring my hands to the bone as I wait for him to come back.
“Did he say how long he’ll be?” Mel asks, studying the way I’m staring into space instead of focusing on the giant movie-sized TV screen.
“He didn’t know.”
“Why don’t you call him and see how things are going? You said he has a phone now, right?”
“Yeah. Denver delivered one for him yesterday.”
My stomach’s in knots as I scroll to his new number. But before I can hit dial, it rings.
“It’s him,” I gush in relief.
“Answer it,” Mel urges.
“Slade?” I say in a rush, jumping to my feet and pacing over to the window. “Slade?”
The sound of someone breathing out shakily comes down the line. “Jude,” he whispers.
My heart falls to my feet.
Something’s wrong.
“What happened?”
“It was… fuck…” he mumbles.
