Bear Treble (Highland Brothers 4) by Meredith Clarke, Ally Summers Page A

felt the rumble in his chest as he let out a roar into the night. It echoed off the trees and bounced off the side of the house.
    She was gone.

20

Layla
    “ Y ou can put them over there, Hal.” She pointed to an empty space next to her couch.
    The bodyguard dropped the suitcases and waited for his next set of instructions.
    “Thank you,” she huffed. She didn’t have the energy to be overly nice. Rejection after mind-blowing explosive sex sucked.
    “I’ve done a perimeter check, Miss Love,” he reported. “I’ll be outside if you need anything.”
    “Thank you.” She waved him on as she slumped onto her white leather couch and picked up the remote.
    Her penthouse was quiet. She missed the smoky smell of the fireplace. She clicked a button on her remote to turn on her electric flames, but she frowned at them. They felt as artificial as they looked.
    She missed the woods. She missed the music. She missed Dylan.
    She turned off the TV. There wasn’t anything that would keep her attention anyway. She wondered how long it had taken him to realize she was gone. For all she knew he was still pacing his bedroom.
    The shower had been running when Hal pulled up in the car. She didn’t want to say goodbye. She didn’t want to see the asshole. She had had breakups play out in the tabloids. That was devastating. People made up all kinds of horrible stories and spouted their inaccurate theories. But nothing had humiliated her like this.
    She had given Dylan everything she had on that piano. Her body, her heart, and her music. It was all his, and as much as she hated him, she knew she was still his. She could feel it.
    She walked toward her bar and reached for a wine glass, setting it on the smooth marble, then opened the wine fridge. She didn’t care that it was the middle of the afternoon. Alcohol might be the only thing that could numb the painful memories. But as she uncorked the bottle, she smelled the acidic aroma and put the bottle down.
    “Eww,” she complained. The wine must be sour. She poured the bottle down the drain and selected another bottle. As the cork popped off that one, her nose wrinkled. It all smelled terrible.
    For a slight second the horror of what that could mean rushed through her. But it wasn’t possible. No they didn’t use protection. And she had let him come deep inside her. Her belly clenched thinking how deep he had been, but it wasn’t even a plausible concept that she could be pregnant. Besides, she was on birth control.
    It was an impulsive decision to sleep with Dylan, and as much as it hurt she hadn’t decided if she regretted it.
    She walked to her bedroom, glaring at the king-size bed. The bed would look small with Dylan sprawled across it.
    “Stop it,” she chided herself.
    All thoughts about Dylan Highland needed to stop. Every single one of them.
    She sighed with relief when she heard her phone ring. “Billy, hey.”
    “Thought I’d check in with you. I just want you to know I got a call from Dylan and he said he has all six songs for you.”
    “He does?” She almost choked.
    She had left and only five were complete.
    “I know you’re anxious to get in the studio. How does tomorrow sound?”
    “On Sunday?” she asked.
    “We can move it to Monday. It’s your call, Layla.”
    She bit on her lower lip. She needed the music to distract her, only this music would make her think about Dylan through every chord. Knowing he had written it after the piano wouldn’t help.
    “Let’s just get it over with. Tomorrow is fine.”
    “Good. I have the studio booked at noon. See you then.”
    “All right.”
    “See? I told you he would come through. This album means as much to him as it does you.”
    Layla rolled her eyes. “I doubt that’s true. Bye, Billy.”
    “See you tomorrow.”
    She tossed the phone on her bed. She doubted she would get much sleep tonight, but at least there was work tomorrow. There would be a room full of people producing and managing the album. It