Letting out a long, deep breath, I sit up. Today would be the perfect day to do nothing but lie in bed and read. Unfortunately, I have a doctor’s appointment that I need to get to, and if I don’t get up now, I never will. Hearing my cell phone ring in the living room, I sigh. I’m sure it’s my mom calling to remind me about the appointment, since she’s the one who set it up.

Apparently, the doctor I’m meeting with has helped a lot of people with diet plans and medications, so they can live a somewhat normal life. Putting my feet to the floor, I slowly get out of bed then frown when my cell stops ringing, only to start right back up. My mom can be persistent, but she’s never called, hung up, and called again when I didn’t answer. Going to the living room, I find my phone where I dropped it last night. I pick it up and see my mom isn’t calling. Chris is.

“Hey.” I put the cell to my ear as I move to the cupboard and pull down a coffee cup.

“We need to talk,” he says, and I feel my brows pull together.

“What’s wrong? You sound freaked.”

“I saw Sage last night.” Pressing my hand to the counter, I drop my chin to my chest.

“Okay,” I reply quietly.

“He… fuck. He saw me with Dale and…” I listen to him pull in a breath. “I tried to call you, but you didn’t answer.”

“What happened?”

“He saw me with Dale,” he repeats, but I still don’t understand why he sounds so freaked.

“Okay.”

“You’re not getting it!” he shouts. “He saw me with Dale. He saw me and Dale.”

“Oh,” I breathe as reality dawns. My hand curves and tightens around the edge of the counter to keep me upright.

“Yeah and….” He goes quiet, and I wait and wait, but he doesn’t continue.

“And what?” My stomach twists.

“He gave him a black eye, that’s what.” I hear Dale say in the background, and my eyes close.

“Shit, I… I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” I knew I shouldn’t have lied. I knew I should have come clean, but it was easier to pretend I had a reason to stay clear of him than to deal with the fact he still affected me.

“I’m fine. Don’t be sorry. This is good,” he tells me, sounding like he’s smiling.

“What?”

“I thought he was into you before, but I now know he. Is. Into. You. And, baby girl, I’m fucking thrilled this shit is finally done and out in the open.” He laughs.

“Uh, did I miss something?” I question. “You just told me he punched you, and you know how he treated me. Why the hell would you be happy right now?”

“No man has that much passion for a woman he doesn’t give a fuck about, and you’re still hung up on him. Don’t you wonder why that is? Don’t you wonder why, after so fucking long, a man that you spent less than twenty-four hours with is one you can’t stop thinking about? Don’t you want to try and figure that out?”

“No.” And it’s not that I haven’t wondered the exact thing. It’s that I refuse to go back there again. I refuse to even allow the idea to enter my head. What we had was a fluke. Yes, he made me feel something for him during those moments, but afterward, he made me feel like shit. So no, I actually don’t give a fuck.

“You’re a liar, but I still love you, and I hope—I really hope—that the next time he asks you out, you say yes,” Chris chimes in.

“There isn’t going to be a next time,” I say, stirring the cream and sugar into my coffee and taking a sip.

“We’ll see,” he mumbles, and I roll my eyes.

Chris has been Team Sage since the beginning, but Chris is also a hopeless romantic who still believes in fairy tales and happily ever afters. Only, in his fairy tale, he’s the damsel in distress waiting for his white knight to show up. He didn’t want to go along with my lie, but he did for me as his best friend, something I now wish he wouldn’t have done.

“How’s your eye? Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Nothing a little concealer won’t cover up,” he says.

“I can’t believe he hit you.” I rub my forehead in an attempt to wipe away the headache that has started pounding there.

“Dale had his tongue down my throat. He thought he was protecting your honor. It was hot. Not the whole me getting punched thing, but the part before, when he tore Dale away from me and growled ‘motherfucker,’ breathing all hard and shit.”

“Oh my god, you’re so crazy.” I fight back a smile as I head for my room, setting my coffee cup down on my dresser.

“If you’re really not interested, I wonder if I could convince him to join my team,” he coos, and I hear Dale say something, sounding pissed, which doesn’t really surprise me.

Dale and Chris have been dating each other casually for a few years now. When they first started seeing each other, Chris wanted them to get serious, but Dale always had an excuse for why they couldn’t. Then, when Kelly left, Chris moved to Tennessee to be closer to me so that I wasn’t quote unquote ‘alone,’ and since then, Dale has had a change of heart. Only now, Chris is the one who isn’t exactly sure if he still feels the same way he used to, even though Dale is the only man Chris has ever been serious about. Gah! They are seriously like a soap opera.

“If you can convince him, you can have him,” I mutter, then look at the clock and see time has caught up with me, like it normally does when I’m talking to Chris. “Come by the salon tomorrow when you get done dropping Dale at the airport. I need to finish getting ready to leave here in the next twenty.”

“Shit, you’re meeting your new doctor today,” he says quietly, and I pull in a breath through my nose.

“Yeah.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, it’s okay. You should spend some time with Dale before he goes home.”

“He’ll understand if I leave him for a few hours to go with you.”

God, I love my best friend. “Seriously, it’s okay, and make sure you put some ice on your eye.”

“Will do. Call me when you get done with your appointment.”

“I will.” I hang up and drop my cell to the bed, telling myself that I don’t care if Sage knows who Chris really is to me, but royally freaking the hell out that he does.

Chapter 2

Kim

TAKING A BITE from the peach in my hand, I lean against the front counter at the salon and flip through the latest issue of Cosmo, not really seeing the words on the pages. My mind is on the appointment I went to yesterday. I didn’t know what to expect when I met with Dr. Jayne, but I didn’t expect to leave her office feeling as hopeful as I did.

During my appointment, she told me about numerous patients of hers who have had amazing results using the tools she’s given them. She also told me that as long as I follow her diet plan and start taking the new meds she prescribed, I should see the same outcome. She explained that I won’t be better but I should feel better, which to me is the most important thing right now. There is nothing worse than feeling like you have the flu everyday and knowing there is no store-bought remedy or any amount of rest to fix it.

Hearing the bell on the door ding, I come out of my head and watch Ellie as she walks in with a smile on her face.

“Hey, honey,” she says, holding the door open for Hope, who spots me and runs over, her pigtails bouncing and a huge smile on her adorable face.

“Kimmyyy!” she shouts, holding a black backpack out toward me. “Look what Uncle Sage got me. Isn’t it so cool?” she asks, and I look at the bag and notice the words “Detective Kit” scrolled across the front in large yellow writing.

“Wow, that is cool,” I agree, getting down on my haunches in front of her and dropping my voice. “Who are you going to spy on?”

“I can’t tell you. It’s top secret.” She sighs like she’s disappointed that she can’t tell me, and I fight back a smile.

“Well, if you need any help, Detective, let me know.” I touch the top of her head then stand to my full height and raise a brow at Ellie. “I thought you were off today?”