Page 51 of Nothing Breaks Like A Heart

My phone buzzed on the nightstand, and I reached for it, seeing a call from Andrew.

"Hello?"

"Morning, beautiful," he said, his warm greeting reminding me that I really did love this man, and I needed to get things back on track.

"Where are you? I just woke up and realized you weren't here."

"I met Colin and Jay for breakfast. You were sleeping so soundly I didn't want to wake you. How are you feeling?"

"Like I got thrown from a horse."

"Still in pain?"

"Yes. Quite a bit, actually."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Are you taking the ibuprofen?"

"I haven't yet, but I will."

"You might need something stronger, Lauren."

"Hopefully the pain will ease with a hot shower. How was the bonfire last night?"

"It was good. But you didn't miss anything that exciting."

"Who was there?"

"There were probably about thirty people," he replied. "Megan had me take some photos with the guests, but she wasn't too pushy about it. She knew I wasn't the big draw on my own."

"I'm sure you were still popular. You're always the life of the party." I paused, knowing I probably shouldn't ask, but I couldn't seem to stop myself. "Was Allison there?"

"Yes," he said. "Along with Jay, Colin, and Harper. Jamie and Brad were there, too. She said to tell you she was thinking of you and hoped you were feeling better."

I'd gotten texts from both Harper and Jamie last night, but I hadn't had the energy to answer either of them. I needed to do that today.

"What are you doing now?" I asked.

"I thought I'd walk into town with the guys, if you don't mind. I figured you might want to rest before our lunch cruise this afternoon."

I sighed, once again reminded of my obligations. But a luxury cruise on a mega yacht really wasn't a hardship, so I needed to change my attitude.

"I can come back to the suite, if you don't want to be on your own," Andrew continued.

"No," I said quickly. "You're right. I'd rather rest up for later today. Is it just the guys, or is Allison going, too?"

"Oh, my God, Lauren. Why are you so stuck on her?" Andrew asked with irritation.

"I'm stuck on her because I keep finding out things about her you haven't told me."

"What are you talking about?"

"A trip to Paris six weeks ago. You said you were going to New York that week, but you went to Paris with Allison."

"I didn't go with her. She just happened to be there. And I wasn't alone; I was with Colin."

"Harper mentioned that Colin had been there. Apparently, he wasn't keeping that as a secret. Why were you?"

Silence followed my accusation, and it felt like Andrew was either trying to come up with a plausible explanation for not telling me about the trip, or he was trying not to yell at me. It really could be either. Finally, he said, "It was a last-minute trip. I was in New York, but Colin got us a meeting with a potential investor in Paris. It was too important to pass up, so we jumped on a plane. Allison was in Paris on her own business, completely unrelated to ours. But we did have dinner one night together—all three of us."