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“I don’t think Rafe sees it that way. He loves helping you.”

She sighed. “So much so that he’s thinking about moving.”

I stopped. “Moving? Rafe is moving?”

“He told me this morning that he isn’t sure New York is the best place for his art.”

Oh God. He can’t move. This was his aunt’s home, and she needed him. It was bad enough I was wrecking my own life, and possibly his and Calder’s, too. I couldn’t be the reason this sweet woman lost her support.

“I’m sure he was just tossing something around. That won’t happen.”

“Maybe.” She didn’t sound convinced.

My mind whirling, I finished putting away the groceries, said goodbye, and headed upstairs. Rafe’s door on the second floor was closed. I slowed for a half second, temptation pulling at me to talk to him about moving—or about everything—but I forced myself to keep going.

At my apartment, I took a steadying breath before pushing open the door. It was quiet inside. There was a note on the kitchen table.

Went for a run. Back soon.

—C

Relief flooded me. I’d take any reprieve I could get at this point. My shoulders loosened for the first time since I’d woken up today, and I decided to take a shower and let the warm water work out some of the knots in my neck.

But instead of relaxing, my thoughts started spinning.

Calder and I have to move. That London job has to work out.

That’s the answer.

I need to leave this mess behind.

My life will go back to normal.

So will Rafe’s. His aunt’s, too.

But as I stepped from the shower and reached for a towel, my chest ached with the thought of not being near Rafe anymore. It was so painful, I felt the need to check my heart rate. But I’d left my Apple Watch on the table with my phone.

I wrapped the towel around me and walked out to the kitchen.

Calder was sitting at the table with my phone in his hand.

He turned it to face me, his expression hard. “Have you been fucking my best friend?”

CHAPTER 23

Where am I?

It felt like I was floating, but there was a vibration beneath me. Then a siren blared. Then blared again. It wasn’t constant, just intermittent. There were muffled voices.

I opened my eyes and arched my neck to look around at the flashing lights.

I’m in an ambulance!

Holy shit. Reality set in as I began to remember. Calder knows. Oh my God. He knows. The last thing I recalled was him asking if I was fucking Rafe. Then I opened my eyes in his arms. I must’ve drifted in and out since then because I didn’t remember leaving the apartment or getting into an ambulance.

Turning to my right, I found Calder next to me. He’s here? He looked stoic and didn’t say anything when he noticed me looking at him. I opened my mouth but realized I had no idea what to say. More memories flooded in. Calder confronting me after snooping on my phone. Everything going black.

The ambulance came to a stop, and they lifted me out on the stretcher and carried me into the hospital. The sliding glass doors opened, and a rush of cold air hit as I entered the building, the wheels of the gurney screeching against the floor. Eventually, they parked me in one of the examination bays and hoisted me onto a bed.