I’m so screwed.”

Hope scooted closer to her friend and cradled her arm over Lexi’s shoulders. “I know it all seems like a total disaster right now, but you’ll be fine.

You’re an amazing and wonderful person, and if he can’t see that about you then he isn’t worth your time. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but it’s true. If it’s meant to be, it will all work out somehow, no matter how impossible it all seems right now. You can’t mess with fate.”

Rarely did the hard-nosed Hope get spiritual. If she wanted something, she went for it. She made her future happen and didn’t wait around for things like fate and destiny, so her show of that little bit of faith in the cosmos made Lexi smile. It reminded her of something Marie would have said, telling her to trust in fate and destiny to lead her down the right path because some things were out of her control. The universe had plans for everyone according to Marie. Lexi just wished she knew if hers included Vincent.

“Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?” Hope asked as she rubbed Lexi’s back.

After a few seconds, a mischievous smile swept across Lexi’s face. “As a matter of fact, yes, you can. Tell me about your drive with Sean.”

A strangled sound came out of Hope as her tea went down the wrong pipe. “Someone’s obviously feeling better,” she choked out. When her coughing fit subsided, she said indignantly, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Lexi rolled her puffy eyes, desperate to get the focus off of her. “Don’t think for one second I missed that goofy look on your face when you came back in the house, young lady.”

“We aren’t talking about me. We were discussing your epic crush on Vincent.”

“Yeah, but this topic is so much more fun.” She pointed at Hope’s face. “Aww, look, you’re blushing.”

“Stop it! I am not!” She whipped a mirror out of her purse and checked her reflection. “Crap, I am. That son of a bitch. I think he cast some sort of voodoo spell on me.”

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There was no stopping the smug grin on Lexi’s face. “So, was it an interesting drive?”

“Damn it, stop the interrogation!” Hope slammed her head down on the table. “We made out. I’m weak. I’m a weak, weak woman. I think you should stage an intervention for me.”

A full belly laugh rolled out of Lexi, and with great pleasure, she turned Hope’s own words back onto her for maximum embarrassment. “So, was there tongue?”

Hope’s long black hair whipped over her shoulder as she raised her chin and answered Lexi’s embarrassing question head on, trying to save face.

“Yes, there was tongue. Lots and lots of tongue. And the tongue action was not limited to my mouth.”

“What?” Lexi shrieked in shock.

Hope shrugged. “A lady doesn’t kiss and tell.”

“Bull,” Lexi laughed and then hugged Hope. “I’m not even going to ask where else his tongue was.”

The women shared a knowing look. “That’s probably for the best.” Hope winked at her friend.

“Thanks for cheering me up. I appreciate you listening to me and my whining.”

“I love you, Lexi. And I’m always here for you.”

“Unless you’re making out with Sean, that is.”

The two women stayed up late, with Hope trying unsuccessfully to keep Lexi’s mind off of Vincent Drake. Just after midnight, Lexi decided she was going to call off work tomorrow so she could clear her head. Vincent had meetings later that day, anyway, so she would just be sitting at her desk, wallowing in her humiliation, and she could do that just as well at home. She called Hunter and left a brief message for Leigh. In the morning, she would text Vincent and let him know she wasn’t feeling well and wouldn’t be back until the following day. That would give her one more day to clear her head before she faced him.

After a restless night’s sleep, Lexi focused her energies on cleaning her apartment, immersing herself in that rather than dwelling on her memories of the night before. She savagely tried to scour away her feelings for Vincent as she scrubbed her place. Her BlackBerry remained eerily silent all day, which was fine with her. She would rather not risk hearing the deep, sexy timbre of his voice on her mental health day. Within the safety of her apartment, she simply focused on anything and everything that was not Vincent Drake.

By the time she was done with her rampage, her bathroom floors gleamed, every scrap of clothing was washed, folded and put away, cups and glasses were arranged by height, and food was sorted by the time of day in which it was eaten. Her home could have been photographed for Architectural Digest it was that pristine.

Hours later, Lexi ventured out of the house and found herself at the one place that always made her feel better: her bench. It was nothing extravagant, a tiny haven in a bustling city, but it felt like it had been hers from the very first time she sat down on the gently splintering wood, with tears in her eyes, missing her father. She couldn’t explain what it was about being near the water that calmed her, but it made her feel content and hopeful. Being there reminded Lexi that life goes on, and in the end, somehow, everything would be okay. As the sun started to set, Lexi peered out over the water one last time, and then headed home.

Emotionally and physically exhausted, Lexi fell into bed that night, happy that for at least a few hours her brain had remained a Vincent-free zone.

Her dreams, however, were a different story.

Her morning coffee was interrupted by Hope’s loud voice. “Jesus, Lexi. Next time you need to purge yourself of a man, I’m taking you to the garage and letting you clean the shit out of it. The place is an absolute hole. Oh my God, did you alphabetize your entire DVD collection? There have to be—”

“Two hundred and fourteen movies,” Lexi said smugly as she took a sip from her mug. “And eighty-five CDs; don’t forget those.”

Hope shook her head as she surveyed the rest of the apartment. When she poked her head into the bathroom, she noticed that Lexi had even folded the end toilet paper into a little triangle just like they did at fancy hotels. Thoroughly amazed, she plopped onto the stool beside Lexi and shook her head. “Have you expelled your demons? Are you ready to go back to work?”

“Ready to get back to work? Yes. Am I ready to see Vincent? Absolutely not.” Lexi waved her BlackBerry at Hope. “I have ten missed calls from him.”




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