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“Oh no.” Haylee’s eyes widened, her mouth, that beautiful tempting mouth, gaped in a small O of surprise. Her hand, those long fingers that had danced perfectly over her, pressed against her chest. “I wouldn’t dream of trying to change a single thing about you, Ms. Barkley.”
Oh, the way Haylee dragged out her name. Cherish shuddered with pleasure.
“Very well.” Cherish quickly turned away, looking through the window as they drew closer to Febe's place. She smiled, allowing the glee of this strange evening to wash over her.
It had been such a hard week. Haylee had walked around the office as though she was on thin ice with Cherish, Febe, and the job itself. Cherish hadn’t realized Haylee had thought her job had been on the line. That truth had cut deeply and made Cherish aware of just how cruel she had been. Even more than she could have thought. She hadn’t met Cherish’s gaze, and Cherish hadn’t known how to break the tension, how to apologize, and reach for Haylee again.
“Did I mention how delicious you look tonight, Ms. Coleman?” Cherish smiled, though she imagined her eyes bulging like in those cartoon shows she had to watch because Stuart was older and was always in charge of the television.
“Maybe not in words.” Haylee’s wink made her eyes squint just a little as her cheeks burned a charming shade of pink beneath her sparse makeup.
“Well, you look delectable.” Cherish wasn’t sure what had come over her or who had possessed her. It was certainly someone a lot more friendly than her usual self. The car stopped, and Cherish reached for the handle.
“I’ll go get Ms. Aarts. I won’t be long.” Cherish popped open the door before the driver could get out.
“Ms. Aarts?” Haylee’s face scrunched. “I don’t think she’s there.”
Cherish stopped before closing the door, smiling at Haylee.
“Why wouldn’t she be?”
“Because she had me reserve two cars. One for you and one for her.”
Sadness washed over her. Cherish didn’t often let it reach in and squeeze her chest. She couldn’t allow it. Febe hadn’t wanted to ride with her? First the forgotten speech and now this? What was going on with her? Febe had been through so much, too much, and the pain and loss Cherish felt was hardly worth mentioning. Febe had suffered so much more.
Worry gnawed at Cherish. She thought Febe had been doing better this year. Had Cherish been so caught up with her own confused emotions that she had missed the signs? Stuart’s words rang through her mind again—the conversation that had fired her up only to keep her away most of the week.
Was she truly such a bad friend?
“Cherish?” Haylee’s voice startled her.
Cherish jerked with a start and folded her hands in front of her nervously.
“What’s wrong? Didn’t she tell you?”
Cherish frowned, remembering a text she’d barely read because her head had pounded so much that week that staring at a text for longer than a few seconds did her brain in. She grabbed her phone from her clutch and pulled open her texts with Febe, scrolling to earlier that week and the long text from Febe.
Febe: I need to go in earlier to help Allegra with a few last minute details for the gala. I’ll meet you and Haylee there. Don’t forget my speech.
For a moment, Cherish simply stared at the device. Something had gone wrong, something very bad, and this message would change everything. Her fingers trembled as she put the phone back into her clutch. Cherish blinked, looked up at Haylee.
At that moment, when the words finally made sense, Cherish wanted to scream and hit something.
“For fuck’s sake,” Cherish muttered and shook her head. “She did tell me. I must have forgotten.”
“Cherish.” Haylee covered Cherish’s hand with her own.
“What?” Cherish snapped.
“Hey.” Haylee looked a mix of hurt and pissed off. And damn it all if Cherish didn’t find it completely sexy. “Don’t take this out on me. Plus, this is a good thing. They must be getting along, and that means Febe definitely got there on time, and there’s no need to worry.”
Cherish turned to the driver, eyes closed as the weight of everything settled into her chest.
“Are you really that scared that she might not need you?” Haylee’s words were soft, a slight tremble to them. “Or are you scared that she might be happy?”
“You don’t understand.” Cherish dropped Haylee’s hand, and when she looked at Haylee, her shoulders were slightly forward, but her face was filled with fierceness.
“No, I don’t.” Haylee shrugged. “I don’t understand why any of this matters so much. But I know it matters to you, and I’m sorry that this makes it harder.”
