four in the morning:

it took exactly twenty-five minutes for Elena Bailey to hear what'd happened and to tell her daughter that she was being ridiculous. "call him."

"mama, no. i can't. i just can't." a raised brow asked the next question. "because it's too early... it's too late!"

"do it." her mother blew air from her mouth and grabbed the closest cell phone to them which belonged to William. "you two are being ridiculous."

"that's not even my phone," she countered.

"like it matters. you know his number." she shoved the phone into her hands. "call him. now."

"i can't," she whispered again.

Elena made a sympathetic face. "i know how you feel about him, you know how you feel... isn't it best that he knows?"

Miranda chewed the inside of her lower lip. she only liked emotional logic when she was the one dishing it out. this was too much. too real.

the eldest Bailey stood up. "welp, i'm going up to bed, when i come back down, you two had better be friends again."

"or what?" Miranda challenged. she was grown now, this was her house, she was a doctor—a mother! Elena walked away without an answer. "fine," she grumbled, placing her father's phone onto the table and picking up her own. the words she wanted to say to Ben were on the tip of her tongue, but her heart was beating so swiftly, she couldn't gather them. her palms were sweaty and thank goodness that she was laying down or her legs would have given out from under her. "i'm sorry, Ben," she practiced out loud, beneath her breath.no, that's not right. "Ben, i'm really, really sorry."

"for!" her mother called out from the top of the stairs. "and speak up!"

the house was quiet for a minute and between the giggles of the girls, she heard her parents talking, her father laughing and her mother whispering. and now her heart was quaking—for an entirely different reason. she wanted that feeling again.

love.

before the shit show that was their divorce, she'd been so in love with Tucker. and her feelings for Eli had only made a blip on that scale. no other man had come close except...

her finger slipped across the phone and she listened to the rings.one... two...if he didn't answer, she'd be pretty sad. three... what if he was busy? or still at the hospital? or had company? maybe that Cade person she'd met once. lovely woman. or... four... or he simply saw her number and declined it. five... and now she was panicking. six...

"it's four in the morning. i'm asleep."

hearing him on her phone for the first time in forever made her want to jump for joy and tell him everything she'd been thinking and watching and practicing and crying and complaining about, but instead she said: "i thought you were w-working."

"no," he said simply, his voice scratching her ear in the best way.

God, she was undone over him. "well, my parents are asking about you like you didn't just see them." she paused. "thank you for picking them up, by the way."

"of course, Miranda."

she licked her lips. he wasn't giving her anything and she hated it so damn much and knew she deserved every bit of his coldness. "come over."

"why?"

"because i said so."

he chuckled sleepily. "you know, you have a very strange way of apologizing."

"you owe me one, too," she contested. "but come over and i'll do it in person."

there was movement on his end before he said: "Squish is there with her friends. your parents are in town. i'm the fully wronged party. come over here." his tone was gentle, but demanding.

Miranda thought for second. "you promise to forgive me?"

"you haven't even—"

"just say you will, Ben. please."

"i promise, Miranda."