Page 249 of My Rules

He came.

“Oh, I . . .”

I’m lost for words. “I see, I’m ... he’s already left for work this morning. I thought that he had my key. Sorry, just charge me for the extra key, please.”

“Of course.” She smiles.

I begin to hear my heartbeat in my ears. He came and then left without seeing me.

There’s hope.

She rattles on with some kind of conversation, but my mind is far from here.

What do I do?

He wanted to see me, but something stopped him.

“Thank you. Here’s your bag.” She slides my suitcase around the desk.

I stare at it, unsure what my next move is, so excited and panicked that I can’t comprehend what to think. “Thank you.”

I scurry over to the couch in the lobby and take out my phone and call Juliet.

“Hey, babe,” she answers. “How’s your mom’s house?”

“So ...” I close my eyes, unable to believe what I’m just about to tell her. “Promise me this conversation is going to stay between you and I.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I’m about to tell you ... you cannot tell Henley, promise me.”

“Of course. What’s wrong?”

“Promise me.”

“I promise.”

“I’m in New York. I came to see Blake.”

“What?” she whispers. “What happened?”

“I bumped into him last night.”

“How did you bump into him?”

“Not so much bumping ... more like stalking. I followed him from work to a bar in a cab.”

“Rebecca,” she whispers. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“I don’t actually know. Anyway, listen. Last night didn’t go as planned, and I just found out that he came to my hotel looking for me at three this morning, and I need you to tell me his address.”

“What?” she gasps. “Three a.m.?”

“Do you have his address?”

“I mean, it’s written down somewhere, but who knows where. And besides, how do I find it without asking Henley where it is?”

“Look. I just need you to find it out for me and call me back, because I’m going to go over there, and he can’t know I’m coming because he won’t be there if I am.”

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