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“You're not going to say anything?”
He shrugs. “Addie, you know what you need to do. Elliott wouldn't have wanted you to mourn forever. If you're interested in them, tell them. If there's something there, explore it. Theo and Shane are good guys. I know and like both of them. When Shane called me about the employee-only elevator, and when Theo ran around town looking for—”
My head snaps up. “Shane called you about the employee-only elevator?”
Xavier looks puzzled. “Yes. Club members are not typically allowed to use them. There are no cameras there.”
“But Shane asked you to let me use it,” I repeat. “That wasn't your idea?”
He shakes his head. “No. I should have thought about it, but I was preoccupied.”
Oh.The first time I used the employee elevators was before our first scene. They barely knew me. We hadn’t slept together. But even then,they saw me.
Then the rest of Xavier's words penetrate. “When Theo ran around town, you said? When Theo ran around town doing what? What's the rest of that sentence?”
“The bedroom,” Xavier replies. “The room in the club, the one you didn’t use. Nothing about it rang a bell?”
It's my turn to frown. “It looked familiar.”
My friend rolls his eyes. “Authors,” he says. “It was a scene from your book.”
What? My mouth falls open. Shock ricochets through me. I grab my phone and open my reading app. I find my book and flip through the pages until I locate the scene he's talking about.
I'd forgotten the details. My protagonist Minnie had a perfect night with a guy. When she woke up the next morning, the voices in her head were gone, and she felt an unexpected sense of peace.
I read the description of the room, and it all matches. The fireplace. The four-poster bed, the pale pink duvet, the masses of pink roses on every flat surface.
“Theo did that?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
And I rejected it. Because I wanted to be safe.
They saw me. Theyseeme. They kept in touch. There's still a chance, right? I glance at my phone. It's a little after five. “What time is it in London?”
“Ten?” Xavier replies vaguely. “Eleven? I think the UK is five hours ahead.”
Eleven then. “It's too late to call.” It’s Christmas Eve. Theo will be spending it with family. “They took care of me, Xavier. They both did. Not just during the session. And I pushed them away.”
I was a fool. But I’m going to fix this. Tomorrow morning, first thing in the morning, I'm going to call them. Even though it’s Christmas Day.
The miles fly by, and the car pulls into the driveway. Xavier lets me out at the front. “Go on ahead,” he says. “The party’s in my office. I’ll be right behind you. I need to talk to Henry first.”
“Because I love walking into a party by myself,” I grumble.
Xavier rolls his eyes again.
“Fine,” I huff. “But only because I haven’t seen Layla in ages.”
But when I get to Xavier’s office and open the door, I don't walk into a party.
Two men turn around. Two achingly familiar men. Theo and Shane. They’rehere.
I blink and rub my eyes, but they’re really here. They’re not a figment of my imagination. “But you should be in London and Dublin,” I say stupidly. “It’s Christmas Eve. What are you doing here?”
“I see my family all the time,” Theo replies. “I thought about where I wanted to be, and it wasn’t in a place. It was with a person. I wanted to spend Christmas with you, Addie.”
Hope wars with disbelief. “But Baby Olivia. It’s her first Christmas.”
