Rush

Chapter 6

Dalton’s gaze was sharp as an eagle’s, glued to Alicia Since he’d woken up, the guy had this intense vibe, like he could snap at any second. Alicia had pulled him back from the brink alright, but never expected him to go all beast mode on her. It was like waking a sleeping giant, and now she felt like she was on thin ice. Plus, Dalton was clearly not down with this marriage thing, which spelled out that her days at the Slater residence were numbered.

“You still here?” Dalton’s words were frosty,

Alicia just said, “Oh,” and bolted out of there. Their first real meeting, and Dalton’s heart was already stone cold–totally against her. She had no clue who he was hung up on, but he wasn’t her fan, that was for sure. Her head spinning, she camped out in the guest room for the night, while Matthew and Michael, Alicia’s father, blew up her phone. She knew what they wanted, so she didn’t bother answering and just blocked them.

The next day, bright and early, Alicia caught sight of Dalton eating breakfast downstairs, After their chilly intro, she was a bit jittery around him.

Lillian sidled up to her, giving her a reassuring poke. “Mrs. Slater, Mr. Slater is waiting for you to join him. Don’t sweat it; he isn’t as scary as he looks. Sit down with him, he won’t bite.”

Alicia peeked at the dining area. Dalton was in a wheelchair, sure, but still managed to look like some sort of royal, the kind that never knew a day’s hardship. Thanks to Alicia’s daily TLC, Dalton was almost as good as new, minus the walking part. But Alicia was sure that he really didn’t want to share a meal with her.

Just then, an excited voice cut in from behind Alicia. “Mr. Slater, we got him! We found Dr. Wilson, and he’s ready to fix your legs! He’s on the afternoon flight and can start tonight. You’ll be back on your feet in no time!” A dude in a slick black suit breezed in with the news.

Even though Dalton had finally woken up, the car crash did a number on his leg. So he was awake, but walking was out of the question for now. Alicia figured out that Dr. Wilson was here to work on Dalton’s leg. Alicia had been by Dalton’s side helping him out, but she didn’t think he’d buy that she had a hand in his getting better. She decided to play it cool and keep her mouth shut about it.

Right then, the guy walked up, did a double–take when he saw her, and put on a professional smile. “Mrs. Slater, good to meet you! I’m Mr. Slater’s right–hand man, Nick. Anything you need, just holler.” While Nick was making his introduction, he felt a cold stare and then he went directly to was giving her the eye. No dodging it now, she walked over.

Dalton. Alicia glanced over–Dalton

Dalton didn’t say a word, just kept sipping his coffee while Nick gave him the low–down.

Alicia sat down, making sure she wasn’t too close to him. Lillian set her up with some breakfast, but the way Dalton kept staring made her lose her appetite.

Nick wrapped up and split; the room took a turn for the frosty. Dalton looked her over, clearly not In a hurry, and then hit her with, “How much? Spit it out.”

2/2

ThThu, Aug

Chaprer 8

Allein was lost for a second. “What do you meant

“Divorce, he said, like they were talking about the weather.

Alicia saw this coming after the way he acted yesterday. “Oh, so I should pack my bags now?”

“Give it a few days. Get your papers, in order and widt for my buzz. Dalton planned to wait on breaking the news until Ellen, his grandma and the queen bee of the Slaters, was back on her feet after her freak–out.

up Alicia gave a nod. “OK, I’ll wait for your call. She took a couple of bites to be polite and headed to get her stuff. Coming back down, she nearly walked into a scene from a mob movie–Scan was on his knees, looking rough, right at Dalton’s feet, and Alicia’s jaw dropped.

Dalton had this little smirk, but his words were ice–cold, “Sean, you must be bummed I’m not six feet under, huh?”

“Dalton, I’m sorry, I just lost my head… I should’ve never tried to tak ur spot… Swear, I won’t mess up again. Please, man, let me off the hook just this once… Ahhh!” Sean’s begging was cut off by his own yelp of pain.

SEND GIFT