Page 73 of Tainted Truth

“Awesome!” Grabbing my duffle, I heft it up over my shoulder.

“I can get that if you want,” Zane suggests as he slings his own bag over his shoulder.

“No, I got it.”

I know Zane is just being chivalrous, but my bag isn’t that heavy, and I’m not a dainty person.I am woman, hear me roarand all that.

Zane does the gentlemanly thing and holds the door open for me, but when I step over the threshold, my bag gets caught on the doorjamb. Instead of stopping and assessing the situation like a normal person, I yank on my strap. When the bag doesn’t come free, I yank one more time and fall through the doorway.

Righting myself, I realize my bag feels a bit lighter. I look down and find that my clothes litter the entryway of Abstract Dreams, and right on top are my colorful lacy intimates.

“Oh my God!” I dive for the pile on the floor.

Zane kneels down next to me and starts gathering my clothing. “It’s not a big deal, Spencer. Nothing I haven’t seen before,” he says with a wink.

A fucking wink.

“So?! Anyone could walk in and see! Oh my God! I’m a business owner. If a customer walked in right now, they’d see my damn underwear all over the floor. I would have to kiss professionalism goodbye, and my name in the art community would be ruined! I’d have to start creating under a false name and take on a weird quirk like eating my hair. And trust me, you won’t want me anymore when I become a hair eater.”

Zane loses himself to a full-blown laughing fit.

I shove his shoulder, and he falls on his side to the floor. “Zane! This isn’t funny!”

Through his laughter he’s able to get out, “Yes, it is.”

“My distress shouldn’t be funny to you.” I pout.

“I’m sorry, Angel. But eating hair? You expect me not to laugh at that.” He takes a deep breath and sighs with a huge smile as he grabs my face gently and gives me a quick kiss.“You’re adorable. Now, let’s shove the clothes in your bag. We can stash it behind the desk until we go upstairs.”

Of course, he easily finds a solution.

What life must be like when you have a clear head . . .

A frazzled Iris steps out of the break room. Her hair is a mess, and her clothes are more casual than normal. She chews on the end of a pen as her gaze flicks back and forth between her phone and the floor.

“Oh my God! Spencer!” Iris jolts and dashes over to me. “Where have you been? I’ve been so worried about you!” She pulls me up as her arms wrap around me. Her hug feels weaker than normal.

I place my hands on her shoulders and lean back. “What do you mean? I thought . . .”

She winces at my touch, pulling out of our embrace. Her eyes almost bug out of her head when she sees Zane standing behind me, but she recovers quickly. “Yeah, yeah. You were busy finally getting your donut hole glazed.”

I ignore her joke and get right to the point. “Iris, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She smiles wide, but when we’re this close, I can see the bags under her eyes and the lack of makeup on her skin.

“You don’t seem fine.” I reach for her hand, but she flinches away. “Iris, what’s going on?”

She waves her hand in the air. “Nothing. He’s, I mean, I’ve been worried about you.”

“Hayes?”

“Yeah, Hayes. He’s been doing fine running the studio, but we’ve been worried, is all.”

“I thought?—”

Iris moves back to the front desk and snags her purse, slinging it over her shoulder. “Well, I should get going. So happyyou’re back! Bye!” She darts out the door before Zane, or I can say goodbye back.

“Is she okay?” Zane asks next to me.

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