Three weeks later

I never thought I’d be back here, in the bowels of the museum digging through boxes of uncategorized bones.

Life can change so damn fast…

But at least I was able to land on my feet. The museum jumped at the chance to get me back, even with the swirl of scandal still lingering around me. Things have died down for the most part, though. I guess that’s the one good thing about L.A., a scandal never lasts for long here. It’s immediately replaced by something more tantalizing that will sell more magazines and papers and get more clicks.

The only lingering issue is how I left things with Andy.

I can’t forget the way she looked spread out across the bed that morning, her honeysuckle scent invading my nose, her nails scoring down my back, or the way her pussy felt wrapped around my cock.

My cock swells just thinking about it, the same way it has a hundred times over the last several weeks. Dr. Boner has become quite an apt name, all because of that sexy, feisty blonde.

I’ve thought about calling her a hundred times, but ultimately, my own pride has kept me from contacting her. That and wondering if she blames me for what happened. I should have walked away when she fell on me in that hallway. I should have righted her on her heels and sent her on her merry way. But no, I had to have her. And it cost me everything, including my sanity. Because I can’t get her out of my head.

Trying to shake off the memories of that night is useless. I just need to learn to live with them and without her.

At least I have these bones to work on. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t giddy at the thought of assembling another skeleton from some prehistoric beast. It’s been years since I’ve been able to do this, and my hands practically itch digging through the hundreds of years of boxes in the basement to see what we have. So many things have been donated and mislabeled over the years, the museum doesn’t even know what it has. I jumped at the chance to come back and dig through all this stuff.

It’s the next most exciting thing to hosting my show, and it’s my first true love. What little boy doesn’t dream of digging up dinosaur bones and holding something millions of years old? Most people never get to see or touch the things I have in my hands right now, and looking down at the femur, the regrets I feel for what’s happened the last month seem to lighten.

I’m going to be okay.

The ringing of my phone forces me to set the bone down and dig in my pocket.

If it’s Riley again, I swear to God…

An unknown number flashes across my screen. I’m tempted to hit ignore and get back to work. I’ve had enough calls from reporters and friends over the past four weeks to last me a lifetime. But a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach tells me to answer it.

“Hello?”

Silence greets me, and I almost hang up. Telemarketing scum.

“Rafe?”

Her voice draws me back to the phone and almost stops my heart.

“Andy?”

Another silence lingers over the line. Is she going to say something? Why is she calling?

“Andy? Are you okay?”

She sighs and gives a mirthless laugh. “Define okay.”

The table behind me lets out a creak of protest as I lean back against it. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“Look, I called because I thought I could just get over what happened but it’s been a month and I still think about it every damn day.”

She’s not the only one. And that’s the last thing I expected her to say. This is my chance, my opportunity to apologize for being such a huge dick. “I’m sorry.”

A laugh trickles through the phone and goes straight to my cock. That damn laugh. I’ve dreamt about that laugh for weeks and wondered if I would ever hear it again. Now, I’d give anything to have her here so I can see her when we have this conversation and experience it in person.

“For what? Leaving me alone in bed without a word? Hooking up with me in the first place?”

Ouch. I guess I deserve that.

“For being a huge dick and bailing on you when I saw those pictures.”

“Yeah, you were kind of a dick.”

I kick my feet out in front of me and cross my ankles. “I know. And I really am sorry. I’ve wanted to call a hundred times, but I just figured you’d be so pissed you wouldn’t want to hear from me.”

She sighs again, and the frustration is evident even though we’re miles apart. “I was more hurt than pissed. We could have dealt with things together, you know.”

“Yeah, I do know. I realized that after I had already left and gone to the restaurant to try to figure out who leaked the tape. But by then, I knew I was losing my job and you probably were too, and I just wanted to wallow in self-pity. Plus, I knew it was a dick move to leave and I was too embarrassed to face you.”

“Can you face me now?”