Page 140 of Foreplay on Words

“Let’s get you packed up and stop at the desk. Maybe there’s a portable charger we can buy at the gift shop. If not here, I’m sure the airport would have something.”

“I forgot all mine at home.” Normally they were my lifeline, but I’d been so distracted with keeping Evan calm that I hadn’t thought to pack them.

As I pulled both suitcases off the bed, a card slid down from the end of the sheets to the floor.

Kristine knelt to pick it up, and her eyes widened. “Damn, he’s really got game,” she laughed, thrusting it into my waiting hand.

‘There’s no one I’d rather go through life’s adventures with than you. You’ve made a permanent mark on my heart in the past four months. Thank you for supporting me unconditionally. Love, Evan’

Fuck.

Three sentences, and he’d managed to shatter me completely. Nathan had better have found him. I pinched my nose as I closed my eyes, but the tears still leaked through.

“Hey, I’m sure he’s fine.” Kristine awkwardly patted my shoulder and my back before she stepped away. I knew we needed to get out of here before I lost it.

“Got everything?” she asked as I blew out a shaky breath and pulled out the handles on the suitcases.

“No...” I sighed as I followed her out the door and to the elevator, dragging two suitcases behind me with each of our carry-ons over an arm.

Evan needed to be here. He deserved to be here celebrating his successes too. Not lost in the city, with no way for me to contact him.

Damn Simone. Damn social anxiety. Damn contracts and bureaucratic bullshit.

“So...uh––Diana sent over the itinerary this morning,” Kristine awkwardly tried to change the subject once we were in the elevator.

“And?”

“You going to be okay handling the press solo?” she asked, giving me a tight smile.

Shit. I didn’t want to do any of this right now. “Don’t really have a choice.”

“She said there’d be some people from the Tribune,” Kristine explained. Great—largest distribution in Chicago, and I would be completely distracted. “If you want to push it to later, you’re in Chicago for four days.”

“Wait, I thought Chicago was for three days?” The original itinerary was for three days.

“Oh, uh. Day four only has one signing in the morning. Evan asked for the schedule to be clear for the rest of the day.”

“Why?” He hadn’t said a word to me. It wasn’t like him to start hiding things.

“No clue, but Is was all smiley after talking to him on the phone. I’m assuming it’s a surprise,” she shrugged.

“Shit.” I knew the bookstore we were going to last was near where he grew up; maybe he was planning to meet up with his family.

When the elevator got to the ground floor, a little crowd was waiting for us off to the side of the lobby.

“Hey,” Sam greeted us cautiously and shot Kristine a disarming smile.

“Hi.” It must be hot in here because I saw some pink appear on her cheeks. Kristine was not the type to blush.

“Sup?” Adrian gave me the male head jerk.

“Really? Get out of my way.” Isobel elbowed Adrian to the side and pulled me into a hug. “How’re you holding up?”

I shook my head and felt my eyes tear up again.

“He’ll be alright. The second anyone hears anything. You’ll be the first to know. I’m sure they’ve found him,” she assured. I hoped they did, but the radio silence was scaring me.

“Do we really have to do this?” Leaving town was the last thing I wanted to do right now. That troll had shown up at the worst time possible.

---