Page 3 of Make Your Save

Anger runs through my veins. This isn’t the first time Beau has broken someone’s heart and it’s not the first time I’ve had to explain to them that it’s not them.

“He has issues—a lot of fucking issues—and not a single one is your fault or has anything to do with you.” I swallow roughly, the painful reminder lodging itself in my throat. “Not everyone is a problem you can fix. You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to help themselves.”

Hadley stares up at me, hope shimmering behind the pain in her hazel eyes. “Thank you for saying that, Rowan,” she practically whispers, a soft smile cresting her lips. “Deep down inside, I think I always thought I could somehow help him overcome his struggles...but now I can see I never could.” She pauses, letting out an exhale. “It’s just reassuring to hear it from someone else.”

“Do you want my advice?”

She pulls in her bottom lip, biting down as she jerks her chin. “Sure.”

“You leave all of this in your past. You forget aboutBeau, you heal, and you move on.” My tongue darts out to wet my lips, her gaze dropping down to my mouth before bouncing back to my eyes. “And you do not look back.”

“You’re right,” she agrees, confidence washing over her expression as she pushes her shoulders back, straightening her spine. “He was never the one for me and we should have just stayed friends. He was just a lesson for me to learn.”

I can’t help the guilt that floods me. My brother should come with a warning label for anyone who crosses his path. I hope one day he can find happiness and something to settle his soul, but it’s not something he was ever going to find in Hadley Reed. She’s too good for someone like him.

“Come on,” I say softly, my hand dropping away from her as I motion toward the elevator. “I’ll walk you out.”

She’s quiet and I give her this moment of silence as we ride down to the lobby. She collects herself, zipping up her coat as we walk through the foyer to the front door. Her eyes instantly find me, a smile on her lips as I hold open the door for her.

“Thanks again, Rowan,” she says, dipping her head forward as we stop in front of the building. “I know you didn’t want to come check on him, but I’m glad I ran into you.”

My tongue tangles as I stare down at her. Fuck, she’s beautiful, and my brother’s an idiot—a goddamn fucking fool. He was never deserving of someone kind and patient like her. “Me too.”

“Merry Christmas,” she tells me, spinning on her heel as she begins to walk away. She gets ten feet away before I start walking after her.

“Hey, Hadley?” I call out, the cool breeze carrying her name with it.

She slowly turns around, her nose already red and her cheeks rosy. She tilts her head to the side, her lips parting as she stares at me. “Yeah?”

“If you ever find yourself in Aston, let me know,” I tell her, tucking my hands into my pockets.

A gentle smile drifts across her lips. “Okay.”

“Good night, Hadley Reed.”

Her eyes shine brightly under the moon, hues of brown and green swirling together. “Good night, Rowan Taylor.”

CHAPTER ONE

HADLEY

PRESENT

“Ithink I might be in love with you, Hadley.”

Laughter spills from my lips as I pull open my locker and grab my purse and coat. Sliding my arms into the sleeves, I turn around to look at Cole, one of my co-workers. “That’s a bold statement, Cole. You’re going to have to give me a little more than that.”

He chuckles, walking over to the fridge as he pulls out his lunch box. I already know what’s inside because Cole Andrews is as predictable as they come. Every day, his boyfriend packs his lunch for him, and every day, it is the same exact meal. A picturesque salad inside of a glass container, another glass container with mixed fruit, and some kind of a salty snack.

“Did you not see that they sent next week’s schedule? I don’t know whose dick you sucked, but you got them to change our shifts at the last minute.”

Rolling my lips between my teeth, I bite back my smile, my nostrils flaring as I shake my head at him. “I can promise there were no dicks sucked.”

He clicks his tongue. “What a damn shame.”

I’ve been here in Aston for three months now on a traveling nurse contract. This particular assignment is only for thirteen weeks, so I only have a little over a week left. Cole works at the Aston Medical Center full-time and when I started my assignment here, we hit it off immediately.

When I first moved here, it was supposed to be temporary. After the mental fuck Beau put me through, I needed a break and I jumped on the opportunity to be a travel nurse. I needed a breath of fresh air, a new start if you will.

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