Page 29 of Leah

“That wasyou!”

“Why are you arguing with me?”

My jaw dropped. “I’m not!”

“You’ve taken too long on the phone. They all probably think you’re taking a shit. I’m hanging up now. Tell me everything later.”

My head was spinning. “But—”

“And pretend you’re in a relationship! Nothing screams more proof of moving on than being in a relationship! Avoid being alone with him, don’t listen to his smooth talk, and report back to me later, hooker-face.”

Before I could respond, she hung up and I almost growled at the empty line. Talking to her was like talking to a deranged person at times.

But she was right.

I’d taken too long.

Dear God, I hoped they didn’t think I’d taken a shit. As if I needed any more reasons to feel more conscious than I was already!

Facing the portal of hell, I took a deep breath and opened it.

Be confident, she said. Show him I’ve moved on, she said. Okay, I could do that. After all, it was the truth.

A truth that was slowly diminishing upon seeing him, but whatever.

I re-joined them in the living room just as the front door opened and stocky Harold came barrelling up the stairs with bags and bags of take-out. I could smell Chinese food in the air, and my stomach ached. I hadn’t eaten all day, and while the thought of digesting a couple pounds of noodles and pork dumplings sounded like a dream, I was feeling nauseous being so near to Carter.

Regardless, I stood tall and pretended I was oozing self-confidence. I deserved an award for my acting abilities. Except for my eyes. Sadly, they couldn’t help themselves.

Again, I glimpsed at him.

Again, he was looking at me.

He hadn’t said a word. I was sure I’d feel a little better if he spoke to me casually, like the past was behind us. Yet it felt like the opposite.

Not wanting to stand around and look lost, I decided to help Marlena carry out the trays of snacks on the table. It was on the trip there that I instantly regretted doing it. I was only feet away from Carter, and I felt dizzy from the nerves.Confidence, confidence.But that was easier said than done. I’d never felt thisrattled in my life. The tray I picked up quaked in my hands, and on their own, my eyes lifted up again to his.

He was still staring at me.

What is it?I wanted to ask him.Why are you looking at me like that? Do you hate me?

I didn’t realize the tray had tilted on its side, until the crackers fell off, landing noisily on the table. I startled and looked down, feeling my cheeks heat in embarrassment as I quickly picked them all up one by one. It could have been a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity to me. Blushing even harder, I stilled when a big hand reached over and grabbed at a few others. I knew that hand; it had been on me—and in me—in ways that were both sinful and sweet.

Startled, I watched Carter pick up the rest and place them on the tray. I wanted to thank him for the help, but his eyes appeared harder than before, cutting through me like a knife.

“Sorry,” I whispered, and I wasn’t really sure what I was sorry for. The crackers? The last three years of zero communication? Or maybe I was apologizing to myself for being a fucking idiot, driving him away from me to follow his dreams.

Stupid dreams. Who needed them anyway?

“It’s normal,” Molly then said, wrapping her slender hand around Carter’s bulging bicep. “Carter’s used to fans acting like star-struck idiots around him.”

Star-struck idiots. Well, then…

Glaring at her, I was half-tempted to smash the tray over her head for that remark, but I didn’t want to go to jail tonight. The last thing I needed was a criminal record weeks before applying for accounting positions.

Instead, I used my tongue.

“Well, without those star-struckidiots, he’d be absolutely nothing,” I told her sweetly.

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