Page 71 of No More Bad Boys
I sit up straight and face Whitney. “It’s okay. It doesn’t matter. I don’t care what he says—I’ve got to tell him that I’m sorry for my part in this. And tell him I still love him.”
“You do?” Whitney’s eyes fill, and she reaches around me and squeezes tightly. “Thank God.”
She lets go and leans back on her hands, blowing out a long breath. “I’ve never felt so helpless in my life—well, that’s a lie—but not for a long time.”
“You’re sure he still loves me?”
“As sure as I am aboutthisbeing the first and last time I ever take on a design project for free.” She gestures around at the tear-down around us. “This project is a mess.”
“Oh no. You’re not getting paid at all? You came here just to talk to me, didn’t you?”
She gives a dismissive wave. “I don’t really care about the money. The most valuable thing anyone could give me at this point is my brother’s happiness.”
Standing, I start toward the newsroom, ready to re-open my heart, ready to feel Blake’s arms around me again.
“I’ll go talk to him right now.”
She stands, too. “He’s out on a live shot. But I do happen to know where he’ll be after work. You remember Darby’s, right?”
I nod. “You wouldn’t want to come along, would you?” I ask with a hopeful, imploring grin.
“No. I think I’ll stick around here for a while. I’ve always wanted to meet Ian Phillips,” she says, naming our evening anchor. She raises a speculative brow. “Is he as cute in person as he looks on TV?”
“Cuter.”
“Well, then. I may need anotherexpert opinionon this set re-design—you know—get thetalent’spoint of view.”
Her wicked grin makes her look more like her brother than ever. “This pro-bono job might just pay off after all.”
She winks, and I laugh before leaving the studio to go fix my life.
SEVENTEEN
Confessions
“I’m home.”
I step through the front door of my apartment—I guess it’s still my apartment, though I haven’t slept here for a week.
I’m hoping Kenley’s had time to make it home from work. I really want to talk to her before heading to Darby’s—maybe she’ll even go with me. I don’t deserve her as my wingman, but I sure could use one tonight.
To my relief, she rushes from her room into the living area. “Cadence! Wow. I didn’t expect—didn’t know—”
Before she can even complete her garbled train of thought I close the distance between us and hug her.
She stiffens in surprise for a moment, then her arms come around me and she hugs me back.
“I’m sorry,” I say into her hair. “It’s not your fault.”
Kenley pulls back so she can see my face. “I’msorry. I should have told you right away—as soon as I realized who he was—no matter what he said.”
“No. I understand why you didn’t… and why he didn’t want me to know. He knew I’d react exactly the way I did. In spite of all my claims of being logical, I’ve acted like a crazy person over this.”
“You’re not crazy. You’re just in love. It makes us do some crazy things sometimes—believe me, I understand. I didn’t realize you were still struggling with the thing over Tyler, though. You’ve always seemed so strong to me, so secure, like nothing really bothered you.”
“Yeah—Miss Spock—that’s me. I’m just an expert at denial, I think. But I’m done with that.”
“What changed your mind?”
