Page 7 of Mended Fences

“Thankgodwe’re not staying at your house. Can you imagine your mother, Judgy McJudgerson, taking one look at me? Pffft.”

“Agreed,” Tessa said with a giggle. “We’ll be safe at the resort—far, far away from Margaret Belmonte.”

She was such a good friend.

I had askedvery specificallyif I could come visit today, December thirteenth, and Tessa rearranged her whole life forme. She had no cluewhyshe rearranged her whole life for me, but I didn’t want to get her hopes up.

Mine were up enough for the both of us.

If everything went according to plan, I’d be getting drunk with my bestie a lot more often. And lord knew I was gonna need it in the coming months.

“Okay, Dr. Stone.” Tessa opened the door to her big, black SUV. It looked like a mobster’s vehicle. But nope. Belonged to a pretty, petite blonde who liked wine and was way too sassy for her own good. “In you go.”

“Yes, ma’am!” I stepped off the curb—or, tried to—but the next thing I knew, my butt slammed against the concrete sidewalk.

“Oh shit.” Tessa crouched down next to me and gripped my elbow. “Are you okay?”

My head fell back in a fit of hysterical laughter. My ass hurt and my palm may have been bleeding, butgod, I felt good.

Light.

Free.

Happy.

Perhaps I should become a drunk.

“She okay?” a rough voice asked from behind me.

“Hard to tell,” Tessa replied over my head.

“Here, let me help.”

Strong arms banded around my back and under my legs as I was scooped off the sidewalk.

“Wheee!”

“Oh my god, Lane,” Tessa snorted. “You are shitfaced.”

I looked up into the mesmerizing blue eyes of Chaz Chase. “You’resopretty.”

He chuckled. “Back at ya, Sweetness.”

Chase gently sat me on the passenger seat in Tessa’s car before grabbing the belt, reaching across my lap, and buckling me in.

What a ridiculously sweet gesture.

“I’ll see ya around.” Chase winked at me and closed the door, stepping back to briefly chat with my chauffeur.

“Alright, bestie,” Tessa said when she climbed in the driver’s side. “Let’s hit the road.”

Hopefully, soon enough, I’d be doing just that.

Chapter Four

CHASE

Then, December 2023