Page 34 of Scarred Heart

Rowan:Maybe I’ll make myself come for you later.Maybe I’ll let you listen while I do.

At this rate, I might not be able to make it home before I had no choice but to fuck my fist with her name on my lips.“There had better not be traffic,” I muttered, starting the engine and pulling out in a damn hurry.

12

ROWAN

How is it only Thursday?

My gaze swept over the mess of contracts, notes, and headshots spread across my desk—prospective clients, so fresh-faced and full of dreams.There were times when looking at them made me more aware than ever of what set us apart.I had been that bright and full of hope back when I had my first headshots taken.

“First thing Monday morning, send onboarding materials out to Isabella along with awelcome to the familybouquet.Confirm the meeting at the studio next week to go over the final draft of her contract.”

My assistant nodded, jotting down the instructions.Noelle was one in a million, able to predict my next thought before it even began to stir in my head.“You also have the dinner with the Landry International people on Tuesday night.Are you confirming?”

“Yes, of course.I almost forgot.What would I do without you?”I asked.My head was just shy of pounding after days of back-to-back meetings, lunches, anddinners.Hollywood newcomers worried about their future, parents worried about their kids, executives wanted to be sure they were covered against any liability.

Those were the meetings that made me grind my teeth a little.It was a necessary evil, a means of creating and maintaining relationships with heavy hitters who could end up bringing me endless business in the future.But they weren’t the people I was trying to help, to protect.I didn’t get the same feeling of pride in my job after working out a deal with them.

“Do you have any plans with Hannah this weekend?”Noelle asked.

That I could talk about until I went blue in the face.“Nothing concrete, but I have a few ideas.”Most of them revolved around the man who’d been sending texts all week, checking on me, asking if Hannah was doing all right, andfinding out whether we could get together this weekend once he flew into town.

And I was basically fighting for my life, reminding myself with every text that came through and made my heart skip a beat that I was Hannah’s mother, that I had to remove my personal feelings from the situation and keep her best interests in mind.That meant making sure not to get all wrapped up in his enthusiasm.

Thinking about Hannah jogged my memory.A few texts came in while I was on a Zoom call earlier in the morning, but I had been too busy to check.Once Noelle left my office, I opened the app to read what Spencer sent.

Spencer:Does Hannah like baseball?

Spencer:A friend of mine has a luxury box with the Giants and is always offering his tickets.We can take my jet.

Spencer:Has she been to Disneyland?

How was I supposed to guard either of us when seeing him so eager to please made my heart ache in the best way?I’d always hoped that if the day ever came, he would want to be part of her life.

Even so, one of us had to be intelligent about this.

Me:I think Disneyland might be a little much at first.The jet too.Maybe we could settle for dinner and a movie?Work our way up?

Yes, I was essentially hinting at a future by saying that, but I didn’t bother correcting myself before sending the message.She liked him, and he was clearly enamored with her.I didn’t want to stand in the way.

I only hoped he wouldn’t let me down.

More importantly, let her down.

A calendar alert chimed on my computer, reminding me of a lunch date with my sister.We hadn’t spoken much in the almost two weeks since the break-in attempt.She was busy with her job, which was nothing new, but she sounded almost giddy when we made these plans.

“I have news for you,” she had said a few days ago over the phone and refused to give me any details until we saw each other today.Even if I weren’t half-starved after working through breakfast, I would’ve hurried through, grabbing my purse and taking a last-minute trip to the ladies’ room before speed walking the two blocks to the café, where Rhiannon was already waiting at one of the tables set behind a low, decorative fence separating it from the sidewalk.

Right away, I noticed her gorgeous, trendy outfit.She looked like she had been shopping on Rodeo Drive recently, something that had never interested her much in the past.Was she finally starting to spend her savings on herself?Her freshly blown-out hair and new designer sunglasses gave me hope.

“You look fantastic,” I told her once I reached the table, kissing her cheek and sitting across from her.We ordered salads and iced tea.Then I got down to business.Why bother beating around the bush?There was an elephant in the room that needed discussion.

“Spill it,” I demanded, folding my hands on the table, facing her the way I would face somebody in an important meeting.“What is it you wanted to tell me?I’ve been dying to find out.”

“Now I feel dumb for overselling it.”

“Don’t do that,” I warned with a shake of my head and my sternest big-sister scowl.“Don’t act like you weren’t practically jumping out of your skin when we decided to have lunch today.What’s the big news?”

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