Chapter 45

By the end of the workday on Monday, Xavier had given Peyton all the space he was going to allow. She hadn't been joking when she'd said she was taking off this week. At his arrival in the office this morning, her schedule had been cleared. In preparation for tomorrow's magazine article release, she'd left instructions for the front desk not to patch through any press calls to his secretary.

That was that. Nothing else. And he'd had to hear that little amount from Jackie.

He pounded on Peyton's apartment door and waited with his clenched fists on his hips. Two days, and he was losing his mind. She hadn't answered one text or voicemail. He hadn't slept more than a handful of scattered hours, never mind having an appetite.

When he received no response, he pounded again and yelled her name. He knew she was home. Her car was in the designated parking space. He'd checked. Yesterday and today.

"She's not here."