Page 47 of Heart Like Yours
“My friend Leo. He and his father have helped me through all this. Leo and I actually are partners in a few businesses.”
“I’m glad you had someone.”
I spend the next twenty minutes answering every possible question he can think of before he gets to the last one.
“When Sarah died, were you the anonymous donor who covered the whole cost?”
“Yeah,” I whisper. He hits my arm, shocking the hell out of me more than anything. “What was that for?”
“I’ve been walking around assuming it was that asshole who killed her that paid for everything out of guilt. Not someone who loved her just as much as I did.”
“Sorry.” I grimace. “In my defense, if you knew it was me, you would have either refused the help or asked where I got the money and then we circle back to the ‘no good time to tell you’ bit.”
“Fair,” he grumbles just as his phone goes off.
He pulls it out with a smile. “That’s probably…” Dom shoves from his seat, furiously typing out a response.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, following suit and ready to follow him in the next second.
“Lilly and Paige are at the bar downstairs… Apparently, a bunch of reporters just showed up.”
I’m moving before he even finishes talking, beelining for the door to get to Paige.
GARRETT
Ishould have never left her.
At the very least, I should have asked her to stay at the office until I could personally get her home safely. Hell, as my business partner, she had every right to be in all those meetings with me.
Instead, I sent her home and went straight to handling it alone. I have been begging her to let me in, to trust me to be there for her, and the first time I could have proved that to her, I sent her away.
The elevator feels like it’s moving excruciatingly slow, making me wish I had taken the stairs instead. By the time the doors ding and open, I’ve convinced myself that I could have made it down thirteen flights of stairs faster.
Dominik is hot on my heels through the lobby and out the door. Some small part of me is incredibly grateful that the girls chose this bar tonight, if for no other reason than we were this close. There are plenty of places closer to Paige’s apartment or even the office.
Then I remember that the only reason she needs help right now is because of me and it feels like someone squeezes on my heart.
We make it into the bar next door and the sight injects ice into my veins.
Reporters surround Paige and Lilly, shouting all the same questions from earlier and demanding answers. If I weren’t so infuriated by these people’s complete lack of respect for someone’s personal space and time, I’d be annoyed that they clearly ignored the statement my team put out hours earlier.
I don’t hesitate. Shouldering my way through the group, I ignore the protests and focus on getting to Paige. Dominik keeps a hold on my shoulder, following closely so he can get to Lilly. One guy gets up in Paige’s face with his camera, an angle that doesn’t even make sense considering he likely only got a picture of her cheek. I grab his arm and haul him back at the same time the bar’s two security guys make it to Lilly’s other side.
While he focuses on pushing the crowd back, I reach for Paige. She sags in relief, wrapping her arms around my neck and huffing out a half-assed laugh.
“Thank God. I thought I was about to have to punch someone.”
I snake an arm around her waist, holding her tight against me while I glare over my shoulder at the asshole reporters. Security has managed to get them all back, filtering them toward the doors with threats of calling the police if they don’t leave.
Paige twists in my arms, trying to look around me at Lilly. Instead of letting her go, I turn with her, keeping my hold on her the entire time. While she checks on her friends, I take in the rest of the bar, making sure the few couples in booths or the few guys at the bar aren’t reporters.
Once the doors are closed, something that almost never happens at this bar, one of the security guys comes over to us.
“That’s all of them, but some are still lingering out front. I’d suggest ducking out through the side entrance when you’reready to go,” he says and I reach out to shake his hand, keeping Paige held tightly to my side with my other arm.
“Thanks. I’m sorry this happened. We’ll get out of your hair in a minute so you don’t lose business.” I also make a note to come back and give them all a giant tip for putting up with this shit.
“It’s no problem. Those were grown adults acting like entitled brats. It’s not your fault.”