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Chapter 25
Cash
I’mmeetingatHanson’soffice with representatives from Sintac when I spot her walking out of an office with Hayden. I pause in the entryway and watch as she leans her arm against him and smiles at something he says.
My legs move without my agreement, urging me a few paces closer just so I can hear her voice, or maybe inhale her scent. The last time I saw her was at the event Cat planned. The event where I watched Grace smile up at Hayden the same way she is now. Watched her sway in his arms and gaze into his eyes. I broke a glass with my bare hands and hid in an office half the night. Lydia had a field day with that revelation.
Grace’s hair is pulled back from her face, and she wears a pair of jeans and a sweater. It’s only now that I realize I never saw her in jeans. In all the time we spent together, she was always in work attire, dressed up, or naked. But now that it’s nearly winter, she looks different.
The seasons continue to change and yet my heart remains stuck in summer.
“You should call him,” he says, running his hand against her cheek. My throat closes up. I don’t know what he’s talking about, but I feel nauseous watching him touch her. Still out of view, I shake my head and bite back my words.
She meets his eyes and stares for a moment, and it’s like they have a conversation. I’m ill watching it. There was a time when we could have that type of silent conversation. It’s one shared between lovers—not couples, but people who truly love one another.
“I can’t. I just…can’t.”
Hearing her voice, the way it cracks, sends me spiraling. Who can’t she call and why? It’s been nearly four weeks since I found her on my rooftop and fucked her on every surface I could. Four weeks since she told me it was over, and to find her here, with him, makes it all the more real.
When Grace turns, I pivot quickly, moving into an office that I find as she walks by. Coconut drifts through the air, and I squeeze my eyes shut and try to hold my breath so that I don’t inhale her. I can’t breathe her in. If I do, I won’t be able to stop myself from reaching for her.
I think I’m almost in the clear when I hear Hayden call after her, “Grace, stop.”
She pauses in front of the door. I know this because now the smell seeps through the air and into my nostrils and doesn’t leave. I’m no longer able to hold my breath. It’s too long, and I’m selfish and a masochist because I want to smell her.
Ineedto smell her.
Leaning my head against the wall, I wait for them to do something.Say something. Or just move so I can get myself out of this purgatory.
“Hayden, please, I know you guys are going to be family, and Jay wants me there, but I honestly don’t think I can be around Cat. And obviously her brother hates me. It’s not a good idea.”
I don’t hate her. I hate myself.
There’s a pause, and I want so badly to look into the hall to see what’s happening. Is he reaching down and kissing her? Is he stroking her face?
What is happening?
“He deserves to know the truth. He’s going to find out eventually. These things tend to become impossible to ignore.”
I hear her soft laughter, and it burns my chest. “Thesethings. It’s not a thing, Hayden, it’s a baby.”
My face drops, and I bite my fist to keep from reacting. From walking out there and demanding she tell me what the fuck is going on. He’s telling her to tell ‘him.’ Is thathimme? Is Grace having a baby? My baby?
I lean forward, gripping my knees as the room starts to spin.
“I know it’s a baby. Your body is going to make it a little impossible to ignore.”
She lets out a surprised breath. “Are you telling me I’m going to get fat, Hayden?”
He replies, “Never. You look beautiful, love. I’m just saying, you can’t hide it forever.”
“I’m not hiding. I will deal with all of it, I promise. I just don’t want to talk to him at his sister’s engagement party. The last time we saw each other, it didn’t end well.”
She continues speaking, “I know you guys are going to be working together, and we need to get this settled soon and out in the open, but I just need a little more time. I mean this all just happened…”
“But you’re happy, right?” he asks her.
I can practically hear her moving in for a hug because her voice is muffled when she responds, “Yes, Hayden. I’m very happy thanks to you.”
