There was something in that tone. A promise, perhaps. It could’ve been wishful thinking on my part, but I didn’t think so. This man wanted something from me.
And I could only hope it was what I so desperately found myself wanting to give him.
Heaven Whitley
“I thought…” I let the words hang, listening to Danny breathe on the other end of the line.
My boyfriend of three years was cheating on me. I knew it just as sure as I knew my own name. However, he continued to deny it even though his actions spoke far louder than his words.
“Sorry, babe,” he said simply. “Got plans tonight. Can’t make it by there.”
I’d been hearing that more frequently as of late. In the past three months, I’d seen Danny three times. All three had been on weekdays when he’d come over late in the evening. It wasn’t only in my head that the man was treating me like I was a booty call.
And it was high time I did something about it.
“No worries,” I told him sweetly.
“I knew you’d understand, babe. We’ll get together next week sometime. I promise.”
“You know what, Danny?”
“What’s that, babe?”
He referred to me like that always, and I was starting to think he’d forgotten my name.
“I think it’s time we called it quits.”
He was silent for a beat. “You don’t mean that, Heaven. Look, I’m sorry. I’ve got a lot of shit going on right now. I’ve been busy. No need to be a bitch about it.”
“It’s cool.” There was no heat in my words, no anger. I was simply done. And breaking up with him left me feeling freer than I had in a long time. “I’ve got a life, too. I’ll get on with mine, while you get on with yours.”
“Whatever, Heaven,” he snarled. “I don’t have time for your passive-aggressive bullshit right now.”
I laughed. “Okay, Danny. I’ll let you go.”
Disconnecting the call, I took a deep breath, exhaled slowly. Yep. Free. That was the feeling that fluttered inside me.
“Everything okay?”
I looked up to see my sister standing in the doorway, wiping her hand on a kitchen towel.
“Peachy,” I said with a smile. “I dumped Danny. Feel much better.”
That familiar line appeared in her forehead, a sure sign that Honor was worried about me. Before she could launch into a spiel about love and life and happily ever after, I shot to my feet.
“I just remembered…” I shuffled around the room, snatching my overnight bag and my purse. “I’ve got a paper due next week.” I pretended to look for something in my bag. “Forgot my book.”
“Heaven,” Honor said softly. “Please don’t go.”
“It’s fine,” I assured her. “I’ll stop by later in the week. We can have lunch.”
When I looked up, Honor was staring at me, that motherly look on her face. I hated that she felt the need to take care of me. I was a grown woman, had been taking care of myself for a while now. Ever since our mother died, Honor had taken on the role of surrogate and she seemed to forget the fact that I was twenty-five.
“You can’t go home,” she said firmly. “What if that guy comes back? Attacks you this time?”
Pain lanced through my insides. Everly had been attacked and whoever had done it thought she was me. I’d been the target, yet I had no idea why. It had been dumb luck that I’d forgotten my phone and had gone back to get it. If I hadn’t…
I shook off the thought because I was not about to think about the possible outcome if I’d had my phone or decided I didn’t need it.
“I’ll be fine,” I assured her. “I’ll lock the doors. He won’t come back this soon.” At least I hoped he wouldn’t.
Fifteen minutes later, I was pulling up to the redbrick house I lived in with Dante and Everly, parking beside a black Escalade. I climbed out just as the hot twins from that party were getting into the SUV.
The man on the passenger side paused, stared over at me. “What are you doing here?”
My eyebrows shot to my hairline. “I live here?”
“I thought you were staying with your sister.”
I shrugged. “Change of plans.” I leaned back into the car, dragged my overnight bag over the center console. “Broke up with my boyfriend,” I continued, “don’t care to be around anyone right now.”
“You can’t stay here,” he said simply when I turned back to face him.
“I’d beg to differ.” I held up my keys. “I’ve got a key. I signed a lease. I think it’s a fair assumption I can stay here.” I gave him a sassy smirk. “And I will. You guys have fun.”
Just as I was about to walk toward the house, the back passenger window rolled down, the soft whirring sound drawing my attention.
