Page 101 of The Au Pair Affair

Sig’s voice was gruff when he responded. “Yeah. She’s with Chlo, although...”

“Althoughwhat?”

His teammate looked hesitant to tell him something and it was causing craters to form on his arteries. “She’s been out. A lot,” he said. “Last I heard, she’d gone kayaking on the Charles. Chloe also mentioned Tallulah taking a bus to New Hampshire for a hot air balloon ride tomorrow, but I don’t have all the details. Bottom line, she hasn’t been home much.”

That news hit him like an uppercut.

Too many emotions to process inundated him at once.

Fear of her doing those activities alone, possibly scared. Definitely nervous.

Without him to protect her. That panic momentarily robbed him of breath.

Mostly, though, there was pride. In Tallulah. And it tripled and quadrupled. She’d grown strong and confident enough to take her adventures alone. The message was clear. She didn’t need him at her side anymore. As much as that gutted him, he was proud. So fucking proud.

Wells stepped forward. “As you know, Burgess, I literally fired my girlfriend as my caddie.Firedher. Believe me, I wanted to drink myself to death afterward, because...” He shot a glaretoward Sig. “You didn’t tell me this intervention was going to require me to relive my own emotional trauma.”

“Why didn’t you?” Burgess said hoarsely, still thinking of Tallulah soaring in a hot-air balloon.

Wells squinted an eye. “Why didn’t I what?”

Focus.“Why not drink yourself to death instead of coming here and annoying me?”

“Love you too, man. I didn’t drink myself to death because there was a sliver of a chance Josephine would come back. And it was worth living for. Now we’re planning a wedding in Costa Rica.” He cleared his throat hard. “That’s it for me on sharing. I’m out.”

“Nice job,” Sig commented.

“Thanks.”

His teammate refocused his attention on the hospital bed. “This isn’t you. Lying here, feeling bad for yourself. Get better and go apologize. Tell her everything you just said to us.”

“It’s not going to work. I really... did a number on her.” A fresh wave of agony tripped and fell in his sternum. “I fucked up.”

“The game isn’t over. There’s still another period left to play.”

“This isn’t hockey.”

“Is it golf?” Wells asked. “We have a lot of holes, if you’re looking for metaphors.”

Sig shook his head at Wells. “You know, the thing about this intervention, Sir Savage, is we knew you were going to be stubborn. Hence, we prepared layers.”

That tick behind Burgess’s eye accelerated. “What do you mean by layers?”

Wells put two fingers in his mouth and whistled.

The rookies walked in.

“Oh, Jesus Christ,” Burgess complained, wishing he was closer to the window, so he could jump out. Maybe get lucky and become impaled by a flagpole. “Are you serious?”

“Hey, Captain.”

“Sup, Cap.”

“What the hell are you smiling about?”

“Just relieved to see you alive.”

“Even though, if I’m being honest, you smell like fish.”

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