She couldn’t help but laugh. “Because it’s that easy, right?” Her laughter died, replaced with a tired frown. “It would have ended anyway, Brody. Sooner or later.”

Anguish flooded his gaze. “Come on, don’t say that. This break doesn’t have to be permanent.”

“Maybe it should.” A sob wedged in her throat and it took every ounce of willpower she possessed to swallow it back. “We’re probably doing ourselves a favor by letting go now. Maybe it will end up saving us both a lot of heartache in the future.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but she didn’t give him the chance. Blinking back the tears stinging her eyelids, she headed back to the bedroom to find her clothes.

12

THE CAB RIDE to the arena, where she’d left her car, was probably the most mortifying experience of Hayden’s life. Somehow, while she’d gotten dressed, called the cab, murmured a soft goodbye to Brody, she’d managed to rein in her emotions. But the second she slid into the backseat and watched Brody’s beautiful house disappear in the rearview mirror, she’d burst into tears.

Looking stunned, the taxi driver handed her a small packet of tissues then promptly ignored her. Despite the tears fogging her eyes she noticed the man shooting her strange looks in the mirror. Apparently it wasn’t every day that a brokenhearted woman in tears rode in his cab.

And brokenhearted was the only word she could come up with to describe how she felt right now. Although she’d told Brody the breakup was for the best, her heart was aching so badly it felt like someone had scraped it with a razor blade. All she wanted to do was go back to the penthouse, crawl under the covers and cry.

The cab driver dropped her at the arena, where she got into her rental car, swiped at her wet eyes and took a few calming breaths.

Fifteen excruciatingly long minutes later, she was walking into the hotel, hoping nobody noticed her blotchy face. In the lobby, the clerk behind the check-in desk gestured at her. She reluctantly headed over and was surprised when he said, “There’s a man waiting for you in the bar.”

Hope and happiness soared inside her. Brody? He would’ve definitely had time to get here before her, since she’d had to pick up her car. Maybe he realized how foolish it was to end things because of something a reporter had written.

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She hurried across the marble floor toward the large oak doors leading into the hotel bar. Only a few patrons were inside, and when she searched for Brody’s massive shoulders and unruly dark hair, she came up empty-handed. Disappointment crashed into her like a tidal wave. Of course he wasn’t here. He’d made it clear back at his place that he couldn’t risk his career by being seen with her.

She glanced around again, then gasped when her attention landed on a man she’d dismissed during her first inspection.

Doug.

Oh, God. What was he doing here?

“Hayden!” He walked toward her with a timid smile.

She stared at him, taking in the familiar sight of his blond hair, arranged in a no-nonsense haircut. His pale blue eyes, serious as always. That lean, trim body he kept in shape at the university gym. He wore a pair of starched tan slacks and a crisp, white button-down shirt, and the conservative attire kind of irked her. Everything about Doug was neat and orderly and unbelievably tedious. She found herself longing for even the tiniest bit of disorder. An undone button. A coffee stain. A patch of stubble he’d missed while shaving.

But there was nothing disorderly about this man. He was like a perfectly wrapped gift that only used three efficient pieces of tape and featured a little bow with the same length tails. The kind of gift you hesitated to open because you’d feel like an ass messing it up.

Brody, on the other hand…Now he was a gift you tore open the second you got it—the exterior didn’t matter because you knew what it contained inside was a million times better anyway.

Tears stung her eyes at the thought.

“Hi,” Doug said gently. “It’s good to see you.”

She wanted to tell him it was good to see him, too, but the words refused to come out. They stared at each other for a moment, and then he was pulling her into an awkward embrace. She halfheartedly hugged him back, noticing that the feel of his arms around her had no effect on her whatsoever.

“I know I shouldn’t have come,” Doug said, releasing her. “But after the way we left things…I thought we needed to talk. In person.”

“You’re right.” She swallowed. “Do you want to come up?”

He nodded.

Without a word, they walked out of the bar and headed for the elevator. Silence stretched between them as they rode the car up to the penthouse. Hayden wanted to apologize to him again, and yet she wasn’t sure she felt apologetic anymore. She and Doug had been on a break when she’d started seeing Brody, and though she regretted hurting Doug, she couldn’t will up any regret about what she felt for Brody.




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