Page 111 of Lyrical

I ran over my schedule. No teleconferences, no meetings. “Not really, why?”

She latched onto my arm and pulled me up. “You’re tired, and I feel kinda shitty again. Let’s go crash out for the rest of the day.”

“What? Don’t you have to get back to work?”

“No, they booted my ass out. Said I didn’t look good and to take a sick day.”

Hmm… that might not be such a bad idea. If she got me sick too, I could just zonk out for a while, then maybe wake up crystal clear knowing exactly what to do about this twisted mess.

“Okay, a nap sounds good right now.” We cut through the hall to my bedroom. “But I hope you’re okay. You were feeling so good yesterday.” I might have to rule out the drugging theory.

“Yeah. Another girl at work was out with the flu last week. I’m sure I got something from her.” We lay down on my bed. “Don’t worry about me being contagious. I’m sure I’ve already exposed you to whatever was hanging around me.”

“I’m not worried, Perry.”

“You can tell me about Daniel before we fall asleep.”

I closed my eyes. “No, I’d rather not.”

She squeezed my hand. “Please tell me you’re PMSing and that’s why you’re down.”

“No. Actually, I’ll be ovulating sometime today.”

“Oh shit. Do I have to worry about you humping me in my sleep?”

I smiled, whacking her hip. “Nope. Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m just not feeling it this month.”

All I felt was numb, my body one giant toothache slathered in Orajel. After Daniel left yesterday, I’d stayed on the couch until I couldn’t ignore my throbbing head anymore. Then I crawled into bed and barely slept. I hadn’t even seen or talked to Chase, just sent him off a text saying I was out with a nasty headache and didn’t want to be disturbed. He’d left for New York this morning, and who knew what Cassie had planned—for him or Daniel.

Numb.

Perry pumped my hand again. “Hey, I have some good news. I talked to Alex yesterday since Stephen was too hungover to speak a simple sentence. He told me that the three of them—him, Stephen, and Chase—just spent the night on his terrace drinking after his roommate brought over the sluts. They weren’t even around them. Alex is one of the good guys. He would’ve just taken Stephen out, but my lovely fiancé could barely move without faceplanting.”

I cracked open one eye. “So, they did have hookers, then?”

“I don’t know. They could’ve just been whores and notwhores. What does it matter, I guess. Stephen and Chase are the good guys too.”

“Yeah.”

I rolled over in bed, and my foot hit something solid. “Perry?” I whispered.

“No, baby. It’s me.”

“Chase?” I rubbed my eyes, and he slowly drifted into focus. “Chase, what are you doing here?”

He pulled me into his arms, stroking my hair. “I missed you so fucking much, Jillian. I had to come home early.”

“But… I thought this seminar was mandatory? You barely spent any time there.”

“Shhh… this is more important. I couldn’t take it anymore. It was eating me up inside, and I had to come home.”

I was still groggy, trying to pop the bubble that surrounded me. “I don’t understand. What was eating you up?”

“I need you, Jillian. I need you forever, but you have to forgive me first. If you can do that, we can have everything. And then I’ll never hurt you again. You have my vow.”

My heartbeat was echoing so loudly inside the bubble. “You already gave me your vow before you left. You said we’re good. Rock solid. Why would I need to forgive you?”

“I’m so sorry, baby.”

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