Page 76 of Seeing You

“Hey,” she said, not making direct eye contact. “You can totally lock up when you go if you’re not ready to be up yet.” Glancing at the clock, she saw it was almost four-thirty. “I really need to get going. I’ll talk to you later and…”

Suddenly she was in his arms and pressed up against his gloriously naked body and being kissed until she barelyremembered her own name. When he lifted his head and gazed down at her with a sexy, sleepy grin, her knees went weak.

“Call in sick,” he quietly urged.

“I…I can’t. It’s too early to wake up anyone and have them get there in time to get things done. I’m sorry.”

He kissed her again.

“Stay,” he said in between more kisses.

Moaning, Billie leaned into him, but she wouldn’t allow herself to be swayed.

At least…not completely.

“You stay and I’ll be back by eight. Get a little more sleep and I promise to climb back into bed with you as soon as I get home.”

After a little whining, he agreed before crawling back into bed, and leaving her questioning her own sanity.

“So much for my pep talk,” she muttered as she walked out the front door.

At work, she went into a baking frenzy. Then, at six, she texted Julie to ask her to come in and cover for her because she wasn’t feeling well.

And now I’m a liar. God, I’m the worst!

When Jade came into the kitchen and wished her a good morning, her guilt got the better of her.

“Julie is coming in to cover for me. I told her I wasn’t feeling good, and I’m not, but not because I’m sick! Marcus stayed over, and I was crying in the shower, and then he asked me to stay, and I need to go home and just put an end to this madness! I’m sorry I lied about being sick, but I couldn’t justnotshow up, okay? Don’t judge me! You were a mess too when things didn’t go well with you and my brother back in the day, so cut me some slack!” She huffed. “I’m entitled to a little time off once in a while! I know that I’m a control freak who likes to handle the bulk of the baking, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need somedowntime! We all do! I’m not superhuman and I’m tired of everyone thinking that!”

She was breathing hard and had to brace herself on the stainless-steel worktable.

“Are you done?” Jade asked blandly.

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Okay, first, I really wish you would have called me because I would have gladly made arrangements to cover for you. You know this is why we keep a small inventory of cakes and stuff in the freezer. No one expects you to work all the time, Billie. If anything, we’ve all been encouraging you to take some time for yourself.”

Nodding, she cursed the tears that were forming again.

“Maybe now is the right time for you to take more than just today off.” Looking around the kitchen, Jade frowned. “It looks like you went a little overboard with the baking this morning, so it’s safe to say we’re going to be okay on cakes and cookies for a few days.”

“I’m sorry,” she said miserably. “I’m a mess. I need to tell Marcus we can’t see each other anymore, and I really hoped he would have done it first.”

Walking over, Jade wrapped her in a fierce hug. “I hate that you’re going through this, and know that no matter what you decide, I’m going to be here for you.”

“Thank you.” Hugging Jade a little longer, Billie realized that she did need some time to herself—not with Marcus or her family or friends, but alone.

Unfortunately, Marcus was waiting for her, so she’d have to deal with him. Once he was gone though, she was definitely taking a few days to just quietly reassess her life.

Yay, me. Not.

Pulling back, she walked into the restroom and splashed some cold water on her face before coming out and facing Jade again. “Sorry about that.”

“I think you needed to have that outburst. You’ve been holding it in for far too long.”

“I agree.” The sigh was long and pitiful. “I know everyone thinks I’m crazy for getting involved with Marcus again, especially when I knew there wasn’t a future there. But sometimes…”

“The heart wants what it wants,” Jade finished for her. “Believe me, I get it. And it’s nobody’s business. This is your life and we’ve all made decisions that weren’t in our best interest. All of us. The important thing to remember is that you’re stronger this time around. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but you know you can survive walking away again.”

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