"Pearl...hey honey. Wake up." Pearl felt someone shake her shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw it was still dark outside and she was still on the couch in Rhys' apartment. She looked to her right and saw Rhys standing there, looking at her with a pained in his eyes. "Hey there, sorry to wake you up. I wanted to tell you I got in a little sooner than planned and I'm home. Come here." He said and opened his arms. She fell into him and he wrapped his arms around her tightly, "I can't imagine what it was like going through that. I can't imagine what you're feeling inside. I'm here. Let's get you to bed." He said, taking her hand and leading her up to the loft. He held her and rubbed her hair, while she sobbed until she fell back asleep. "Good morning." Rhys greeted Pearl with a smile and breakfast in bed. "I just made toast and coffee. I figured you should eat but I didn't know how your appetite was." She looked at him gratefully and hugged him. In all the stre

He kissed her and woke her but she pretended to still be asleep. It was sometime in the middle of the night, they had fallen asleep, still in their clothes. It had been a long few days. She felt him moving her shirt over her head and lifting her higher in the bed. He pulled her jeans down and off and covered her with the blankets, trying not to wake her. She watched his shadowy movement in the dark as he took his clothes off and climbed into bed next to her. She heard him rustle some paper on his side of the bed and felt him place a rose by her head on the pillow. Just as he moved over her, back to his side, she sat up halfway and kissed him. "Thank you for being so good to me." She said. He put his arms around her and moved her body underneath his. He wiped her hair from her face and kissed her back. He moved down her neck and further down her body. She moaned and pulled him back to her face. He moved her panties to the side and touched her. She could feel how wet she was. He moved

Pearl woke up to find herself still on the couch and no Rhys in sight. She mustered up the energy to go see Dylan at the hospital. "Hey. How are you today?" She asked when she came into his room. "I'm good. I feel really good. Doc is discharging me Sunday. We set up an appointment with a specialist back home on Monday. So I'll be watched closely. Can you get flights set up for us?" He asked. "Of course I will. What time are they thinking Sunday?""I'd make sure the flight is in the evening. Never know around here." He said shrugging. "How are you Pearl?" He asked, and Pearl could see in his eyes that he knew something was wrong. "I'm ok. I'm fine. Will be fine. I'm just so glad you're doing so well." "Stop bullshitting me Pearl. I took a bullet for you, the least you can do is not lie to me." He said, grabbing her hand and sitting her down on his bed. "There have been some dramas in my life but I don't want to burden you wi

She knew he was in town. He had to be to drop off the book. But he wasn't anywhere she knew him to be. It was frustrating. She checked with Frank at the bookstore, Dylan, the charity hospital. No one had heard from him. She didn't understand what the inscription meant and it was tearing her up inside. She finally heard back from David two days after she sent her resignation email. "That will be fine. Thank you. And you will be paid for a full 30 days and your paid time off days. Contact HR with any questions." And that was it. She thought she should be surprised but she wasn't. How awful it was that she had wasted her time with him and lost Rhys because of it. She had known Rhys for a short time. She knew it was fast. She knew it was insanity to think about a serious future with him. But she did.  Tuesday morning, she still had heard nothing from him. They had their gig at the brewery the following night and she knew she had to

"Hey. Speaking of us being partners now, I want to give you this." Rhys said, walking to his jacket. He grabbed an envelope and handed it to her. She had already assumed he would want to prenup and that's what she expected when she opened the envelope. Inside, she found two cards and some paperwork for her to sign. One card was an American Express card and the other was a bank debit card. There was also a business card "Mark Graham, CPA Entertainment Accountant" She looked at Rhys. He smiled and said, "You never have to worry about money again. These are yours. Any large purchases, over a thousand dollars, just let Mark know about ahead of time. He likes to run a tight ship." "Rhys, I don't feel comfortable with this. I don't feel right." She said, handing him back the cards. "This is non-negotiable. Plus, you have a house to help decorate. I'm sure you will be getting to know Mark very well. I'm not worried about you mesmerizing him with your goddes