Page 247 of By His Play

My brows pinch in confusion.

I don’t have any external meetings today.

“O-oh, um…”

“Lunch date, apparently,” the receptionist says cryptically.

My heart lurches.

My head knows that it won’t be Kieran, but my heart…that battered thing needs a little more convincing.

“I’ll be right down,” I confirm.

My heart is in my throat as I descend through the building.

Despite meeting him later for our dance class, I figure that I’m probably about to find Brax waiting for me.

But as I spill from the elevator and turn toward the reception desks, my breath catches in surprise.

Kieran’s mom stands there with an empathetic smile playing on her lips.

The emotion I was battling with upstairs returns full force.

Seeing it, Elizabeth rushes forward, wraps her arm around my shoulder, and ushers me out of the building.

In only seconds, she has me in the back of a town car, hidden away from the world.

“Oh, sweetie,” she whispers, pulling me into her arms. “I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”

Her warm embrace is the final straw, and I completely fall apart.

With Grams gone, and my own mother cold and distant—even when she is trying—Elizabeth is the closest thing I have to a mom.

I didn’t realize how much I needed one until this moment.

Uncaring about the mess my makeup is making on her designer dress, she holds me against her, her hand gently rubbing up and down my back.

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” she muses. “It’s okay.”

I don’t know how much time passes, but when I finally suck in a shaky breath and sit back, I discover that we’re no longer outside work, but instead, the car is sitting in front of The Broadway.

It’s been a long time since I’ve spent any time in the luxury Callahan spa hotel.

“I-I need to get back to work,” I stutter, my voice rough from crying.

“I’ve sorted everything with Henry, don’t worry.”

Her driver holds the back door open for us, and with her hand locked in mine, she gently tugs me out of the car.

I keep my head down, not wanting anyone to see what a mess I am.

Thankfully, we don’t stop at reception. We don’t even have to wait for the elevator.

As we step out on the lower floor, I find the spa completely empty.

Memories of the morning Kieran took me to the new spa in St. Louis come back to me.

He was trying so hard to do something nice for me, and all I wanted to do was get back to Grams.

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