Page 80 of Torrid Passion
“Loki came by,” Hayden says.
Surprise has me jarring back.
“He was looking foryou,” Stella stresses.
My heart stutters.
“He was at your boutique?” I ask.
They both nod.
“Wow.” I’m completely baffled.
That’s the last thing I expected him to do.
“Maybe I’m off––and for the record, I doubt I am––but he really looked affected when we told him you had left for New York,” Stella says.
“I have to agree with her,” Hayden says. “Loki looked a little lost for a minute or two.”
Now I'm riddled with guilt and shame weighs me down at how I’d left him so abruptly.
Shit.
“I offered to relay a message to you on his behalf,” Stella says.
“What did he say?” The question stumbles from my lips.
“You shouldn’t have left that way, Kyla,” Hayden scolds.
I cringe internally. “Loki said that?”
She shakes her head. “No. I’m the one saying it.”
“I already explained why I did what I did,” I remind her.
“You jumped to conclusions about the guy,” Hayden says.
I blink at her, unsure what to say.
“I know you were convinced you were going to wake up next to Naughty Loki, I reckon you were wrong,” Stella says. “The man who sat in our sitting room today didn’t give off the vibe of a careless, notorious playboy eager to move onto the next pair of legs—”
“Men don’t chase after women,” Hayden says. “In a city like Los Angeles where men have the attention span of puppies, this is even truer. They fuck and move on. They fuck and forget all about you. They fuck without any intention of ever seeing you again. That’s how a lot of guys operate.” She pauses. “God knows with my less than stellar dating track record, I’m not an expert, but…” she lets her words trail.
“I’m listening,” I coax.
“Loki didn’t look like he was ready to move on.” My chest squeezes. “The man I saw today wasn’t looking to set his sights on another prey.”
Hayden’s words are like a wakeup call. “Okay, maybe I was way off—”
“Way, way, way off,” Stella stresses.
“Got it,” I tell her.
“Just want to make sure,” Stella flashes me an angelic smile.
“I’ll give him a call. Did he leave his number?”
Stella and Hayden shake their heads at the same time. “No.”
