hapter 20
The car service dropped Drake off at 3 AM, barely conscious as he stumbled to bed fully dressed.
He woke to his stomach in knots.
“Thalia,” he mumbled through the hangover haze, “grab my meds?”
The silence hit him like a wall.
“Thalia? Thalia-”
Reality crashed in as his eyes snapped open.
Right. She’d moved out.
The emptiness in his chest felt worse than his stomach.
After searching every cabinet for medicine and finding nothing, he finally caved and called Rosa, his
housekeeper.
She answered, groggy but professional.
“The meds, where are they?”
Looking at her phone–4 AM–Rosa counted to ten.
These trust fund kids would be the death of her.
“First–aid kit, Miss Winters‘ room, top drawer,” she managed evenly.
He found the kit but faced a new problem: a pharmacy’s worth of medications stared back at him.
Thalia had always known exactly which ones he needed.
He scanned labels, swallowed something that seemed right, and hoped for the best.
knocked him out until past
woke. “Can you
Chapter 20
paused. “Miss Winters‘ special
“Yeah.”
but I
darkened.
overnight prep–special herbs, specific ingredients. Plus all
now.”
what goes in it, but not how she actually
jaw ticked. “Regular soup then?”
I can
back, rubbing his temples, when a knock made
come
“Come in.”
in the doorway.
shown because her smile
nails digging into her
he’d hoped to see.
“Rosa said you weren’t feeling great.
“Fine,” he muttered.
settled beside him, pulling up
road trip it, maybe
suddenly felt like nails on
and her constant chatter
Chapter 20
he needed–her miracle soup, her
snapped. “Later.
phone lowered
hurt in her voice
guilt winning. “Just the headache. We’ll
course.” She curled against him, the picture of
at an old–world gentlemen’s club in
aristocrats were gathered around a bridge table. James caught sight of Asher’s wrist. “I say, rather
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