Page 126 of Double Play

“What about Henry?”

“He’s weird around the holidays. He and I will probably meet up for dinner once I’m done at Linda’s.” He mumbles, “Hopefully.”

My heart breaks a little for both of them. I need to talk to my parents and Quincy about it. Maybe our friends too.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

LAYTON

Every day. Every damn day there are new photos of Butch with his hands all over my girl. I know Michael Longley is doing this to drive a wedge between Arizona and me, but it doesn’t make it any easier. At least the photos of them in public have been minimal. Nothing as bad as the morning two weeks ago when I woke up to a million photos and videos of her dancing and smiling in his arms, but I’m still having trouble seeing her with him.

Like an immature child, I ignored her most recent call, knowing what I had originally planned for this specific day before my injury. She didn’t know about it, and it’s not her fault, but I just can’t talk to her right now. I want to wallow in my misery.

I’m lying in my bed, like I do most of the time, when the lights in my bedroom flick on. I rub my eyes. “What the fuck?” I see Quincy at the door. “Why are you here in the middle of the night?”

“It’s noon, Lancaster.” He sniffs a few times and then has a look of disgust on his face. “Why does it smell so bad in here?”

I point to my cast and mumble, “It’s hard for me to shower with this thing. It’s a whole fucking production.”

“I’m not sponge bathing you like my sister does, but I’ll help you into the shower.”

I can’t help but smile thinking about her sponge baths. “Hmm. She gives thebestsponge baths.”

He narrows his eyes. “Not a word about it.”

I chuckle “How did you get up here?”

“Even your fucking doorman is worried about you. He called up here twice and then just let me up when you didn’t answer. I think he thought you were dead. He also thinks it’s eighteenth-century England. What’s wrong with that dude?”

“He must have been a butler in a previous life. I get a kick out of it.” I cover my eyes. “Can you turn off the lights? I have a headache.”

“No. You’re being pathetic. If you have a headache, take some Advil like a normal person. I’ll get you some.”

He opens the drawer in my night table and sucks in a breath. He points into the drawer. “What the fuck is that? Is it what I think it is?”

He pulls out a velvet ring box and I nod.

“May I?”

I nod again.

He opens it. “Wow. It’s beautiful. Is this for my sister?”

I lay my head back on my pillow and blow out a breath. “It was. I bought it before my injury.”

“Isn’t it a little soon for this? You haven’t been together that long.”

“It doesn’t matter. She’s in Thailand with Butch fucking McVey. I had the most perfect spot picked out there. Today was the day it was going to happen. If she couldn’t be with her family for Thanksgiving, I wanted it to still be special for her. They’re not shooting. She told me yesterday that she and Butch are going to the very spot I had picked out to propose. Obviously she didn’t know what I was planning, but it still fucking hurts. It should be me there with her. Me proposing to her. Instead, he’s with her.” I pull my hair. “I can’t get the image of them there out of my head.”

His face falls. “I’m sorry. That sucks, but you can’t sit here and wallow in your misery.”

“Do you think there’s anything going on between them?”

Without missing a beat, he says, “No. Absolutely not. Maybe my sister isn’t perfect, but she’s loyal. She wouldn’t cheat on you or anyone. It’s not who she is. And despite my protests, she’s in love with you.”

“Do you think she’s just staying with me out of pity?”

“No. Fortunately for you, she’s not seeing how pathetic you are right now. Where’s arrogant Layton Lancaster? The one who thought he was god’s gift to women. What the fuck happened to you?”

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