Page 56 of Temptress

“Thanks,” I panted, dabbing at my chest and neck with a towel. “I guess I overdid it.”

Alma looked at me with worry in her eyes. “Babe, you’ve been overdoing it for days now. At this rate, you’re going to send yourself right to the hospital.”

“What’s going on?” Marin asked. “And don’t try telling us it’s nothing, because we know that’s a lie.

I looked around at my friends’ faces, seeing the concern in each of their eyes and felt a pang of guilt for making them worry.

“I’m sorry, guys. It’s just... it’s been a shitty week.”

“Is it because of what happened to Silas’s daughter?” Asher asked.

The day after Darcy’s accident, Silas had called in to request a few days off. Word traveled fast, and because pretty much everyone at Whiskey Dolls was awesome, a collection had been started up to buy Darcy a huge bouquet of flowers and a get-well card.

“No. Well, yes. I mean. Kind of. That’s part of it, but she and I have been texting pretty regularly, so I know she’s doing okay.”

“Then what’s got you so strung out you look like you’ve barely eaten or slept in days. You look like you’ve lost at least five pounds in the past week. That’s not good, Sloane,” Asher scolded.

Another wave of tears burned the backs of my eyes, and I couldn’t believe it was possible for me to have any tears left. With how much I’d cried the past several days, it was a wonder I had any liquid left in my body.

“Silas ended things between us the day after Darcy’s accident,” I admitted out loud for the first time, and, just as I’d suspected, those words burned like fire on their way up from my chest.

“What?” Layla yelped while the rest of the girls made similar sounds of disbelief.

Asher reached for my hand and stopped me from digging at my cuticles, a nasty habit that had formed over the past few days. “What happened?”

I filled them in on everything, starting from the moment I got home to find him on my front porch and ending with what he’d said when he broke up with me. I opened my mouth and let the words spill out, recounting every agonizing moment from finding out Darcy had been hurt, to my concern when he seemed to shut down on me. With each sentence, I let the tears fall, knowing it would be pointless to try and stop them. By the time I finished, that ache in my chest was back, along with the loneliness that had been plaguing me for days.

I turned to Asher and gave her a sad smile. “So much for there not being another shoe to drop, right?”

She frowned at my lame attempt at a self-deprecating joke. “Sloane, this breakup isn’t a reflection on you. Not one damn bit.”

I rolled my eyes and let out a snort. “Yeah? How do you figure that?Iwas the one who was dumped, after all. Doesn’t a breakup usually reflect more poorly on the dumpee than the dumper?”

Marin shook her head, her expression dead serious. “Not in this case. Because it’s you. You’re amazing, Sloane. If that asshole is too blind to see he was holding the best thing that could ever happen to him in his hands; that’s a flaw in his character.”

“Any man stupid enough to let you go doesn’t deserve another second of your time,” Alma said fiercely. “And personally, I can’t wait for the day when he wakes up and realizes what a colossal fucking mistake he made, because I’ll be right there to laugh in his face.”

A short chuckle rattled from my chest. “Look, guys, I appreciate what you’re trying to do here, cheering me up, but you don’t have to bash Silas to make me feel better. I don’t hate the man for dumping me. I’m just... hurt.” I blinked the blurriness from my eyes. “It hurts to know I wasn’t as important to the person I’d fallen in love with as he was to me.”

Asher leaned closer, the expression on her face leaving no room for argument as she said, “We aren’t saying this to make you feel better. It’s the truth. You’re important, Sloane. I wish Silas had realized that because you loved him, and I hate that you’re hurting. But there is someone out there who will meet you, take one look at you, and know you’re it for them. But until then, you need to remember that you already have people in your life who cherish you. You’re important to us, and we love you.”

God, I really did have the best friends in the world. Leaning into Asher, I rested my head on her shoulder and took a long, stuttered breath, feeling a teensy bit lighter than I had in days.

“Thank you,” I said quietly. “For being such amazing friends and for being here when I need you.”

“Marin grabbed my hand and squeezed. “We’re just returning the favor, sweetie. Because you’ve been there for each and every one of us more times than we can count.”

Thanks to my friends, I felt better than I had in days as I packed my stuff up and left the studio. I was looking forward to going home and soaking my aching muscles in a hot bath as I enjoyed a glass of wine.

Shouldering my gym bag, I started down the hall toward the back exit when someone stepped out of the break room and right into my path. Matthew Hosa had been a security guard at Whiskey Dolls for a while now, but he was one of the few people who worked at the club that I didn’t know very well, mainly because how I’d seen him act and how he spoke to other women at the club left much to be desired.

He was cocky and had an attitude in need of an adjustment. When Silas and I were seeing each other, he regularly complained about the guy being an asshole, and I hadn’t seen much that proved otherwise.

I looked up at him, offering a wan smile, and tried to step around him, but instead of getting out of my way, he shifted, cutting back in front of me.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he smiled down at me in a way that made my skin crawl. “Hey there, sweetness. What’s your hurry?”

God, what a douche.

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