Page 10
CHAPTER 10
anna
T he next afternoon, I sat on the vinyl-covered chair in the corner of the hospital room. A horde of people surrounded Blue by his bed—doctors and nurses, his family, and the UK coaches and staff. I gripped my phone in my hands, my stomach filling with dread as I waited. When it finally buzzed, I blew out my breath and turned it over.
Jonah
We’re done. I saw the videos, Anna. There’s no coming back from that. It’s clear you’re still in love with him. I just wish you’d figured it out before you dragged me through hell this past year.
It was a fist to the kidneys even if I’d earned every word. I had a hundred things I could’ve said. The game had been stressful. Singing in front of a hundred thousand people in person and millions more on TV had shot my nerves. I was hugging a friend I hadn’t seen in more than four years. But the truth was, Jonah was right. And he didn’t deserve the humiliation that had now been dumped onto his head like an unexpected cooler full of ice. Making up excuses would only hurt him more.
I’m so sorry. You’re absolutely right. Can we talk about it when I get back?
Jonah
There’s no point. It won’t change anything.
My shoulders slumped and I dropped my head into my hands. I didn’t want to grovel or fix things with Jonah. It was over. I’d known while Blue was walking me off the field. Jonah had sent me to Knoxville to find out—and, boy, did I ever. I just didn’t want to part like this.
I still had another semester and a half at James River before I’d hopefully head on to Virginia Tech for vet school. JRC was a small enough campus that we’d run into each other weekly. Possibly even daily. Plus, we had mutual friends. We didn’t need things to be awkward. Maybe if we could talk it out, it would be okay.
My phone buzzed again. I gave myself a few breaths and dove back in. But it wasn’t Jonah.
It was worse.
Duncle Silas
You need to head back to Sweet Grass with Ashton. You can’t miss classes.
I stared at his words, sick to my stomach.
But Blue…
Duncle Silas
Think grand scheme. The vet school admissions committee won't care that your ex-boyfriend got amnesia if you fail Biochem.
Aunt Lemon
But I care. You should stay.
I snickered. Lemon for the win!
Duncle Silas
BABE.
Aunt Lemon
She’s going after her heart. Good on her.
Duncle Silas
Apparently, I’m the only one here not ruled by emotions or Harlequin romance plots.
Aunt Lemon
Maybe if you had been it wouldn’t have taken us so long to get together.
Duncle Silas
YOU WEREN’T READY.
I snort-laughed and covered it with a hand. They had this same argument on repeat. Kind of like Ross and Rachel’s “We were on a break!” argument.
Aunt Christy
I say she goes for it. What she and Blue had was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love. Like me and Holden.
Uncle Holden
Facts. Plus Blue’s rich now and he could get us tickets to all of his games. And sick merch.
Then he sent Aunt Christy his bedroom eyes emoji. We knew that’s what the emoji meant because he’d used it so many times. How they only had two kids, I didn’t know. Good birth control, I guess.
Duncle Silas
How the heck did you two get on this thread?
Aunt Lemon
I invited them. I needed backup.
Duncle Silas:
%#@! Come home, Anna. You have school!
Aunt Christy
Stay, Anna. Grand gesture the heck out of Blue until he remembers every wonderful thing about you, darling girl.
Duncle Silas
No grand gestures. Just common sense.
Aunt Christy
Don’t listen to him. He doesn’t know the meaning of grand gesture.
Duncle Silas
I GAVE UP THE RANCH FOR CLEM.
HAPPILY.
Uncle Holden
No. Silas is right. Come home, Anna.
Duncle Silas
Thank you! Finally, somebody who sees reason.
Uncle Holden
Come home with a fat diamond on your left hand.
Aunt Lemon
And Blue. Bring Blue too.
Duncle Silas
She’s too young to get engaged. Sophie would kill y’all for saying that.
Aunt Lemon
Sophie would be cheering her on and she’s going to haunt you for saying otherwise.
Duncle Silas
Pfft.
Granny
Bring that sweet boy home. I’ll make Blue his favorite key lime pie. It’ll make all his memories come back.
Duncle Silas
MOM? You invited Mom?!
Aunt Lemon
tee hee
Gramps
And if Granny’s pie doesn’t work, I’ll get him another bucket of bull testicles to throw all over Ashton. That should do the trick.
Duncle Silas
I give up.
Ford
Face it man, we’ve got you outnumbered. #TeamBlue #Blupree #Silasisacoldandbrokenman
Aunt Lemon
#Silashasareallynicebutt
Duncle Silas
#Youallsuck
My abs hurt from laughing.
My phone buzzed one more time with the notification Duncle Silas left the conversation .
“HA!” I slapped my hand over my mouth when everyone in the room stopped talking and ogled me. “Sorry.” I giggled.
They turned around like I hadn’t made a sound. All eyes back on Blue.
This morning when he’d woken up, some of his memory had returned. He recognized his mom, his dad, and a much younger Colt.
And high school me.
Shane had a hungry look in his eye. All day he’d pushed and pulled for the doctors to pump Blue full of whatever would make his memory return the fastest. As if that’s how this worked. All he cared about was getting Blue back on the field ASAP.
All Blue could focus on was me. In his head, we were still hot and heavy, even though logically he knew we weren’t. Because I’d told him so, repeatedly—and so had his mom, multiple times when he refused to believe me.
“Just think about the money they could make UK.” Daisy Foxhorn, the tall blonde who’d orchestrated getting me on the field yesterday, bounced on the balls of her feet. The overbearing Neanderthal of a woman was in charge of all publicity for UK sports, and her eyes had been darting between Blue and me all afternoon. Like we were her ticket to fame and stardom.
She straightened her glasses. “Blue signed a contract that allows us to use his name and likeness. If she,” she gestured at me, “will sign a contract we could capitalize on yesterday’s events.”
My hands came up. “What if I don’t want my name and face all over social media and the news?”
She rolled her eyes. “It already is.” She propped her hands on her hips and shifted back to the group. “We need to capitalize on this. You saw what dating Taylor Swift did for Travis Kelce’s career.” Wait, did she just compare me to Taylor Swift? “Anna’s going to make beaucoup bucks. Ford Dupree’s record label already wants her to record ‘Rocky Top’ with him—and another song they’re writing as we speak.”
Blue’s brow flicked up, looking impressed. “Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift?”
“Yeah.” I stood. “I’m not doing that.” I knew about the record label. Ford had already texted me this morning. None of it was the least bit enticing. After the mortification I’d felt at the Knoxville game, if I’d ever had any dreams of stardom—spoiler alert: I hadn’t—they would have been completely squelched.
“Then you’re not as smart as you look,” she snapped.
“Hey.” Blue’s eyes flashed, furious.
Without taking a breath, she turned back to the coaches. “People are already making bank on this. Merch is all over the internet—Rocky Top Me. Team Blupree. Love at the Fifty Yard Line. Touchdowns and True Love. We’re the ones who should be making money off of it.”
My jaw fell open. People were buying and wearing shirts that said Team Blupree?
She thrust her hand at me. “We have a perfect opportunity next week. Blue is presenting the king’s crown at Seddledowne’s Homecoming game next Friday. Anna can present the queen’s crown. We’ll make it a whole hometown trip. We can get the news there. Everyone will gobble it up.” I hadn’t even heard that Blue was doing that. You’d think my Duncle wasn’t the high school principal or anything.
“Uh, they won’t let me do that,” I said. “That’s Janica Bolden’s job. She won homecoming queen last year.”
Daisy waved that off. “And you were the queen the year before. We’ll make it happen.”
Once again my mouth fell open. How did she know that?
Blue glanced at me, starry-eyed. “You won homecoming queen?”
“Yeah, and I already passed my crown off to Janica.” Job completed. I wasn’t going to take the honor away from her.
Daisy rolled her eyes again.
Coach Whitlock slapped a stack of rolled-up papers against his leg. “Whatever you want to do is fine.” He turned to the team doctor. “We just need to get him back on the field ASAP. Whatever you have to do to make that happen.”
“He’s a boy,” Missy said. “Not a machine.”
“He has retrograde amnesia. He may never get his memory completely back,” the hospital’s neurologist, Dr. LaForce, said, a tinge of irritation in his voice.
“He will,” Coach Whitlock said sternly, as if he had the play in his playbook to make it happen.
Blue shoved his hands into his thick shock of brown hair. “I still can’t believe I’m QB1 for the University of Knoxville.” Then he let out a nervous laugh, which twisted my stupid insides in a hooey knot. His voice was rough like sandpaper. If his jacked body and extra five inches didn’t scream I’m no longer a boy , that deep voice surely did. No wonder girls snuck into his hotel room whenever they had away games.
Blue scowled and looked at his parents. “Why’d you let me sign with Knoxville though? They suck.” He studied me. “I wanted to play for Tech or UVA.” That had been our plan.
“Excuse me,” Daisy’s mouth fell open.
“Don’t get all bent out of shape,” Coach Whitlock said. Then he turned to Blue. “We used to suck and then you came along. Now we’re number five in the nation. Which is why we need you to make a speedy recovery.”
“You can’t schedule a recovery,” Missy snapped. “You know what?” She held her hands up. “I’m taking him home with me. Y’all are putting too much pressure on him.”
Shane gripped her shoulder and narrowed his eyes. “Why don’t you let people do their jobs?”
The team lawyer straightened. “He signed a contract. There will be legal implications if he leaves with an injury like that.”
Missy looked like she was about to cry.
Then the team dietician spoke up. “Ms. Bishop, we need to keep him here to monitor his diet.”
Oh my word, you’d think he was a rat in a controlled experiment.
My insides were an anxious mess and I wondered how Blue was doing with all of this. But he wasn’t even listening to them. He was too busy gazing over the dietician’s shoulder, all dopey-eyed, at me. Like he was a delirious, love-sick fool. It was the same way he’d looked at me in high school and he really needed to stop. Because there was a high probability that the moment he remembered our breakup, dopey-eyed, High School Sophomore Blue would vanish and College Junior Superstar QB Blue wouldn’t want another thing to do with College Anna.
Maybe Silas was right. Maybe I should go.
Yeah. That was the smart thing to do. Future Anna would thank me. Maybe. No, she would. Even without the possibility that College Blue despised me, I couldn’t afford to miss Biochemistry tomorrow. Keeping up in that class was like trying to doggy paddle a tidal wave. If you let your guard down for a second, you were toast for the rest of the semester.
The door pushed open and Ashton, Brooklyn, and Tally walked in. I let out a sigh of relief and hugged my two besties, one arm around each of them. Then I collapsed against my uncle.
“You okay?” Ashton asked, giving me a squeeze and resting his chin on the top of my head.
“Yeah. It’s just a lot. The publicist is trying to convince me to record ‘Rocky Top’ with Ford and sign a contract so everyone can make money off of what happened yesterday.”
“Ha!” Brooklyn snorted. “Look at the glare Blue is giving Ashtonio.” I peeked over my shoulder. Sure enough, Blue was trying to destroy Uncle Ash with an optic blast. Apparently, he didn’t get the memo that even though he was a superstar quarterback, he only had ordinary vision.
“Great.” I took a step back.
Blue shoved off the bed while Coach Whitlock was still mid-sentence. The crowd parted and he walked through. Blue squared his feet, chest puffed. His lips pinched together and his eyes narrowed.
“Hi?” he said to Ash in a tone that said, who are you, what are you doing in my room, and what are you doing with your hands on Anna?
“Hi.” Ashton stared at him. I didn’t know if he was in a bad mood, or if he simply couldn’t wrap his head around Blue not knowing him, but he said nothing else. Just scowled, dubiously.
Brooklyn was videoing it.
Ashton didn’t need to get into a fistfight with Blue and wind up a meme like I had yesterday. So I pushed between them. “Uh, Blue, this is my uncle Ashton.”
Quick as a wink, Blue’s territorial glare flipped to a grin and his eyes lit up. “Yo. Anna’s uncle. What up?” He offered Ashton a fist bump.
Ashton frowned but bumped him back. “Not much. What’s up with you?”
Blue chuckled. “I’m not sure. I can’t remember.”
Ashton smiled at that. “So weird.” I knew he meant that it was weird that Blue couldn’t remember him. “You don’t recognize us?” He gestured to himself, Tally, and Brooklyn. “But you recognize her?” He pointed to me.
“I think it’s just core memories coming back right now,” I said. “I’m sure he’ll remember you later.”
“This is Brooklyn and Tally.” I gestured toward them. “They were friends of yours in high school.”
“I mean, not really.” Brooklyn slipped the phone into her pocket. “But we were Anna’s friends, so you tolerated us.”
“Pretty much,” Tally agreed.
I pursed my lips. “Really?” It wasn’t true. He’d liked them fine.
“Very cool.” Blue offered them fist bumps too.
Ash caught my eye and nodded toward the door. He was itching to head back to Sweet Grass. Said he had a bunch of stuff to do for his classes tomorrow. I suspected it had more to do with being in such close proximity to Tally for so long. He seemed exhausted and beaten down. Yeah, this was definitely about Tally. I probably needed to talk to her about easing up on him.
Ashton scrubbed a hand over his face. “Silas said he doesn’t care what the rest of the group says. You need to head home.”
Blue went stiff. Then he reached over and pinched the edge seam on the thigh of my jeans, holding me in place.
Brooklyn ignored Ashton completely. “Sheesh, Blue. You got jacked.”
He peeked at his pecs like they were a novelty. “Yeah. I know. Pretty sick, right? I saw when I got out of the shower.” I giggled. Then he folded his arms across his chest making his biceps pop. “I caught Anna checking me out earlier.”
My face flamed like the time Uncle Holden tricked me into eating a roasted ghost pepper that he swore was a sweet red bell. “I did not.”
Blue shot me a cocky grin, his dimple making a spectacular cameo. “You totally did.” My stupid heart wagged like a puppy whose owner had just arrived home after a long day at work.
Tally laughed.
“Blue,” his dad said in a calm yet terrifying tone. “Come give your coaches the respect they deserve.”
My molars clamped at Mr. Bishop’s aggression simmering under the surface. I didn’t know how Blue had put up with that man all these years. Blue of last night had nothing good to say about him. But that was when he couldn’t remember. Today’s Blue was fifteen and thought he didn’t have a choice.
“Be right there,” Blue called over his shoulder. “Nice to see y’all again.” Blue cracked a grin. “I think.” He turned to go, but I grabbed him by the elbow.
I gestured for the three of them to wait in the hall.
As they walked out, I turned back to Blue, a dull ache forming in my chest. “Hey, you’re in good hands here, and you recognize your family now. I have to head back to school. I have Biochemistry tomor?—”
“No, Anna.” He cupped my bent elbows and turned so his back was a wall between us and the group behind him. “You promised.”
I tilted my head. “Blue?—”
“You said you would stay as long as I needed and I’m not done needing.” His eyes were wide, his face ashen.
My shoulders fell but my heart fluttered. “I have classes though.”
His eyes stabbed me. “ Please. Just tell me what I need to say to make you stay and I’ll say it.”
I gripped his biceps, ignoring what that did to my insides. “Listen. You can text me or call. We can FaceTime. But honestly, in a couple of days when this is all over, you’re going to remember…” I gulped, not wanting to say the next words. But I needed him to let me go or Silas might kill me. “You’ll remember that we aren’t friends anymore.”
He stepped closer, his palms pressing against my shoulder blades. “I don’t care what we are,” he whispered vehemently. “Or what you say we are. I know what I need right now and I need you . I can’t do this without you. You’re the only one I feel calm around.”
“Blue,” Shane snapped again.
“Leave him alone,” Missy said.
“He’s fine,” Coach Whitlock said. “We’re all here for Blue. Ease up, Shane.”
“He’s talking to his future wife,” Daisy said. “She trumps everyone else.”
Wow.
Like a couple doing the foxtrot, Blue guided me back two steps, but that was it. There was nowhere else to go in this tiny box of a room. “They said I have money. I’ll pay you.” His eyes were wild. “I’ll pay your next semester of tuition. Your housing. All of it."
“Blue, no. I’m not…” I shook my head. “I don’t want your money.” I felt like a monster. He was so desperate he’d bribe me to stay?
Perfectly timed, my phone buzzed in my back pocket. A metaphorical cattle prod to the rear. Probably a text from Silas telling me to get in the car now .
I peered over Blue’s shoulder, trying to send a pleading look to Missy. But it was the neurologist who excused himself from the group and walked to us. I thought Dr. LaForce would take Blue from me and tell me it was okay. That they had him. Like when you drop your kid off on the first day of preschool and they’re clinging to your leg.
But the good doctor aimed himself at me. “Look, I know you’ve got school but if there’s any way you could talk your professors into letting you do it online for the next few days, I think it would be beneficial for Blue if you stayed.” His eyes were pressing, sending me a silent message of something more.
“Yes!” Blue pumped his fist, the relief in his face lifting a tiny bit.
“Do you think you could do that?” Dr. LaForce asked, again with the eyes too wide. “I’m happy to call and explain the situation to them.”
I ran a hand over my mouth.
“Could I talk to you for a moment in the hall?” Dr. LaForce asked. Then he looked at Blue. “Are you okay if I discuss things with her?”
Blue nodded. “I put her down first on the HIPAA list.”
He put me first? I turned to follow Dr. LaForce out.
Blue panicked, pulling me to a stop. There were tears in his eyes. “You’re not leaving, right?” I didn’t know what to do. A grown man paid two million a year to woo the nation was crying over me leaving. Me. This weekend had turned out unexpectedly in every way imaginable.
I turned to him and grabbed those ridiculously sexy biceps again. Then I looked up into the eyes I’d fallen in love with as a fourteen-year-old girl. “I will not leave here without saying goodbye. I promise.”
“You will not leave here. Got it.” He managed a small smile. But he looked downright scared. “ Please stay.”
I felt myself melting, the minuscule desire to leave being swallowed up in those fearful eyes. He finally let me go. I let out a frustrated laugh as I walked into the hall.
Ashton, Tally, and Brooklyn were down by the vending machine. Daisy Foxhorn was pressuring them to convince me to sign a contract. I knew because she was practically yelling; she was so intense. Tally had her head pressed into Ashton’s back, using him as a human shield while Ashton, very emotionlessly, listened to Daisy’s snake oil speech. Brooklyn wasn’t paying her any attention. She was too busy studying the soda choices.
Dr. LaForce led me away from Blue’s open door. Then he ran a hand over his mouth, thinking. “Look, every single person in that room wants something from Blue. Everyone but you.”
“Not Missy,” I said. “She just wants what’s best for him.”
He shook his head. “Even her. She wants the opposite of whatever his dad wants. He really should stay in Knoxville near the hospital and with the team doctor. You’re the only one who hasn’t tried to influence him in some way or another. You don’t care about his status or money, do you?”
I shrugged. “I mean, I care if that’s what matters to him. But I only knew Blue before all this.”
“Exactly and that’s why I think it’s important that you stay. Every patient needs an advocate who’s looking out for his best interests. I think you’re it for Blue.”
I chewed my lip, my stomach tight with worry.
He tilted his head. “What are your concerns?”
I paused, trying to put a sentence together, all the hurt of the past four years pressing in on me. “What happens when he remembers, like,” I tapped the center of my chest, “in here, that we aren’t friends anymore? We don’t talk. We said mean things to each other after we broke up,” I gulped. “Horrible things. And that was the last time we ever spoke to each other.”
Dr. LaForce smiled gently. “I can’t give you any guarantees and I don’t want you to feel manipulated. I know yesterday is the first time you’ve seen each other since high school.” The nurses had probably filled him in. Or maybe his wife. With the way it was all over the news, there probably wasn’t a single Knoxville resident who didn’t know what had happened yesterday. “The only question you need to ask yourself is this: would you stay, for the boy you knew in high school?”
“Yes,” I said without a second thought. “It wouldn’t even be a question.”
“Well, that’s who he thinks he is right now. So if you leave him, it will break his heart.” He tilted his head toward Blue’s room. “Do you think he can handle that on top of everything else?”
I hadn’t even thought of it like that. “No. He can’t.” That was the moment I knew I wouldn’t be leaving Blue, and deep down I was relieved. Because even if my head said to run, my heart was yelling louder, stay . Stay and never be apart from him again.
Dr. LaForce pulled his phone out and texted someone really fast. Then he looked back at me. “Aside from all of that, everyone in that room is going to put whatever version of events into his head that benefits them the most. He needs someone who won’t try to sway his memories. You can do that.” He watched me for a moment. “You want him to remember you the way you really were, don’t you?”
My hands were against my cheeks. “Yes. Because if I paint things a certain way and he remembers the truth later, it’s going to be bad.”
He seemed relieved. “Apparently none of them have figured that out. Or they just don’t care. Try to let him remember on his own. But when he demands answers, tell him the actual truth. You might be the only one who does.” He patted my shoulder. “I just wanted you to see things from his perspective. This has to be really hard for him. Whatever you decide, it’s understandable.” One more shoulder pat. “Just think about it.”
“Thanks.” I gave him a small wave as he turned to go back into the room.
As I walked toward my friends, Ashton reached around, pulling Tally from behind him. He settled her against him and rubbed a comforting hand down her arm. All three of them were armed with caffeine for the ride home.
Daisy Foxhorn opened her mouth to say something and I said a firm, “I need a minute with them. Alone.”
She deflated and went back to Blue’s room.
“Gotchu a Dr. Pepper.” Brooklyn handed it to me. “We can go harder when we stop at Sheetz. I guess hospitals don’t want to induce heart attacks by selling energy drinks.”
I scratched my forehead and took it from her. “Thanks, but I think I’m going to hang around for a bit?” My eyes snapped to Uncle Ash, expecting him to give me a hard time. “The doctor asked me to stay for a few days. Blue remembers up to when we were together. If I leave right now, it’ll crush him.”
Ashton’s gaze flitted to Tally as if wondering what he’d do if he were me and she was in Blue’s situation. Then he shrugged. “Okay. Do you need me to talk to your professors?”
My shoulders relaxed. “Let me send them a message and if I need you to, I’ll let you know.”
He hugged me again. “Ford’ll stay at the hotel, as long as you need. He just got off that super long tour, so I think he’s enjoying hunkering down for once.”
Tally snickered. “He was watching his third episode of The Bachelor when we left.”
“I’ll talk to Silas.” Ash tilted his head. “You’re over eighteen, Anna. It’s okay to do something other than what he wants you to do. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders.”
I sagged in relief. “Thank you.”
Tally and Ashton waved and walked toward the exit. I motioned for Brooklyn to hang back.
I chewed my lip. “Can you…can you just tell Jonah I’m sorry?”
She gave me an abnormally sad look. Normal for most people. Abnormal for my no-nonsense friend. “Yeah. I’ll tell him.” Then she hugged me so tight. “I’m proud of you, Anna. Go after what you want.”
“Even if I get my heart broken again?” I hugged her back.
She stepped away and winked. “After the way he was looking at you just now?” She shook her hand like it had been burned. “Not a chance.” Then she walked away.
I pulled my phone out of my back pocket.
I’m going to stay for a while. The doctor thinks it will help Blue. Maybe he’ll remember faster.
Jonah’s texting indicator appeared. Then it disappeared. I stood there, waiting. But it didn’t appear again. I couldn’t blame him. The most popular TikTok video of the “Rocky Top”/High School Sweethearts incident had already garnered 400,000 views and continued to climb. #Blupree was the second highest trending hashtag on all of social media, only behind Penelope the Goat who welcomed the sunrise every morning, standing on the hood of her owner’s car, screaming at the top of her lungs.
How had people found out about the ship name Blue and I were given in high school?
“Anna.”
I turned to see Blue coming toward me, wearing the UK joggers and compression top Madden had dropped off earlier. His stupid shirt showcased every muscle in his stomach, chest, and shoulders. Good grief. How was I supposed to think straight when he was wearing something like that?
The hope in Blue’s expression reminded me of our high school days, whenever he asked Silas if the two of us could hang out. It used to knot his stomach daily. “You’re staying?”
I offered him a small smile. “Yeah. For a few days.” I shoved the phone back in my pocket.
His shoulders slumped in relief and he stumbled forward, pulling me against him. “Thank you.” His fingertips trailed along my spine and his cheek rested against the top of my head.
My arms went around his waist, sliding against the smooth fabric of his shirt until they curled around his chiseled back. My stomach relaxed the same way it used to when he held me like this. The feeling always reminded me of our annual Dupree Family Beach Week. Every evening after a day in the waves with my favorite people, I’d lie in bed exhausted. But it felt like I was still in the water, bobbing gently up and down. I’d fall into a blissful sleep, ready for the next day. Being with Blue had always made me feel that way. Completely blissful.
Realizing that made me feel like a jerk. He was going through the hardest trial of his life. He shouldn’t have to fear that I was going to take off on him the first chance I got. I needed to be his bliss right now.
I stepped back just enough to look into those warm eyes. “Of course I’m staying. This is exactly where I want to be.”
He grinned. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead, shooting heat to my fingertips and toes. Blood rushed to my brain and I had to clench the back of his shirt to steady myself.
“Ahem,” Daisy cleared her throat suddenly behind us. I stepped back, though Blue kept an arm around my waist.
“Blue.” Shane’s head burst out of the doorway, eyebrow reaching for his hairline, eyes bulging like he was about to explode. “Get in here.”
Blue gave me a frustrated look and walked into the room.
Daisy moved in front of me, blocking my entrance, holding a stack of papers attached to a clipboard. “Since you’re staying, you may as well get a piece of the pie too.”
She placed an expensive looking wooden pen in my hand. It was some kind of fancy contract. Her stare was hard, almost a threat.
I matched her energy, clicked the tip of the pen shut, and handed it back to her. “I’m not here for that.”
She said nothing, but her expression screamed you’re going to regret this.
I stepped around her and followed Blue into the room.