Page 46 of With You Forever

Anywhere.

The sex last night wrecked his goddamn world.

Late-afternoon sun in his rearview, Seth rolls his Bronco up to the curb of Bluegrass Bakery, the memory of Lacey sleeping easy and gentle in his arms this morning fresh in his mind. She was so goddamn beautiful he would have been content saying fuck it all and staying in bed with her the rest of his life.

Because that’s what he’s giving. And that’s what she’s getting.

No doubt.

Still, last night eats at him. She looked unsteady at Griff and Alabama’s party. He didn’t miss the current of worry in her green eyes. He got the feeling she wasn’t telling him everything. And so, he did all he could do to reassure her that he loves her. He knows it ain’t a magic fix—he knows her pain and worry won’t go away overnight, but if he can make her feel loved and safe and supported, it’s all he wants.

He frowns as he approaches the front of the bakery. Lacey’s perky little VW is nowhere to be seen. When it comes to everything else in life—shopping, tours, Sunday suppers—she’s late. But when it comes to parties, her job, she’s like clockwork.

As he enters the bakery, Seth’s instantly hit by the aroma of dough and sugar. With the jingle of the door chimes comes a small woman with long gray hair from the kitchen.

“Help you, darlin’?”

“I’m lookin’ for a girl,” he drawls. “Blond. Beautiful.”

“Let me guess, you’re marryin’ her.”

“Damn right I am.”

The woman dusts her floured hands off on her apron. “Well, lover boy, the girl of your dreams hasn’t been in yet. If you have a seat, I’ll get together some samples while you wait.”

Chuckling, Seth nods and takes a seat at a bubblegum-pink table.

He hasn’t been there a minute before his phone buzzes.

Sal, not Lacey.

“Seth.” Sal sounds breathless. “Are you with Lacey?”

“No. We’re meetin’ at the bakery. Why?”

She swears. “Have you seen theStar?”

He bristles, already shoving out of his chair and bolting forward for the front door. Something’s wrong.

Something bad.

“What’s goin’ on, Sal?”

“The article’s awful,” Sal says, her voice burning with uncharacteristic anger. Fear. “She won’t answer my calls. You have to find her, Seth.”

“Shit. I’ll call you back.” Heart thundering, Seth hangs up and checks the website.

He freezes on the spot. The headline turns his blood to ice.

“Motherfuckers,” he snarls, not recognizing his own voice. His fists curl at his side, jaw clenching so hard he could break a tooth.

What the fuck theStarwas thinking publishing a story like this is beyond Seth, but he already knows one thing. He’s gonna ruin that woman at theStar, and while Seth would love nothing better than to wage nuclear war, first, he’s gotta find Lacey.

He’s gotta find his girl.

He presses the phone to his ear, his heart dangerously close to its last beat as he listens to it ring. “Pick up, princess. Pick up.”

But her phone goes straight to voice mail.

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