“The baby’s fine, Cade.”

“And you? How are you doing?”

“Great. Now how about you quit stalling and just spit it out? Whatever it is, I can handle it.”

Somehow, he knew that. She could probably handle it better than her husband could. If there was ever anyone strong in a crisis, it was Audrey. “It’s Daphne. She got upset prior to her show last night and locked herself away and took a lot of pills.” There was utter silence on the other end of the line, so he continued. “We called an ambulance and her stomach was pumped, and she’s going to be fine. I just didn’t want you to worry.”

“Thank you,” she said, her voice flat. For a moment, she sounded just like Daphne.

“They say she’s going to get out of the ICU in a few hours, and I’ll go in and talk to her as soon as she can have visitors. But I’m sure if you came down, they’d let you in—”

“I’m not coming, Cade.”

“Because of the baby? Is it not safe to fly? Let me talk to Reese and we can arrange cars so you—”

“No,” Audrey said, her voice utterly brisk. “I mean, I’m not coming. I told Daphne that if she pulled this kind of stunt again, that I was done with her. I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep running to her side every time Daphne can’t handle real life and decides to take a bunch of pills to remind people how vulnerable she is. I’m not going to rush to her side and pat her hand and tell her everything’s fine so she can do this all over again. Last time, I swore to her that this was it, and I meant it.” Her voice wobbled, the strength leaving for a moment. “Have you called Gretchen?”

Daphne’s older sister? “I . . . no, not yet.”

“Good. Leave it to me. I’ll handle Gretchen.”

“Are you sure?” This was a hell of a load for a pregnant woman to handle.

“I’m sure,” Audrey said. “We both know she’s not good in a crisis. She’ll just blubber like a baby, say a bunch of things she doesn’t mean, and it’ll just make things worse.”

A half smile tugged at Cade’s mouth. She had a point. Gretchen tended to speak first and think later. “Can I do anything for you, Aud? Friend to a friend?”

She thought for a moment. “Yeah.” That quaver was back in her voice. “You can scare the living shit out of my twin so she never, ever does this again.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he said softly. “I promise.”

“I know this is cruel, Cade,” Audrey said. “But . . . we just can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep doing this.” Her voice choked.

The phone switched hands again, and then Reese spoke, his normally carefree tone gentle. “Thanks for letting us know, man. I’ll have Audrey call if she needs anything, okay?”

“Okay.”

“You’ll keep us posted?”

“Will do,” Cade said. Damn. Why was Daphne so determined to ruin so many lives? He knew this was incredibly hard on Audrey . . . and at the same time he envied her for cutting all ties.

Time to cut a few of his own.

—

Several hours later, Daphne’s doctor allowed visitors. Kylie had gone back to her hotel room to catch a few hours of sleep after waiting up all night, but Cade wanted to stay. Someone needed to be around for Daphne, and it might as well be him.

When they finally let him see her, he was relieved to see that they’d moved Daphne out of ICU and into a private room. She turned toward him, her smile wan, her eyes like bruises in her face. “Hey, you.”

“Hi, Daph,” he said, pulling up a chair and sitting next to her. “How are you feeling?”

“Like a shitstain on humanity.”

He shook his head. “I’m sure you’re expecting a lecture, but I’m not here to give one.”

Daphne plucked at the tape on her hand that held her IV into place. “I’m sure you’re saving that for Audrey, right?”

“Nope. Audrey’s not coming.”

Daphne’s veiny, claw-like hands stilled. “She’s . . . what?”

“She’s not coming. She said that last time she warned you that she wasn’t going to do this again.” And he felt like an ass for delivering the painful message, but what else was there to do? “Gretchen’s not coming, either.”

As he watched, her eyes fluttered and she gave a loud sniff, then swiped at her nose with a hand. “Well, fuck them. I mean, hey. Don’t support your sister when she’s in her hour of need. Whatever. Fuck them both. I’m sure Miss Perfect Audrey just went on and on about what a screwup I am, didn’t she?”