It’s him.

Don’t ask me how I know; I just do.

On autopilot I open it in a rush, and there he stands. Six foot four of hard ass. His dark hair is just mussed to perfection. The pull to him is instant.

“Hi.” He smiles softly.

I stare at him, unsure what to say.

His eyes search mine. “Can I come in?”

My stomach flutters at his proximity, and we stare at each other.

“So . . . can I come in?” he asks again.

I step back to let him walk past me.

Fuck.

I don’t know if I have it in me to resist his milk requests tonight.

“I, um . . .” He shrugs. He’s wearing blue jeans and a gray T-shirt. His shoulders are wide, and his chest is broad. Regardless of how things have worked out between us, I know there has never been a more beautiful male specimen on the face of the earth.

“I just . . .” His eyes hold mine, and once again, I can tell that he’s nervous.

“You what?”

“I just wanted to see you,” he murmurs. His eyes drop to my lips.

It would be so easy to kiss him right now.

“Why?” I act brave.

“I . . .” He pauses. “I wanted to . . .” He shrugs as if feeling stupid.

I frown. “What is it?”

“Can I have a hug?”

“What?”

Oh, gentle Henley is here . . . the one that I love.

“I just . . .” He swallows the lump in his throat, and unable to help it, I take him into my arms.

We hug, tight and close, and my eyes shut as I lean against his shoulder.

“Do you ever think of me?” he whispers.

I get a lump in my throat. “Yes.”

He nods as if processing my answer.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because I think about you. A lot.”

I can pretend that I don’t care about our demise, but the reality is that we really should be together.

Why doesn’t he get it?

My nostrils flare as I try to hold in my emotions. Why does he affect me so much?

“I just wanted you to know that”—he frowns as he articulates his words—“it’s not that I don’t want to be with you. This has nothing to do with you.”

Wow, that old chestnut.

“‘It’s not you, it’s me’?” Annoyed, I pull out of his arms. I give a subtle shake of my head. “Is that what you’re saying?”

He nods.

Frustration sets in. Seriously, is that the best he’s got?

“Is that it?” I ask.

His eyes hold mine. “Do you want it to be it?”

Come out with it. If you want me, have the balls to say so.

“What do you want, Henley? Why are you here?”

He exhales heavily. “I don’t know.”

Wrong answer.

I can’t fix this for him. I’m not giving up what I want so that he gets what he wants.

I deserve better than to be his booty call, and he knows it.

“Look, I have to work in the morning.” I walk to the door and open it. “I’ll see you later.”

He pauses, and I get the feeling he wants to say something else . . . but he doesn’t.

“Goodbye, Juliet.” He brushes past me and walks out.

I roll my eyes and close the door behind him. Stop fucking with my head.

“How are we feeling today, Mrs. Potter?” I smile as I take her blood pressure on my morning rounds.

“Okay, I guess. I would be a lot better without that racket.” She gestures to the woman in the bed opposite her. The woman is asleep and snoring like a Mack truck.

“Now, now, be nice, Mrs. Potter.” I readjust her bed and fill out her chart.

Tom puts his head around the door. “Delivery just arrived at the nurses’ station for you, Jules.”

I glance up. “What kind of delivery?”

“The romantic kind.” He winks and disappears.

“Oh.” I hunch my shoulders up in excitement. “Call me if you need anything, Mrs. Potter.”

“I need some peace and quiet.”

“Let her sleep a little longer, please.” I make my way down to the nurses’ station and see the biggest bunch of red roses I have ever seen.

“Somebody is sucking up big time,” Rosemary says.

I smile goofily. “And so he should.”

I open the envelope and smile as I read the card.

Can’t wait to see you on Saturday.

Joel.

Oh . . .

They’re not from Henley . . .

“What’s wrong?” Rosemary asks.

“Nothing.” I fake a smile and stuff the card into my pocket.

Wrong man.

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” I exhale heavily . . . jeez.

I take out my phone and text Joel.

Thank you for the Roses,

They are beautiful.

A reply bounces back.

Like you.

Ugh, this is getting complicated.

A beautiful man is sending me roses, and all I feel is disappointment that they didn’t come from an asshole.

What the hell is wrong with me?

I put the roses onto the shelf. “They can stay here so we can all enjoy them.”

“You don’t want to take them home?”

“No.” I shrug. “Nicer here. I need to get back to work.”

I trudge down the corridor and roll my eyes in disgust with myself.

Move on, Juliet.

Friday night

Chloe leads our toast. “To Rebecca. May she find a hot man to have hot rebound sex with tonight.”

We all giggle and sip our drinks.

Club Nero, also known as the meat market.

This is the place to come if you want to pick up, and tonight . . . Rebecca does.

She’s no longer the damsel in distress; she’s the angry bitch from hell, and god help anyone who stands in her way.

She wants revenge on her sleazebag husband, and Chloe and I have decided that the best way to get over him is to get under someone else.

It’s 10:00 p.m., and with way too many cocktails under our belt, we are on the prowl. Our eyes scan the club for any suitors.

“Maybe I need to get under someone else too,” I mutter.

“Definitely,” Chloe agrees. “Me, too, probably.”

Rebecca hunches her shoulders up in excitement. “This is actually kind of fun.”

“How long since you’ve had sex with anyone else?” I ask.

“I’ve only ever had sex with John.”

“What?” I gasp. “He’s the only one?”

“I know.” She rolls her eyes. “Don’t even get me started on how pathetic I am.”

“Who’s pathetic?” a voice says. We all turn to see Blake Grayson standing beside us. He’s in a suit. My eyes instantly flick around to look for his friends, and the masochist in me is excited to see Antony and then Henley. “Hi.” They nod.

Henley’s eyes hold mine for a beat longer than they should. Nerves dance around in my stomach, and I try to act casual. “Hello.”

The night just got interesting.

“What are you guys doing here?” Chloe asks.

“We had a charity thing we had to go to and bailed early,” Antony replies.

“So who’s pathetic?” Blake smiles over at us with his best sexy, boyish charm.

“Rebecca is having rebound sex tonight,” Chloe announces.

“Chloe.” Rebecca laughs. “Don’t tell them our secrets.”

Blake’s face drops as he looks between us. “What?”

“She is going to get it good tonight.” Chloe laughs. She punches her hand with her fist to simulate hard fucking.

Henley and Antony glance at each other and then chuckle at some kind of private joke.

“This is a terrible idea,” Blake replies.

“No. I need to do this,” Rebecca replies. “I’ve thought it through.”