Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“No! You’ve got to do this first. Trust me, your feet are going to be as soft as a baby’s bottom.”
It was sweet of Darcy to suggest this girls’ day, but Hayden didn’t give a shit how soft her feet were. All she could think about was what the hell she was going to do now. About Brody. About her father.
God, her father. She still hadn’t confronted him about Brody’s belief that her dad was guilty. They’d spoken a few hours after the photos of her and Brody had appeared on the internet, when her dad called demanding to know what the hell was going on. She’d still been so stunned about Brody ending things that she simply sat there and let her dad lecture her, and it was only after they’d hung up that it occurred to her the wrong person was asking that question.
She was the one who should be demanding to know what the hell was going on.
Presley had likely fixed those games. He’d cheated. Not just professionally, but on Sheila. Love her or hate her, Sheila was still his wife, and Hayden believed her when she said he’d slept with someone else.
But she’d been too distraught to push him. All she’d gotten out of him was that he was being interviewed by investigators this afternoon.
“Come on, smile a little,” Darcy pleaded. “I know life sucks right now, but I promise, it will get better.”
“I can’t believe he ended it.”
“I can’t believe it’s hitting you this hard.” Darcy shook her head. “You were the one who was so insistent about it being a fling and nothing more.”
“I know.” Hayden groaned. “What the hell is wrong with me?”
Her friend reached over and rubbed her forearm. “Nothing’s wrong with you, babe.”
She closed her eyes and tossed her head back on the padded chair top, but her eyelids slid open when a spa employee walked into the room with a tray of mimosas in hand.
“Care for a drink, ladies?”
“I’ll take two.” Hayden shamelessly grabbed two of the long-stemmed glasses and placed them on the bamboo side table next to her.
Darcy looked like she was fighting back laughter. “She’s had a long week,” Darcy explained.
The young female employee flashed Hayden a wide-eyed look before moving on to the next room. When she was gone, Darcy snorted loudly. “Classy,” she said.
Hayden chugged nearly half of the first mimosa. “I don’t care,” she grumbled. “I need this.”
She’d woken up the past three mornings feeling confused, devastated and angry. The anger surprised her, but most of it was directed at herself anyway. Last night she was tossing and turning, thinking about what a mess she’d gotten herself into since she’d come back to Chicago.
She’d propositioned a stranger, then proceeded to fall in love with him. She’d hurt Doug. Discovered her father had a drinking problem and was probably a criminal.
And what exactly are you doing to fix any of it? a little voice chastised.
Good point. How was chugging two mimosas going to help anything? She wasn’t the type to let problems pile up without looking for solutions, and although she might not be able to “fix” Doug’s broken heart or Brody’s decision to stay away from her, she sure as hell could do something about her father.
“I need to talk to my dad,” she said flatly.
In the chair beside her, Darcy nodded. “You do. Time to tear that Band-Aid off.”
“The Band-Aid being that he’s probably a criminal and an alcoholic?” She couldn’t keep the misery out of her voice.
“I didn’t say it wasn’t going to hurt. But it needs to be done.”
Darcy pulled her feet from the tub. Apparently, the fish were done with her. Hayden quickly followed suit, breathing a sigh of relief when the tickling abated.
“Are you okay if I abandon you mid-pedicure?” Hayden asked, biting her lip. “I don’t think I can sit around here all morning. I want to go see him. Force him to give me some answers.”
Because enough was enough. She needed to look her dad in the eye and demand the truth from him. This scandal was affecting her, too, and she deserved to know whether or not the trust and faith she’d placed in her father was justified. Presley’s mess had taken her away from Doug and brought her to Chicago; it had broken up her and Brody, caused stress to tangle inside her.
And now it was time to try to make sense of everything that had happened.
She drove to the Lincoln Center with a heavy heart, knowing Brody was scheduled to be interviewed by the league investigator today. She hoped she wouldn’t run into him. If she did, she’d be tempted to hurl herself into his arms, and she had no desire to be pushed away again.
It was so ironic. She’d been fighting this relationship from day one, set on keeping it a fling, and in the end he’d been the one to break things off.