Page 42 of Vain

“I don’t mind. I’d like to see if I can visit Zoe again anyway.”

I pause for a minute before grabbing my cell and dialing Wade.

He answers with a gruff, “It’s my day off, fucker, so this better be good.”

“Matilda wants to visit Zoe today. Think you can make that happen?”

“She didn’t have any problems getting in yesterday to see her,” he points out as Tilly climbs from the bed and heads to the bathroom.

“Yeah, but I bet Cora has been planning all night, especially on the off chance we come back. I don’t want to make any waves while we’re here. The last thing Matilda needs is shit spread about her across the media, especially when she’s trying to keep a low profile.”

“Alright, leave it with me, and I’ll see what I can do. What time are you heading in?”

“I’m meeting Mathews, one of Tate’s boys, in an hour.”

He groans. “You can buy me lunch,” he says, hanging up, making me laugh.

I hear the shower turn on, so I quickly dial Blake. He answers after the second ring. “Everything okay?”

“We’re all good, though we could have done without Cora being her usual happy self yesterday. I’m heading back to see Kellen in an hour. We’re meeting Mathews there. You know him?”

“Yeah, good guy. Just tread carefully. Kellen might have pulled through, but they lost one of their own, remember.”

“Shit, that’s right.” I run my hands through my hair.

“We’ll be back later today, so I can trade out one of the guys with you. Not sure we need people finding out we have Hollywood’s sweetheart here. I don’t need Tempest overrun with zealous reporters while we have this Baylor shit hanging over us.”

“Amen to that.”

“I’ll text you when we land and let you know who’s coming. How’s he doing anyway?”

“When I left him last night, he was doing okay. He’s pissed this happened on his watch, but it could have happened to any of us.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll smack him upside the head if he starts acting the martyr. There’s only room for one of us,” he drawls, making me chuckle. It’s no secret that Blake’s been dealing with his own version of survivors’ guilt over the years, being the last man standing in his military unit.

When the shower shuts off, I head to my bag, pull out the clothes I need, and lay them on the bed. “Gotta go. I want tocheck in with Matilda’s security guys to see if anything happened while we’ve been gone.”

“Alright, keep me updated.”

“Will do.” I hang up and fire off a text to Daniel, not wanting to speak to the guy unless necessary. I can imagine how pissed he is that I left with Tilly and didn’t inform him.

When he doesn’t answer, I head to the bathroom, finding myself walking into a room of steam when I open the door.

“The fans are not working.” Tilly chuckles as she applies some cream to her face.

She’s wrapped in a large towel, her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and her face free of makeup, and it hits me. This is what I want—this normal everyday shit. I can take the glitz and glamour that her life might entail in small doses as long as I get to come home to this.

“You okay?”

I move up behind her, my hands moving to her hips as I press a kiss just behind her ear, making her shiver. “I’m good baby, real good. Thank you for coming with me.”

She turns and looks up at me, her eyes searching mine. “You’re welcome.”

I press my forehead to hers and stand there for a minute, letting the stillness of the moment center me before I step back. “Wade’s gonna run interference with Cora.”

“Thinks she’s going to cause issues today?”

“I think she’s never been one to miss the chance at playing the victim or being the center of attention. I’m sure she’s come up with a scenario that will let her be both. I’d rather get that shit nipped in the bud.”