Dan snorted and nudged her hip. “Gee, thanks, babe.”
“Shut up. You know you were drooling over Caroline,” Taryn said with a roll of her eyes.
“And you didn’t have every guy here on your drool wall?” he shot back.
“Caroline’s got an Aussie rugby player,” Mal managed, their banter too much for her to take right now. “Name’s Ryan, very serious.”
“Shoot,” Dan said, smiling.
Taryn, on the other hand, stared at Mal closely. “Boss? You look like crap.”
Mal tried to laugh, play it off, but her quivering jaw and watering eyes wouldn’t let her. “Can I… stay here tonight? And can we leave early?”
Taryn’s brows shot up. “Yeah. Whatever you need. We’re all packed and ready. Do you wanna go now?”
Mal was touched at the offer but shook her head. “No, we need to sleep. No calls, though. I’m not here, you understand?”
They both nodded. “I kind of like not having my phone,” Taryn admitted. “I didn’t even turn it back on.”
“I did,” Dan said, turning a light on. “But I’m not answering it. Are we… going to get a certain angry guy banging on our door?”
Mal shrugged and covered her eyes. “I don’t know,” she cried, breaking down at last.
Taryn wrapped a towel around her suit and sat down next to Mal, pulling her close and rubbing her arm. “Okay, okay, how about Dan goes and makes us some hot chocolate, huh?”
Dan moved into the kitchen at once, already working on it.
Mal sniffled and shook her head. “I want a shower,” she croaked, getting up. “And then… herbal tea.”
She caught the startled look between the two of them but couldn’t bring herself to care. She staggered into the nearest bathroom and stepped out of the dress and into the shower, where her sobs could drown in the echoes of the streams of water pummeling the tile.
The next morning, after miraculously catching an earlier flight and safely landing in Chicago for a layover, Mal finally turned on her phone.
Five missed calls, two voicemails, and seven missed texts—all from Hunter. Three of the calls, one voicemail, and six texts were from last night.
Hey, you have your phone yet?
You’re not here. Where are you?
Not funny, honey.
Mal, I’m not kidding. Where are you?
Baby, I’m freaking out. I just went to the house, and you’re gone. Where are you?
Pick up your phone, or so help me…
And then just one from this morning.
I love you.
She swallowed hard while reading them, imagining his face, his smile, his furrowed brow. She could hear him saying those things, the subtle inflections in his tone, the intensity of his words, every nuance and facet as familiar to her as breathing.
Caroline was right; he had worked her over. And done a very thorough job of it.
She glanced over at the Starbucks, where Taryn and Dan were waiting for their orders, and played the first voicemail, closing her eyes.
“Mal, I can’t find you, baby. You disappeared. I need to see you. You’re not answering my texts, and I don’t even know if you’re getting them. Did you leave your phone somewhere again? Did Sophie say something? I’m going crazy, honey. Call me. I love you.”