Good and Gone

Chapter 1

Hailey

Before

My eyelids feel like sandpaper, and my mouth tastes like a sock. I am barely conscious. But I hear him clear as day. “Wake up, sleepyhead,” he whispers, kissing my neck.

I roll over and groan. “What time is it?”

“Time for you to get up.”

“I don’t want to,” I say, clutching my pillow. It’s warm and welcoming, and he’s desperately trying to shimmy it out from under my head.

“Come on,” he tells me triumphantly. He playfully swats me with the pillow he’s just snatched. I hate it when he wins. Especially in the morning. “Get up.”

“Noooo,” I moan, burying my face in the sheets. Anything to avoid opening my eyes. The morning sun is shining brightly through the blinds, but it feels like I’ve just drifted off to sleep. How can it be morning already?

“Come on, love, it"s almost seven,” he says. “Are you feeling okay?”

The realization hits me as I recall the email still marked unread in my inbox. The truth is I’m not feeling okay. I lost a major brand deal yesterday. The news came out of nowhere. They just didn’t feel that we were in alignment any longer. That was the way they put it, but of course, they left out the part where I’d rejected the account manager’s s****l advances at a publicity event last month. He was drunk, and I brushed him off. Not that I would have changed anything, but I didn’t think I’d lose the account over it. Not only have I not gotten up the nerve to tell Tyler, I’ve hardly accepted the blow myself. And it is a blow. Particularly to our bank account. I’m going to have to think of something, and quick. Worse, two days ago, I was so close to my goal of three million followers. We had all the strategies in place to hit our target. And then, wham, I go and mess it all up with a post about having help around the house. It wasn’t meant to be offensive, it was about not being able to do it all, but as it turns out, that’s not why people follow me. They need to believe. It took a loss of 14k overnight for me to learn that lesson.

alignmentnotiswham, notthat “Hailey?” he says. “I asked if you’re okay…”

I grunt in response, noting the concern in his voice. Still, I’m not ready to face him. One look at me and he’ll know. My mistake could bury us.

know.He leans over and pulls down the sheets, exposing my nakedness.

“Mmm,” he murmurs. “You’re so hot.”

I feel exhausted, almost delirious as he lowers himself onto the bed. He kisses my stomach, working his way upward, and I begin to wake up.

I reach down and grab his head, guiding him south. He works his magic, sending a jolt through my body. His mouth feels so good I almost forget how tired I am. “Oh, f**k!”

Tyler thinks I am speaking about him, not to him, but I’m not. I’ve just remembered that I"m supposed to take muffins to school for Mason. And I forgot to pick them up yesterday.

I sit up abruptly. “f**k. I forgot the muffins.”

“Muffins?” he asks, perplexed. “That"s what’s going through your mind?”

Actually, no. I’d been timing everything down to the minute, mulling over whether I"d have enough time to make coffee and have a shower if I let this continue on, and that"s how I arrived at the realization about the muffins. “Yes,” I tell him.

andHe looks up at me, a mixture of confusion and heavy defeat in his eyes.

“I mean...no.”

I glance at the time on my phone and then jump up, but my legs tangle in the sheets. I fall out of bed, landing on my a*s, my head bumping the nightstand. “Ow! Damn it…”

He looks at me with a furrowed brow. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

“I’m fine,” I say, rubbing my head. “I have to run to the store.”

He looks at me dubiously. “Right now?”

“I forgot I’m supposed to take muffins for Mason"s class,” I explain.

“So?” he says, like this is a ridiculous diversion, the kind only married people with kids can understand. “We"re in the middle of something. Can"t you do it later?”

“No, I can"t do it later!” I say, pulling on my robe and tying it tight. I rush out of the bedroom, my hair wild and messy, my face flushed.

“What time would later be, anyway?” I call over my shoulder.

“Seven-thirty?”

“No, I’m supposed to have them there by eight,” I say. “I’m cutting it close as is.”

“I’m sure it will be fine,” he tells me from behind. He makes his presence known with a heavy sigh.

“I have a feeling eighteen kids expecting a treat and their teacher would disagree with you. Not to mention the embarrassment Mason would feel.”

“People make mistakes, Hailey. You improvise.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means you don’t have to try to be so damned perfect all the time. Quit letting strangers dictate your life. Who cares what they say? Who cares what they think?”

“I care.”

His eyes crinkle in that familiar way. “Yeah, well,” he says motioning toward his body. “It’s you who ends up missing out.”

“I love you. But you don’t know what you’re talking about. And besides—our son is not a stranger. His teacher and classmates are not strangers.”

strangersHe readily acquiesces, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Okay,” he says, nuzzling his face in the crook of my neck. “You win.”

“It’s not a contest, Tyler,” I say, turning to face him. “It’s parenthood.”

His eyes narrow, digging into mine as he gazes. Stern features and dark eyes are a stark contrast to his actual personality. One sideways glance and he’s been known to send the neighborhood kids off in tears. “You want me to go instead?”

I don’t think he means it as a question, but that’s how I take it. It was a bit of a trap, and he fell right in. “Would you mind?”

“Yes, but I know that"s not the answer you"re looking for.”

“Tell you what—I’ll handle breakfast and then I’ll even get everyone out the door,” I say, though he knows as well as I do that this is no trade. I do it every morning. He has a commute. Mine is just down the hall.

He nods, his eyes softened by a touch of appreciation. “Deal,” he says.

He kisses me then, his lips seeking mine. I let him in, despite my better judgment, and we pick up where we left off. His hands find their way under my robe, tugging at the tie until it comes undone. He slides the robe off my shoulders and lets it fall to the floor, his eyes hungrily roaming over my body. He reaches for me, pulling me close as his mouth finds mine again.

We"re lost in each other, tangled up in the moment, when there"s a loud crash down the hall. It sounds like someone dropped a tray of dishes. We both freeze, listening for any follow-up noise, but there"s nothing.

“Oh look,” he says. “The little angels are awake.”