Page 20 of Mic Drop

On the sidewalk, I make a right turn away from town. I don’t want anyone to witness this reunion, if that’s what you could call it. I enter the park and duck into a wooded area. Once there, I stop. This is as close to privacy as I can find. I focus on returning my breathing to normal.

In the distance, a couple of people walk their dogs, but no one is nearby. Good. Keeping my back to the main road, I feel the instant Bennett invades my quiet solitude. I manage to hold back my sobs. The last thing I want to do is cry in front of him. Again.

“Jenna.”

His tenor voice makes women all over the world toss their panties onstage. Mine are firmly in place. I don’t turn around. “What are you doing here?” I wrap my arms around my midsection.

“I don’t like how we left things.”

Makes two of us. “Yeah, well, I think we said everything that needed to be said.”

“I disagree.” He walks around and stands in front of me. I have to tip my head backward a long way to stare into his eyes.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at a concert?”

He appears sheepish. “Tonight.”

“Where?”

“New Orleans.”

Hours away from here. He must’ve taken the band’s jet. I refuse to be impressed or swayed by his actions. All he had to do was talk with Luke andpresto!the jet would be available. It’s not like he had to go out of his way.

My gaze drops to his thigh. “How’s the injury?”

“Needs physical therapy. Know anyone you could recommend?”

Not going to fall for his playfulness. Not when I have much bigger issues on my plate. I sigh. “Why are you here?”

He shakes the calla lilies he’s holding. “Because when you know in your bones that the only woman you’ve ever loved left you without telling you the truth about what’s going on, you do the only sensible thing and chase her around the country to find out why.”

When he says stuff like this, I can’t maintain my anger. I blink several times.

“Tell me, Jenna. I want to help.”

Smart man didn’t say he wants to fix it. Because he can’t. No one can. Not my sister the doctor. Not her doctor husband, or any of their friends. No one can make things right. The pain starts in my gut, demanding an outlet.

“Is it about the Black Widow nickname? We’ve got the UC PR team on it.”

I shake my head.

“Is it about Michelle and all the graffiti at the clinics?”

My head continues to shake.

“You can’t be mad about Lissa’s lies? That’s what they are, you know that, right? Lies.”

“No." My pain bubbles up and escapes in sobs. I ugly cry in front of him. Again.

He doesn’t hesitate. He wraps me in his arms, flowers at my back. “Shhh, Sweetheart.”

I can’t stop myself. I hug him to me, burrowing into his strength. He sways with me, whispering sweet nothings into my ear.

When the tears have dried for now, I pull myself together and step away from his warm and inviting body. He deserves to know the truth. “Bennett, Ma’s sick.”

His face registers shock, then resignation. “I’ll get her the best doctors. Switzerland has a world-renowned healthcare system. I can get her out there by tomorrow.”

“She’s already seen the best doctors around here. There’s nothing they can do.” My sentence ends on another sob, but I keep myself in check this time.

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