"Not knowing what else to do, Mom tried calling us, then decided to get our cousin. When he arrived, Jodie was leaving in the car, completely out of it. He got in with her. We don’t know exactly what happened—only that she drove onto the highway and crashed head-on into a semi."

"Morrison?"

"He’s in a coma, but according to your business partner, he has a better chance of surviving than Jodie."

Alexis

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

I tryto fight the hollow feeling after he leaves, telling myself it’s not a big deal.

I’m an adult, and I agreed to a no-strings situation. In a few days, he’ll come back and we’ll pick up . . . whatever this is, until one of us realizes the physical attraction is gone.

I get up and head into the bathroom of his suite, unable to shake off everything we experienced in this house since Thursday night.

Not even seventy-two hours together, and yet it feels like we’ve always known each other.

I glance at myself in the mirror above the sink and smile at the sight of my flushed face and the shine in my eyes.

"You’ve got this, Alexis. Enjoy it while it lasts, and then let it go."

I take a quick shower, as I plan to swing by my home before heading to work.

A pang of guilt hits me when I realize I didn’t visit Mom yesterday. Then I remember what she said on the phone: Live one day at a time. We never know if there will be a next one.

I’m lucky to have someone like her to turn to. Maybe a friend would be starstruck hearing I’m seeing someone like LJ—but my mother is grounded. She’s been through too much, and while she told me not to miss out on life, she also warned me to watch out for the first signs of danger to my heart.

That makes me think of the look on LJ’s face when he said goodbye. He seemed shut down, distant—so different from the man I spent the last three days with. Then he kissed me before leaving, and my anxiety eased slightly with his promise that we’d see each other again next week.

I walk into the bedroom and hear a buzzing sound. It takes me a moment to realize it’s my phone, and I clutch the towel around me as I run to grab it—even though I’m alone in this giant house.

I frown when I see it’s a message from Badger, but before I can read it, the phone rings.

"Alexis, where are you?"

My cheeks burn. "Close by. Why?"

"At home?"

"No."

"Give me the address. I’ll come get you."

"Did something happen?"

He sighs—and it comes out like a growl. "Yes."

"My mom?" I ask, and bile rises in my throat.

"I need the address, sweetheart."

"I don’t know it. Hang on."

I rush down the stairs and look for a piece of mail. I find one addressed to Morrison Seymour—must be his cousin’s name.

Only now does a light go off in my head, and I connect the dots. Seymour. LJ’s last name is well-known. Oh my god, does he belong tothatfamily?The Seymours?

I push all that aside and focus on reading the address to Badger.