Page 28 of Spooked
The words pummel me over the head. "The unmasked shot?"
"Yeah, the gorgeous close-up of Wolfe Marsden without his mask? It's the money shot, girl. That's going on the cover for sure. The whole tortured veteran angle, the romance of the Beast revealing his face—readers are going to eat it up. You've outdone yourself."
I can't breathe. "Jane, I need to call you back."
"Ash? Everything okay?"
"I...I made a mistake. A big one. I'll be in touch soon."
I hang up and immediately try calling Wolfe. It goes straight to voicemail. I try again. And again.
"Ash?" Willa appears in the doorway, her brow furrowed. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I fucked up, Willa. I fucked up so badly." I start pulling on clothes. "I have to go. I have to fix this."
"Slow down and tell me what happened."
I pause and put a hand to my forehead.
"I accidentally submitted a private photo with the others. A photo Wolfe specifically said was just for me. The magazine is planning to use it for the cover, and his business manager saw it and told him, and now he thinks I betrayed him, and?—"
"Breathe," Willa commands, grabbing my shoulders. "Okay, so you made a mistake. Mistakes can be fixed."
"Not this one." Tears sting my eyes. "You didn't see his face when he took off that mask for me. The trust it took. And I just...I violated that. He'll never forgive me."
"He will if he loves you," she says firmly. "And from those texts last night and everything you’ve told me, he definitely loves you. Now go. You can fix this."
I hug her and run out to my car.
The drive back to Marsden Manor passes in a blur of panic and self-recrimination. How could I have been so careless? I know better. I've always been meticulous about client consent and permissions. But Wolfe had scrambled my brain so completely that I'd made a rookie mistake.
The manor comes into view, and my heart clenches.
This place had started to feel like home, and now I might’ve screwed everything up.
I pull up to the main entrance and practically run to the door, pounding on it with my fist.
"Wolfe! Please, let me explain!"
Nothing.
I try the handle. Locked. I run around to the side entrance I know leads to the kitchen. Also locked.
"WOLFE!" I shout, not caring who hears me. "I know you're in there! Please, just let me explain what happened!"
A window opens on the second floor, and Ghost's head appears. "He doesn't want to see you, Ash."
"It was an accident!" I call up to him. "The photo—I didn't mean to submit it! Please, just let me talk to him!"
Ghost's expression is sympathetic but firm. "He's not ready."
"Then I'll wait." I sit down on the front steps, crossing my arms. "I'll wait right here until he is ready."
"Ash..."
"I'm not leaving, Ghost. Not until I can plead my case."
The window closes, and I'm alone with my guilt and the growing certainty that I've lost the best thing that ever happened to me.
