Page 75 of Game Changer

“I’m guessing he’s not going to get fired.” I shrug.

Walking down the ICU hallway, I see a woman who must be Mila standing in the doorway, and she turns to look at me.

“Oh my God, they only spent a year of college together, but Lindsey was right; they do have the same taste in women.” Mila has blonde hair, blue eyes, and big boobs, just like me. Neither of us are tiny, but I’m gonna bet Mila has never been a size eighteen. “Shit, rude. I should have asked how you were.”

I hold out the cup of shit coffee. “Then that makes us even, and I don’t have to apologize for giving you crappy coffee. I’m fine, Lily’s a trooper, and Beau’s Mr. Brightside, apparently.”

“I’d have never thought the Beau Boone I met in college would one day become such an amazing father, but he is.”

“Can I ask you a quest—” I stop because I haven’t even had time to talk to Beau about this.

She gently puts her hand on mine. “You can ask me anything.”

“I’ve met them, but my experience and yours with them could be vastly different. But do you think Lindsey’s parents?—”

“Are awful? Especially her mother and brother Junior? Yes.”

“Lily saw my ex pull my hair and hit me, and she told me that her grandmother pulls hair and spanks mouths. She said that when she sent her mommy to the hospital when she wasn’t sick, she told her no and that … bitch”—with no warning, tears stream down my face—“spanked her face, and there was yuck in her mouth because she bled.”

“I knew they were controlling, but I never understood why she didn’t just leave, stay with us, move here years ago. Boone is going to murder that twat, Madeline. So am I. I can’t believe she hit that little girl at all, but that hard.” Tears fill her eyes. “She’s freaking awful, Sydney. Who does that?”

Less than three minutes after I’ve met Mila Steel, we’re crying together.

“And she’s doing it. She’s breathing all by herself,” an excited voice comes from inside the room.

I grab my phone from my bag and shoot Beau a text, telling him the news, and he immediately calls.

“Hey,” I answer quietly.

“They think she’s gonna wake up?”

“I, um?—”

“Dark skin, male nurse, name’s Joel.” He pauses then says, “I sent him a message. He should be looking at you now.”

“Okay, yeah.”

“You think you could get a report? Ask him his thoughts? My eyes are getting heavy as shit, Cupcake.”

“Of course.”

Chapter 17

Cupcakes and Cream

Boone

I’m not sure what time it is when I wake up in bed with my little one snuggled up to me and see Sydney’s not in bed. I don’t remember if she crashed with us or left when she got Lily settled in.

I owe her so much for what she’s done for Lily, for us, and I will get to that. But I also have something I need to discuss with my bride-to-be, and it has to be before tomorrow.

I get up, use the bathroom, and then head down to see if she’s okay after all she went through today—she was taken and had a gun to her head.

The thought makes me begin to panic, and I head to her little powder room, the place she and Lily sit to have their morning coffee—Lily’s hot cocoa.

I head to the door that leads down to the kitchen, open it, and head down to her shop.

When I walk into the Sugar Rush kitchen, she’s got music playing softly. It’s Lady Antebellum’s “I Run to You.”

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