---- Chapter 9 Erin Calhoun POV: | stared at the note, a familiar cynicism creeping in. Hospital emergency. It was the oldest cliché in the book for a man making a quick exit. Then | picked up my phone. The first news alert was about a catastrophic multi-car pile-up on the I-70, not far from the resort. Dozens injured, all local hospitals on high alert. He wasn't lying. A wave of relief washed over me, so potent it left me dizzy. What would he say when he called? What would | say back? My mind was a tangled mess. | had no idea what came next. The only thing | knew for sure was that | couldn't stay here. | quickly showered, the hot water doing little to soothe my aching muscles, and packed my bag. | needed to escape before the fragile bubble of last night popped. | was heading for the lobby when | saw them by the ornamental lake-Carlton, Brande, and a few of his team members, laughing and talking. | turned to take a longer, more circuitous route, but it was too late. ---- "Erin!" Brande's voice, sharp and annoyingly cheerful, cut through the morning air. "Is that a man's shirt you're wearing?" | looked down. In my haste, | had grabbed one of Harvey's shirts from the floor of his villa. It was a crisp white button- down, ridiculously large on me, the sleeves rolled up multiple times. | instinctively clutched the collar, the fabric soft against my skin, still holding his faint scent. Carlton's face darkened. He strode towards me, his eyes scanning the shirt, then my disheveled hair, then the fact that | was still wearing a wrinkled slip dress underneath it. "Where did you get that? You didn't come back to your room last night." He reached for the front of the shirt, his fingers brushing against mine. | slapped his hand away. "We broke up, Carlton. Remember? It's none of your business." Brande gasped dramatically. "You two really broke up?" "We did," | said, turning my gaze to her. "You must be thrilled." Her face flushed with anger. "Don't you dare imply that! | would never..." She turned to Carlton, her eyes wide and pleading. "Tell her, Carl! Tell her she can't spread these awful rumors about me!" ---- He patted her hand absently, his focus entirely on me. "This is just a stupid misunderstanding," he said, his voice tight. "You and | both know there's nothing going on with Brande and me. We're like brother and sister." "Of course," Brande added with a saccharine smile. "Men and women can have purely platonic friendships, you know." "If you keep this up," Carlton warned, his voice low and threatening, "you're the one who's going to get hurt." | was tired of this conversation. "I'm not keeping anything up," | said, my voice flat. "I just don't want to be with you anymore." The dull ache in my body was a constant reminder of last night. | was grateful for Harvey's self-restraint; otherwise, | probably wouldn' t have been able to walk at all. "Tell me where you were last night," Carlton demanded. | let out a small, airy laugh. "| was out with a friend. We had a few drinks, we talked." "Just talking?" he sneered, his eyes raking over me with open suspicion. | raised an eyebrow, deliberately running a hand through my messy hair. "Does it matter? It has nothing to do with you." Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!