Page 54 of Before Dawn

Me:You KNOW Lana.

@mikkelsuarezofficial:Shocking?

Me:Very.

@mikkelsuarezofficial:Your three?

Me:Born to Die, Bartender and Cinnamon Girl

@mikkelsuarezofficial:Top 10, I’ll give you that.

Me: They’re classics! And Lana’s voice is just…

@mikkelsuarezofficial:Mesmerizing? I’ve seen her live, and it was incredible.

Me:I’ve always wanted to see her perform live but never got the chance to.

@mikkelsuarezofficial:Maybe someday I can make that happen.

Me:I’d sob so hard if it did.

@mikkelsuarezofficial reacted to this message.

Me:It’s getting late. I’m going to head to bed.

@mikkelsuarezofficial:Before you go, how was the distraction?

I felt a warmth spreading through me.

Me:As great as the company.

@mikkelsuarezofficial:Happy to be of service.

@mikkelsuarezofficial:Goodnight, Red.

Me:Goodnight, Mikkel.

@mikkelsuarezofficial:Sweet dreams.

I smiled at my phone, feeling lighter, and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Twelve

Mikkel

“In dreams and in love, there are no impossibilities.”

~ Janos Arnay

Meetings drained me.

One after the other, my morning had been spent smoothing out errors, perfecting documents, and ensuring no detail was out of place. I sat through a quarterly Zoom meeting with the board—same formalities, same pleasantries, same recycled concerns about market trends and expansion. I had answered their questions with ease, laid out projections, and reinforced Elite Rides’ dominance.

Still, frustration lingered. I had combed through everything at least thirty times, and each time, I found something that didn’t sit right. It grated on my nerves, an itch I couldn’t scratch, a flaw I couldn’t unsee.

The only thing keeping me sane was texting Abigail.

I neverthought I’d be the guy lounging around the house, phone in hand, waiting for a reply like some lovesick teenager. But here I was,a lovesick adult, checking the screen between emails, a grin tugging at my lips every time her name popped up. The way she texted—sometimes quick, sometimes drawn—had me hooked. I swore I was past the age of getting giddy over a text, but every time my phone lit up, my heart kicked up a notch.

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