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Hailey nodded, feeling her chest constrict as the enormity of the panic she’d created sunk in Stupid, stupid, stupid She’d let what had happened with Eric override her clinical judgement Let it blind her to what had been in front of her all along—a kid with too ar and boyhood exuberance on board She felt foolish ‘I know,’ she whispered, leaning into the co stroke of his hands ‘I’m sorry’
‘Maybe it’s best if you and Tom don’t see so much of each other’ He didn’t want to do this to punish her but Toether and he didn’t know if he could survive another of those calls
Hailey nodded Tom had wormed his way into her heart The dread she’d experienced that afternoon when she’d thought he was sick had been alood idea
‘I’ to take Tom home’
Hailey looked into the calrey pools of his eyes and saw his withdrawal Paul’s had been like that She averted her gaze, unable to stand the distance she saw in Calluht, hoping he wouldn’t see how much it hurt ‘Of course’
‘See you next week,’ he said gently Part of hier, to take her back in his ar him close
He chose Tom
CHAPTER EIGHT
HAILEY WOKE to pounding at her door on Sunday night She looked at her bedside clock with bleary eyes Nine She hadn’t slept a wink last night after the incident with Tom and had finally fallen into the black abyss of sleep from sheer weariness about an hour previously
She sat up, knocking so to the floor, the room in darkness except for the flicker fro to orientate herself as she squinted at the insult to her eyes Her head felt like it was full of cotton wool
The bed was streith several DVDs, the remote, headphones, photo albums and several scrunched-up discarded tissues she’d used to wipe away the flood of tears that she hadn’t seemed able to stop since yesterday The incident with Toht back memories of Eric’s battle for life and Paul’s betrayal It had been an emotional time
The door was pounded on again and she threw the duvet back, coveringat nine o’clock on a Sunday night? She padded to the door and looked through the peephole Calluain It was definitely Calluuilty conscience hadn’t just conjured him up
She fumbled with the handle as she opened the door ‘Callum?’