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Still, the message should have been decently clear. As I contemplated, my eyes roamed the screen until I glanced at the email name again and froze.
For fuck’s sake.
I’d told him how to spoof the email so that it looked as though it was coming from the one that I normally used. I’d also given him the email name I wanted him to use. He’d not only misspelled my name (how difficult was it to remember R-U-S-H?), but he’d messed up the forward, so the message had come from the new email. Which meant it was likely that the message either went to spam, or she flagged it as junk and didn’t read it.
I slammed my hand on the seat and cursed the universe for being such a pain in the ass. My mind was spinning on what to do next and how to find my girl. That was the moment I remembered. Today was her last day of finals before graduation. I glanced at my watch and mumbled an apology to the universe. The timing couldn’t be more perfect, so I hit the intercom button to talk to my driver and gave him the address of Faith’s school. I spent the rest of the time making more phone calls to put the rapidly forming plan in my mind into place.
When we pulled up out front of the school, I exited the car and leaned back against it to wait for her. It wasn’t long before students began to trickle out. Eventually, I spotted Olive pushing through the doors. Knowing Faith was probably right behind her, I stood at attention as the anticipation of seeing my girl after so long practically vibrated inside me.
My gaze was glued to the school entrance, but I felt a tingling at the back of my neck like someone was watching me. Tearing my eyes away for just a moment, I met the accusing stare of Faith’s best friend. Then she turned around and said something as the door opened again, and my girl strolled out into the sunshine.
Faith’s head whipped up, and she scanned the area until she saw me. Even though I expected her to be resistant at first, I still hated that her first reaction was a frown. Her lips pinched angrily, but the hurt I saw swimming in her blue eyes squeezed my heart.
She took a step toward me but stopped when Olive grabbed her arm and said something. Faith shook her head, and when Olive released her, she marched toward me with a determined glare.
When she stopped right in front of me, I gave her a lopsided smile and said, “Happy Birthday, blue eyes.”
It was the wrong thing to say. At first, she softened, but then her posture went rigid. She folded her arms over her chest, pushing her tits up and momentarily distracting me. But she regained my attention when she snapped, “My birthday was nearly a week ago, Mr. Baldwyne. Clearly, you forgot. I suppose I misinterpreted what you said right before you left.” The hurt bled into her tone at the end, and I wanted to take her in my arms so badly, but I had some explaining to do first.
“I didn’t forget, baby.”
Olive harrumphed, making me realize she’d walked up to us and stood just behind Faith. “Don’t you ‘baby’ her, you big jerk. Not after you broke her—” Olive slapped a hand over her mouth, and Faith turned crimson, looking like she wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole.
“I’ve got this, Olive,” she sighed. “I’ll see you tomorrow for coffee.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” I muttered.
Faith raised an eyebrow. “Pardon?”
“Never mind.”
Olive started to say something else, and my patience reached its end. I opened the door to my Town Car and growled, “Get in.” Faith opened her mouth, and I knew she was about to object. “We need to talk. In private. Get in the car, Faith.”
“I don’t think—hey!” Her voice squeaked when I scooped her into my arms and bent down to put her on the seat.
“What you think is wrong, and if I need to kidnap your sexy ass to set you right, then that’s what I’ll do.” I stood and shut the door, blocking it so she couldn’t climb out. The car didn’t have an exit on the opposite side.
Spearing Olive with an intense stare, I stated bluntly, “I have a perfectly good reason for not being at her birthday like I promised. But she deserves to hear it first.” Fishing in my pocket, I pulled out a small robin’s egg blue box. “I love her. And I won’t let anything stand between us. So feel free to run to Jonah, the police, or anyone you want, but don’t expect them to find her without a ring on her finger and my last name. Is that clear?”
