Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 151044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
My breath caught and I choked on a sob. “Tell me what to do.”
He pulled me from the floor so I was once again sitting eye level with him. “I need time.”
That wasn’t the answer I wanted. My insides locked as I forced back my objections. If I gave him time, would we eventually return to normal again?
“I do trust you, Rayne, but the last twelve hours have been a nightmare. I haven’t slept and, by the looks of things, neither have you. I’m calling off the parties tonight. You’re going to go upstairs to bed and I’m going to find a doctor. Your feet have cuts all over them and I don’t want them to get infected.”
“But what about us? What about the wedding?”
He shook his head and stood. “There will be no more surprises, Rayne. The wedding’s on. Do you understand? You’re going to sleep this off and stay put until I come back.”
This cold, unfeeling dictator was not my Hale.
I worried he was only going through with the wedding at this point to save face. Why wouldn’t he touch me? Why couldn’t we talk this through? I didn’t want to sleep. I needed to fix us.
“But—”
“You will do this without arguing with me, Rayne. You owe me that much.”
He was right. I was the one who needed his forgiveness and I would do whatever it took to fix us. “Do you hate me?”
He stared at me as if my question were completely ungrounded. “How you could even ask that? I’m doing this because I love you. We’re going to get married, as expected, and put this entire event behind us.”
He moved toward the front door and picked up his leather briefcase. I spotted the familiar envelope of the prenup peeking from the back pocket.
“Hale—”
“Go to bed, Rayne.”
But there were still things I needed to explain. We were so far from fixed. I couldn’t go on like this. I didn’t want to say our vows with all of this ugliness still between us.
I flinched when his phone rang and he glanced at the screen with a sigh. “This is the police. I have to take it. Do as I said. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
Why were the police calling him? Was it about my dad? Or did he have them scouring all of Manhattan for his missing maniac of a fiancée?
“Hale, wait…”
Ignoring me, he turned and answered the call. “Davenport.”
He left without even a goodbye.
Put a Freaking Bell on His Neck
“Rayne.” The distant echo of my name barely penetrated my deep sleep. But then something whacked me on the head. “Rayne, wake up.”
I gasped, my brain coming awake with a start as I stared up at Tyler. Rubbing my head, I frowned. “Ty?” I hadn’t heard him come in.
“You’ve got a problem.” He dropped several tabloids onto the bed. Each one featuring a shot of Hale.
I sat up and squinted, unsure what I was looking at. “Huh?”
“You need to look at this.”
Tucking my socked feet under my knees, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. “How did you get in here?”
“The butler let me in.”
Percy had shown up with a doctor sometime after Hale left. After giving me a tube of ointment for my feet and something for my head, the doctor instructed me to cover my feet with socks and stay off them for a solid day if I hoped to walk down the aisle without limping. Since no one was going to be holding my arm for that long walk, I figured that was sound advice.
“Is Hale back?”
“I haven’t seen him.”
I had a feeling he was sleeping things off in Elara’s suite.
Lifting one of the magazines, I frowned at the glossy cover. “Who’s this woman touching Hale?”
“Which one?” Tyler shoved the tabloids closer and sat on the bed. “Ray, are you prepared for this? I’m not sure what happened last night, but I think someone needs to check in with you to make sure you fully understand what it is you’re signing onto.”
Why were these women touching my fiancé? “What do you mean?”
“Look at the dates, sweetie. Every time this guy has gone out in the last few months the paparazzi has found him. So have all the single women.”
I stared at the shot of Hale walking swiftly. Yes, there was a woman at his side, but she wasn’t actually holding his arm. It looked more like she was reaching for him. He appeared disinterested.
“This doesn’t mean anything. The Davenports have always been followed by the press.”
“He’s not the only person they’re following.” He tossed another tabloid onto the bed. “Page nine.”
I flipped open the book and my stomach lurched. “No.”
“That’s you and his brother, right?”
That was definitely me and Barrett. But unlike the women chasing after a disinterested Hale, I was laughing and plastered all over Barrett. It looked like we were at a bar. It looked bad.