Page 90 of Undeniable Temptation

“I didn’t ditch Leah. She was the one who told me to take time to think about what I wanted.”

Blake stepped forward. “I thought you were the one who asked for space.”

“No.” He shook his head. “The baby hasn’t changed the way I feel about her. I’m not going back to married life.”

“Does Julie know that?” Mitch asked.

“Not yet.”

“How about Leah?”

“I told her the day I found out about the baby. And then again on the jet. But she still wanted me to take more time.”

Sean groaned. “No wonder she’s in an epically bitchy mood. You’ve left her hanging.”

Ryan’s heartrate increased. “I gave her what she wanted—time. Space. How can I be in the wrong?”

“For starters, don’t listen to a woman when she says she’s ‘fine,’ or that ‘nothing is wrong,’ or if she ever utters the words ‘I’m not mad’—”

“Or ‘I’m almost ready,’” Mitch added. “That shit isnevertrue.”

“And never, ever believe her if she tells you to take time to think about your relationship.” Mason clucked his tongue and shook his head. “What she’s really saying is ‘do you love me enough to make an on the spot decision about our future?’”

“Umm…” Ryan wasn’t sure if he should be shocked at their insight or petrified that he’d clearly made the wrong move. Either way, he was fucked if these four were now the experts and he was the novice. “Thanks… I guess it’s more important than ever to go find her.”

“Touch that chair and I’ll be forced to hurt you.” Sean cracked his knuckles, not an ounce of humor in his features.

“But you just said—”

“We said you fucked up,” Mason muttered. “We didn’t say we were letting you expose our cavern of protection.”

Sean inched closer to the door. “She’s in Lord-of-the-Flies mode and we all refuse to be Piggy.”

“But what we can do,” Blake drawled, “is help you find those balls of yours so you can tell her how it’s going to be.”

Fucking morons. He couldn’t understand how they weren’t laughing through the pitiful misogyny. It didn’t matter, though, because he already knew they weren’t going to let him out. Not without a fight.

“Fine.” He slumped onto the nearest chair, resigned to wait it out. “In all your infinite wisdom, please tell me exactly how I’m going to get Leah back.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Leah’s feetwere killing her. She hadn’t walked this much in years, but the back and forth from the dressing room to the parking lot was well worth the blisters. The stadium had been surrounded by fans hours before Slicker took the stage. Now, with ticket holders inside, the people outside were still amassing to see the live performance feed.

Scott had already emailed her with a report to show Slicker’s sales had increased over the last hour. Their social media followers had, too. Volunteers were handing out promotional items to those who downloaded on the spot, and although there would be hell to pay for the stack of Reckless posters left unsigned, she was sure her men would work the crowd into a frenzy once they walked on stage and blew their chart target out of the water.

Everything was working seamlessly.

So why did it feel like the world was ending?

Ryan had done what she wanted. He’d given her space. But all the distance achieved was heartache. Her anxiety was out of control. Her mood mimicked a heartrate monitor. Up, down, up, down. She couldn’t cement the professionalism she’d always clung to. It was elusive, hiding behind a sea of tears and a blanket of nausea.

Tomorrow would be worse.

Even if they successfully removed the Slicker burden, Ryan’s fake relationship with Felicity would be replaced with an announcement of an unborn child from his real wife. A charade would be interchanged with something more tangible and destructive.

“Leah?” a voice called through her ear-piece.

She paused in the middle of the hall and pressed a finger to the device to respond. “Yeah?”

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