Page 44 of The Best Wrong Move

“Do you ever feel like your life is going at warp speed?” I ask, not pausing for an answer. “Like you’re running as fast as you can, to do everything you’re supposed to do, right when you’re supposed to do it?”

He continues watching me so intensely that my heart palpitates like it’s skipped a beat.

But I go on. “And for what? To get to the finish line faster?”

He flips the pen over his thumb without leaving my eyes — it lands right back in his grip. “More than you know.”

“When my entire career went haywire, I realized that I didn’t like the path I was on anymore. I hadn’t liked it for some time.”

“Is that when you decided to try to break into film?”

I nod. “Kind of. I’ve been working on it for years, but I’m using this sabbatical to give it my first real try. That’s not the only reason though.”

I pause, watching his face to see if any of this is making sense to him.

“Then why else are you here, Liv? Just tell me.”

The way Dom studies me, it’s like I’m the most interesting person in the room. His attention makes me feel like I want to cower and explode — both at once — so I don’t disappoint him when he realizes that there’s truly nothingfascinatingabout me at all.

I take a deep breath before answering.

“To run,” I tell him.

He leans in closer, studying me. He wasn’t kidding about making the woman he’s with feel like she’s the only one in existence.

“Run from what?”

“Everything . . .”

“Go on.”

It all comes tumbling out.

“Everything I thought I’d love about my life but never did. I’ve lived my entire existence doing exactly what I was supposed to do, exactly how it should be done. I got my degree in journalism from NYU, then got a job at UBN, and worked my way up to the news desk. I dated the type of guy my parents would adore, and when my producer asked if I wanted to propose to him on the air to further my career and land the perfect marriage, I did it. I never thought in a million years that Rex would say no. It was therightnext step.”

“You didn’t actually want to marry that asshat?” He grips the bottle again, running his hand up the slick side.

I smile weakly.

“In hindsight, I don’t think I did. But, do you want to know the weirdest part?” I ask.

“The fact that your producer asked you to do that whole thing live on the air and you said yes?” Dom side-eyes me, which makes me laugh a little at my own expense.

He finally cracks a smile, too.

“No. What’s weird is that, when Rex said no, of course, I was humiliated. That part was written all over my face, obviously. It was that after the cameras stopped rolling and I was back in my dressing room . . .” I pause. I’ve never told anyone this. Not even Abby. “I felt kind ofrelieved.”

Our corner of the bar fades away as I wait for him to answer.

“Relieved?” Dom leans away from where our shoulders were touching. He massages his sharp jawline like he’s figuring out a puzzle scattered across the table. Knowing that I’m the puzzle makes me want to keep talking, but only if he keeps looking at me like that.

“I think proposing to Rex felt like the next ‘right’ thing to do. Even though, obviously, it was totally wrong. I loved Rex.” Something flashes in Dom’s eyes when those words come out of my mouth. “But, if I’m being honest, I don’t think I was ready either. My producer asked me to do it to further my career. She knew I’d been with him a long time, and she was curious if I’d be up for it. She was sure the clip would boost our ratings. I’m sure she was thrilled when the ratings skyrocketed — more than either of us would ever have predicted.” I sigh. “I’ve always had my eye on the prize. The next best thing for me. I thought doing what my producer wanted was the ticket to my next promotion.”

“And coming here? Was that the next ‘right’ thing?”

I shake my head. “Absolutely not. Probably the exact opposite. Taking a huge financial risk on something that may never pay off isn’t smart. But I think coming here was the only way for me to hit pause on my life.”

I take another sip of water and push what’s left of my mai tai toward Dom. Whatever’s in there feels like it’s laced with truth serum, so I don’t care if he finishes it for me. In fact, I want him to finish it — maybe then some hard truths can start spilling out of him too.

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