Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“I did,” I tell him, not giving him anything more since I’m still not sure how I want to handle it.
“Good. What time do we leave?”
I glance at the itinerary on my phone Jill sent me. “Twenty minutes, and we won’t be back. We’re leaving straight from the show to head to Sacramento.”
Turning on my heel, I head straight for the other door, knocking and opening it without waiting for someone to give me the okay. Big mistake. I was so lost in my thoughts, thanks to Declan, that I didn’t consider what would be behind the other door.
I take in the scene in front of me, refusing to cry or throw up. Braxton is naked from the waist up, passed out on the queen-sized bed. With him are two very naked women. One is sprawled out across his stomach, and the other is lying across the foot of the bed. There are empty liquor bottles and the box of condoms and bottle of lube I brought him last night on the nightstand.
I step slowly into the room, unsure if I should be mature and gently wake Braxton up or scream like a five-year-old when my eyes land on the book in his hand, sending me back six years.
“I can’t believe you did this.” I snuggle in close to Braxton, laying my head on his chest. It’s our six-month anniversary, and he somehow booked us a gorgeous hotel room so we could spend the night together. He ordered us room service, and after eating, we spent time in the private hot tub before he made love to me.
“I’d do anything for you,” he murmurs, kissing the top of my head.
We lie in silence for a few minutes before I remember something. “I have something for you.”
I reach over and grab the gift bag I brought with me, second-guessing what I got him. “It’s nothing as lavish as this”—I wave my hand in the air—“but I saw it in the store, and it made me think of you.”
He opens the bag and pulls out a black notebook with gold script on the front that reads: Write the words that pour from your heart.
“It’s for your words,” I explain. “And to remind you to always write from your heart.” He doesn’t write half the music Camden does, but when he does write a song, it’s always beautiful, powerful, and filled with such emotion.
“I love it,” he says, flipping through the blank pages before he sets it down and cups my face. “And I love you. Thank you.”
He has the notebook even now. Six years later, and he’s still using it.
“Kaylee,” Camden says, sympathy evident in his tone. “I can wake him and Gage up.”
“Okay, thanks,” I choke out, emotion clogging my throat. Without looking back, I run out of the room and out of their suite. I keep running as the traitorous tears spill down my cheeks until I get back to my room. I need to grab my stuff, but instead, I pull my phone out and call Layla.
“Hey,” she says. “How’s it going?”
“I can’t do this,” I rush out through my sobs. “Watching him with all these other women... I can’t do it.” I know what I did all those years ago was horrible, but seeing him like this is too hard, and it hurts too much. Declan was wrong. It is too late for love... It’s too late for a lot of things.
Layla’s quiet for a second before she speaks. “Do you still love him?”
Dammit, here we go again with the love shit.
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t have the right to. Not after everything. After the way I hurt him.” Declan may believe Braxton would be willing to forgive me, but he’s wrong. There’s no going back from what I did, and thinking we could be friends was just stupidity on my part. I made my decision all those years ago, and now I have to live with the fallout.
“That was six years ago. Did something else happen?”
I give her a quick recap of last night and this morning.
When I finish, Layla sighs over the line. “I wish I were there so I could hug you.”
“I don’t deserve it. I did this.” I swipe away my tears. “I need to pull up my big girl panties and stop getting emotional. This is a job... possibly my last chance, and I need to handle it professionally.”
“True,” she says, “but you’re still human, and you have feelings.”
“Camden’s missing you like crazy,” I say, changing the subject.
Layla laughs softly. “I swear he’s texted me every five minutes since we left LA.”
“You love it.”
“Yeah, I do.” We’re both quiet for a moment. “Kaylee, one day you’ll find your Camden.”
Too bad it’s not a Camden I want... It’s a Braxton.
I’m sitting here high
I can’t forget