Page 174 of By His Play

It doesn’t matter how many times I hear that same message; it still sends goosebumps racing over my skin.

I miss her.

I really fucking miss her.

Unable to go home and do nothing, I head toward somewhere that’ll help take my mind off things. Or at least, I hope it will.

“Good afternoon, Kieran,” Melissa, Kingston’s assistant, says with a smile the moment I step foot on the top floor of the Callahan Enterprises building.

“Hey. Are they being nice to you today?”

“When aren’t we nice?” a deep voice growls from behind me.

“Like, every single day,” I tease as I spin around to face my eldest brother.

He smirks at me. “Sucks to be the youngest, huh?” he mocks. “I’m heading out. Kian and Lori are in his office. Just…make sure you knock. I’ve seen more of that man’s ass than I ever should recently.”

“Kingston,” Melissa groans.

“What? They should not be enjoying workthatmuch.”

“Because you and Tate are any better?”I counter.

“We are professional.”

“My ass,” I scoff. I know for a fact that his desk has seen just as much action as I’m sure Kian’s has.

“How’s Effie?” he asks with genuine concern.

I shrug. “Okay, I think.”

“Still won’t answer her phone?”

I shake my head.

“Just give her time.”

“I am. I just need?—”

“I hate to break it to you, but this isn’t about you. It’s about her.”

“I know. I know,” I confess, feeling like a selfish asshole.

She’s lost a hell of a lot more than I have recently. I should be respecting her need for space. I mean, I am. But I’m not entirely dealing with it all that well.

“It’ll all work out,” he promises with a supportive shoulder squeeze before he lets Melissa know when to expect him back and disappears into the elevator.

“He’s right, you know,” Melissa says softly, confirming that she’s fully aware of everything happening in my life right now.

Of course, a lot of it has been public knowledge recently. But something tells me she’s aware of almost as much as my brothers are.

“Yeah,” I agree, rubbing the back of my neck.

The problem is though, they all mean that Effie will heal enough to speak to me again. They all think that the only thing I’m worried about is my friendship with her.

That is a huge concern of mine, but it’s more than that. It’s bigger than that.

It has been since the very first moment I kissed her.

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