Page 77 of All This Time

Ellis tips her head back and groans. “Fine.”

My brother turns to me, a pleased smile on his face. “See?” he mouths to me.

As I watch him attempt to get his daughter to ride her bike again without falling, I mentally go back through my schedule for the week.

Late client on Monday. Yoga at the winery on Tuesday. Wednesday is open because that’s usually when Dilynne and I have dinner together. Late night at the salon again on Thursday. Babysitting Ellis for Rhonan on Friday. Bachelor party on Saturday for Elliot and Tori.

And that’s when it hits me.

My whole life revolves around other people—what they need and how I can be of service to them.

Hazel is right.

I deserve a few orgasms,especiallyfrom a man who’s eager to give them to me. And two weeks is not going to make or break my future. I just hope I can keep my feelings out of it.

Chapter 15

Fletcher

A Bet, Yoga, and Drowning

“Thank you so much. We hope to see you again soon!” Yvonne waves to the customer leaving as I walk through the front door to Blossom Beauty. Our eyes meet and her lips curl up into a knowing grin. “Well, if it isn’t Lucifer himself. Are you here for another massage?” She wiggles her fingers in the air.

Chuckling, I reply, “As much as I’m tempted, I’m actually here to see your boss.”

“Oooh. The plot thickens.” Her eyebrows bounce up and down before motioning for me to follow her. “This way.”

As we walk through the salon, several customers begin whispering. But right now, my only focus is getting to Laney and un-fucking this entire situation.

After two days of reaching out to her with no response, I knew the only way I would get her to talk to me would be to force her to.And what better place to do it than her salon, where she can’t escape without inviting questions, or where she’s least likely to make a scene.

Yvonne knocks on the door to Laney’s office at the end of the hall. “Boss?”

“I’m on the phone!” she calls back.

Yvonne turns to me. “There was a mistake with one of our orders and she’s been on the phone all morning. Do you wanna wait?”

“Yup. I’m not going anywhere.” Folding my arms, I lean against the wall.

Yvonne chuckles. “Good man.” Leaning up against the door herself, she says, “You have a visitor. When you’re done, they’re out here waiting for you.”

“Not sure how long I’ll be,” Laney calls back.

I lean in toward the door this time. “Don’t worry. I’ve gotallday.”

Laney grows quiet on the other side.

“Fletcher?” she finally asks.

“Nope. It’s Lucifer.”

Yvonne snorts. “You two are perfect for each other.” She slaps my shoulder and walks off, leaving me there to wait.

I’m not entirely sure what Yvonne knows about Friday night, but until I verify from Laney, I’m not going to assume anything.

Surprisingly, Laney doesn’t keep me waiting long. After only ten minutes, the knob to her office turns and she appears, peering up at me with wide eyes through a crack in the door. “Um, hey.”

“We need to talk.”