Page 30 of Polly

“Who was it?” he asked.

She finished listening, then handed the phone to Flynn.

He played the voicemail and listened.

Hey Polly, this is Grady. Listen, I know we didn’t end things well and I’m so sorry. I can explain. She and I aren’t together anymore. We shouldn’t have been in the first place. I let you down. I made a mistake. I’ll make it up to you. You’re the only one for me. Please call me back.

What a manipulative asshole.

Flynn handed the phone back to Polly and observed her carefully.

“How do you feel about this?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I don’t like it.”

“Me either. Do you want to hear him out?”

“I... No. He basically said his kids are a mistake and admitted that he cheated on me. And the other stuff I found out... He quit his job, but is pretending he still works there. To top it off, he’s got our house for sale.”

Flynn flinched. “Seriously? I didn’t know the job thing, but I can’t believe he thought he could get away with any of it.”

Polly shook her head. “I don’t understand where we went wrong. I know I was away a lot, but he always said that was fine and the distance now would help establish our future together later. He said it didn’t bother him.” Tears filled her eyes and one rolled down her cheek.

Flynn turned onto his side, pulled her to him, and hugged her. She wrapped her arms around him, too. Flynn couldn’t help but notice that she fit perfectly against him.

He said, “He wasn’t right for you. A musician’s life is rough. We have to leave behind our homes and the people we love to pursue our music. There’s so much travel and distance. But remember, you were just as alone as he was. He chose to cheat. Grady should have talked to you about it, maybe come on tour with you or flew out on a few weekends, not gone behind your back to find someone else. There are ways to cope.” He paused, then said, “Honestly, the distance is why Anika broke up with me.”

Flynn and Polly hadn’t been friends when Flynn and his ex Anika broke up, so Polly didn’t know the real story; she would only know what the news reported.

Polly wiped her face and looked at him. “I thought you broke up with her.”

“No. That’s what she told people. She needed to look innocent for her career, so she lied. The lie’s what made the news. That lie helped build my bad boy reputation and I think it helped the band. But it’s not what happened. Anika couldn’t deal with the distance and ended things.”

“Did you love her?”

Flynn paused. “I thought I did. I’m not so sure now. It doesn’t matter. My point is, the distance gets in the way sometimes. It’s challenging. Not everyone can handle it.”

Polly nodded and squeezed him. “I’m sorry she did that to you.”

“Thank you. It happened a long time ago and was probably for the best. It doesn’t bother me anymore. Are you going to give Grady another chance?” he asked.

“No. It’s not like he only cheated. He created a whole family behind my back. And now he wants to walk away from them. It’s over. Cheating is bad enough. He did worse. I would always doubt if he was faithful and wonder if he would walk away from our family, too. I can’t do it. There was a line he might have come back from, but it’s too late. He went way past the line.”

He looked at her with pity. “I’m sorry he did this to you.”

“I’m glad I found out before we got married... or tried to. That would’ve been a mess.” She laughed dryly.

“You know none of this is your fault, right? It’s all on him.”

“I know. It doesn’t feel like that right now, but I know.”

She shifted, and her body rubbed against his. He drew a sharp breath and tried to ignore the friction. His new attraction to her struggled to bloom, but he would try to contain it as best as he could. Polly’s hurt was too fresh. The last thing she needed right now was his hard on pushing against her.

She wiped away her tears. The tears broke his heart. He wanted to beat the crap out of Grady.

Flynn said, “You don’t deserve to be treated like this. You deserve someone who treats you like a princess. Someone who will give you the world.” He kissed her cheek.

“Thank you.” She hugged him tight.

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