Chapter 10
Raelyn
Iknew the day was coming when my life would fade to black, and all my regrets would rise to the surface.
And when that day came, I would wish that I’d done things differently—that I had taken more chances and made the hard decisions I was often too scared to make.
I didn’t want one of those regrets to be Lynch.
I decided to take a chance.
And as we stood there kissing in the parking lot, I was feeling pretty damn good about that decision. We were both completely lost in the moment when a group of guys walked by and started heckling. Lynch immediately released me and gave the men a warning scowl.
Once they’d gone inside, he looked down at me and said, “So, we’re gonna do this?”
“Certainly looks that way.”
“When are you free?”
“Other than work, I’m pretty open right now.”
“I wish I could say the same.” A grimace crossed his handsome face. “Things are a bit out of sorts here. I’ll be working a double shift tonight and tomorrow. I’m not making any promises, but I might be able to get away for a couple of hours on Sunday.”
“Sunday would be good.”
Lynch’s eyes skirted over to his motorcycle. “You up for taking a ride?”
“On your bike? Absolutely! I’d love that.”
“Great.” He smiled. “You got your phone with you?”
“Yeah, I have it?”
“Gonna need it.” He watched as I pulled it out of my purse, then he extended his hand and waited for me to unlock the screen.
After I handed it over, he pulled up my contacts and added his number, then sent himself a message.
“Now, you have my number. Just let me know if anything comes up between now and then.”
“And if I just wanna say hi or check-in?”
“Then, go for it. I’d like to hear from ya.”
“Okay, I will.” As much as I hated to go, I knew I couldn’t expect him to stay. “I guess I’ll let you get back to work.”
“Yeah, as much as I don’t want to, I need to go.” He leaned down and kissed me lightly on the forehead. “I’ll see you Sunday.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Lynch stood there for a moment, just looking at me, then shook his head and smiled as he murmured, “Definitely kryptonite.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Just be careful heading home.”
“I will.” I turned and started back to my car. “I hope you have a good night!”
He didn’t respond. He simply stood there and watched as I got in my car. He remained there as I started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. I had to admit, it gave me a bit of a rush to know that he stayed until I was gone.
Unfortunately, that rush didn’t last long.
I’d barely left Stilettos’ parking lot when I felt a familiar, dull ache behind my right eye.
I tried to ignore it, but the pain continued to worsen as I got closer to my apartment and was almost unbearable by the time I made it home.
I rushed inside and took a couple of ibuprofens, then made myself a hot bath, hoping it would settle the anxious feeling building in the pit of my stomach.
It didn’t.
I knew what that pain meant.
The stupid ticking time bomb in my head was growing or severely agitated. Either way, it wasn’t a good sign.
After soaking in a hot tub for almost an hour, I got out and dried off. After slipping on my robe, I headed to my bedroom but didn’t get far before I started feeling woozy. I stopped and tried to regain my balance, but it was too late. I was already falling and landed on the floor with a hard thud.
Seconds later, I heard Haleigh call out to me, “Rae? Are you okay?”
“Mm-hmm,” I lied. “I’m fine. Just stubbed my toe.”
“You did what?” Haleigh asked while peeking her head out the door. As soon as she spotted me on the floor, she darted out of her room and rushed over to me. “Oh, my God. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I sat up and leaned my back against the wall. “I just lost my balance or something.”
Anguish crossed her face as she asked, “Are you sure this doesn’t have something to do with … you know ... the thing we dare not speak of?”
I had never told anyone about my aneurysm, so there was no way Haleigh could’ve possibly known. But there was something about the way she looked at me that made me ask, “What thing ‘we dare not speak of’?”
“You know.” She gave me a funny look. “The thing.”
“You know?”
“Yeah, I do.” She squatted down on the floor next to me as she admitted, “I’ve known about it for well over a year now.”
“But how?”
“First, it was all the crazy messages from your doctor. They were pretty insistent about you coming back in, so I knew something was up. I tried to ask you about it then, but you always shut me down any time I’d try to bring it up.”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“And then there was the day I stumbled across your planner. I wasn’t trying to be nosy—I promise.
I was just checking the dates for that concert we went to last May, and I saw a few notes about the issues you were having.
” A pained expression marked Haleigh’s face as she continued, “Then, there was the search history on your computer.”
“Oh, my God. You went through my computer history, too?”
“It was purely by accident.” She waved her hand in the air. “I had no idea what I was doing. I clicked something on the screen, and it just popped up. I swear.”
“So, you’ve known all this time, and you haven’t said anything?”
“No, I just figured you’d tell me when you were ready.”
“I can’t believe you’ve known all this time.”
She rolled her eyes as she shook her head and sighed, “Why do you think I go along with all your hair-brained bucket-list ideas?”
“I thought you liked all those things!”
“No ... I’ve never had any desire to go to a drag bar or parachute off a building or go rock climbing in the heat of summer. I did those things because you wanted to, and I didn’t want you to go alone.”
“I can’t believe you did that. I don’t deserve you.”
“No, you don’t, but you have me, and I’m not going anywhere. So, why don’t you tell me what’s going on in that head of yours? Why haven’t you gone to your follow-up appointment?”
“It’s hard to explain.”
“Try me.”
We spent the next hour going back and forth over my refusal to go back to the doctor.
I tried to explain my need for some semblance of control, but no matter how many different ways I tried to explain it, she just didn’t understand.
Haleigh thought I was making a mistake by waiting, and there was a good chance she was right.
And honestly, she was pretty persuasive.
She even brought up Lynch—a move that took me by surprise.
Apparently, Locke filled her in that we’d gone out, and she managed to put the rest together herself. It didn’t take much for her to realize that I liked him enough for her to use him against me.
It was a smart move.
For the first time in over a year, I actually considered the idea but didn’t let her know that. I simply listened and promised I’d think about it.
I’d planned to sleep in, but the next morning, I was unexpectedly awoken by a work call. Even though it wasn’t my weekend to be available, my boss asked me to come in and meet with a potential client. I didn’t have any plans for the day, so I agreed and headed into the office.
When I arrived, there was a car with a black SUV parked next to it.
The SUV’s windows were tinted, so it was quite difficult to see inside.
With my line of work, I’d seen many just like it.
I often worked with very wealthy people who had their own security detail, so I simply assumed the same held true for Ms. Rosewood.
I gathered my things and headed inside. As soon as I walked in, I spotted two slightly older but very attractive women waiting in the foyer. One of them had a young girl in her lap who looked to be seven or eight, and she was the first to notice me walking in their direction.
She whispered something to her mother, and then they all immediately stood. The mother quickly asked, “Are you Raelyn Thomas?”
“Yes, ma’am, I am.” I extended my hand. “You must be Ms. Rosewood.”
“Oh, please call me Rebecca.” She smiled as she shook my hand, then turned to her friend and the young girl. “This is Frankie… and my daughter, Catherine.”
“It’s so nice to meet you all.” I motioned a hand towards my office and told them, “Why don’t you all come in and tell me about the event you’re planning?”
Rebecca nodded, and the three of them followed me inside. As soon as we were seated, Rebecca announced, “I would like to have an anniversary party for my parents. They’ll be married thirty-five years next month, and—”
“Nana doesn’t like parties,” Catherine interrupted.
“Yes, she does,” Rebecca argued. “She loves parties.”
“Then, why doesn’t she go to any?”
“I don’t know. I guess there haven’t been any for her to go to.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Clayton had a big party a few weeks ago, and she didn’t go.” Catherine’s freckled nose crinkled with disapproval as she added, “She said that Mrs. Clayton was a nosy body, and Mr. Clayton was—”
“It doesn’t matter what Nana said about the Claytons, Cat. That was their party, and it was perfectly fine if she didn’t want to go.”
“She didn’t want to go to the church party either. She said—”
“That’s enough. You’ve made your point, but I still say your grandmother loves parties, and we’re going to have one for their anniversary. So, drop it.” Cat shrugged, and Rebecca turned her attention back to me. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s perfectly fine.” I couldn’t help but giggle. “Your daughter is adorable.”
“Thank you, but as you can see, she’s quite a handful at times.
” Rebecca gave Cat a wink, then drew the focus back to the party.
“Anyway, I would really like to do something special to celebrate my parents’ big day.
I tried to plan it myself, but with work and everything else my fiancé and I have going on, we just haven’t had the time. ”
“It’s a common problem, and I’d be more than happy to help.” I took out my notepad as I asked, “When would you like to have the party?”