“More of a mansion than a cabin, to be honest. Four bedrooms and five bathrooms, I think. It backs up to the lake, sick hot tub. You know, the works.”

Their “weekend getaway” home was ten times nicer than the house we lived in. And our place was pretty damn nice.

“Why am I not surprised?” She laughed, then her expression turned wistful. “Ah, to be rich.”

If I had it my way, she’d at least be comfortable someday. If she ever let me pay for things. It was still a battle with her most days. At this rate, I’d be stuffing money under her pillow like the fucking tooth fairy.

I signaled left out of the parking lot. “Ward texted and said Shiv was going to take a quick shower before they headed out too.”

“Really?” Bailey groaned. We both knew there was no way she’d be showering alone. And their two-person showers weren’t exactly quick or water-conserving. “She hasn’t even finished packing yet. You said it’s, what, a two-hour drive? They’ll be a while.”

Bailey was right—we planned to make dinner once we were all there. Their scheduling would make for a late evening, but that meant more time for the two of us alone.

“Looks like we have time to kill.” I put my hand on her knee. “Want to take a little detour along the way?”

Bailey eyed me suspiciously. “Are you still trying to get truck sex?”

That wasn’t my original plan. But if she was offering…

“I’m always trying to get truck sex, but I was thinking hot chocolate.”

* * *

Half an hour later, we made our way up the staircase to End of the World with two cups of salted caramel hot chocolate in hand. Naturally, I had converted Bailey to the only appropriate flavor choice. Though her blowjobs were better than the salted caramel by a mile.

It was a brisk, chilly day and no one else was around, which afforded us our choice of benches. We grabbed the one with the best view, but the instant we got settled, my phone vibrated from inside my coat pocket. I pulled it out, expecting it to be Ward, but it was his father instead.

Bailey stared at my phone. I swiped the screen and put Stewart on speaker. It was easier than giving Bailey a replay after.

“Hi, Stewart.”

“Chase,” he boomed. “How are you doing?”

Bailey’s attention snapped to my face as if she’d been wondering the same thing.

“Decent.” All things considering. My life hadn’t totally fallen apart. People were talking about me, but they always had. It was just amplified temporarily.

“I have some news,” he said. “I just got off the phone with Los Angeles.”

My body went rigid. Bailey’s grip on her cup of hot chocolate tightened, and her breath stilled. We both froze, waiting for Stewart to continue.