Page 98 of Mayhem
“Couldn’t sleep either?” Paetyn asked.
“It’s hard to sleep when you know that you’ll be telling someone you’re going to do the one thing you told them you wouldn’t. Leave them.”
“Temporarily,” Paetyn stated, taking a seat at the island. “We’ll only be gone temporarily.” He sighed. “Honestly, if I’d known our obligations would overlap, I wouldn’t have accepted.”
“They wouldn’t have. At least, not as much as they’re going to, but I pushed off going so I’d be here for the update and again for her opening.”
“It isn’t but a few weeks. I’m sure it’ll work out, but we’ve put it off long enough, and we have to tell Erin in the morning.”
“Tell me what in the morning?”
Both men turned to the kitchen entrance to find Erin with one of Cruz’s t-shirts on, hand wiping at her eye, a yawn slipping past her lips. Cruz couldn’t help but think how adorable she looked.
“What are you doing awake, Angel?”
“Neither of you were in bed,” she responded, sitting beside Paetyn. “What were you going to tell me in the morning?”
Cruz glanced at Paetyn before his eyes shifted back to Erin. “I have to leave the country for work. I’ll be gone five weeks.”
“When?”
“I leave on the first of August.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“And the cooking competition I’ll be judging starts filming the third week in August, and it’ll film for four weeks,” Paetyn informed.
“You’ll be gone at the same time?” Erin asked.
“Just a few of the weeks will overlap,” Cruz clarified.
They studied her for a minute, and Erin looked between the two of them. “Why are you both looking at me like I’m going to have a breakdown?”
“It isn’t that, but our conversation about you having a fear of being abandoned being so recent doesn’t make this an ideal situation,” Paetyn stated.
“We’d ask you to come with one of us, but we know that isn’t a reasonable option since you’ll have just opened your shop,” Cruz said.
“I’ll be fine. Besides, it isn’t like I can’t call you.”
She was right. The time difference would have to be figured out, but they could still call or video call one another.
“Come on,” Cruz stated, placing the bottle aside to put in the recycling in the morning. “Let’s go back to bed, Maly.”
They left the kitchen, and Cruz turned the light off. Once they were back upstairs in her room, they settled into bed, and he closed his eyes as she moved into his side. They’d gotten the conversation over with. Now, they only needed to focus on her upcoming opening.
26
Erin was nervous, which was a new feeling for her, but she’d never been an hour away from opening her own business, and she wanted everything to go well. She hoped she’d get a good turnout for her opening; there was no guarantee, even with all the advertising she’d done. Her nerves may also have to do with the fact that she’d introduce her father to her boyfriends in a few minutes.
Yes, she’d told them she wouldn’t hide either of them and meant it, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t nervous about it. It would be the first time she introduced someone to him in a while.
She’d picked her dad up from the airport, and they’d gone straight to her shop. His original flight was delayed, so she didn’t have time to take him to get settled first, but he didn’t seem to mind.
Her men were coming early to help her set up, though Erin didn’t have much to do. The rest of their friends would be there fifteen minutes before the event started. She wanted to introduce the three without having an audience.
“This place is great, Bug!” her dad stated from the back. He’d been looking around while she ensured Dahlia, one of the artists she’d hired, had her portfolio set.
She was finishing the last few days of her notice at her current shop and couldn’t make it, but Erin still wanted her work seen.She’d asked Dahlia to give her timeslots for appointments for the week she’d be starting so she wouldn’t miss out on clients.
