Page 23 of Hotter in the Hamptons

Justin said, “Do you want to call my parents?”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“Because Todd owes them. They’ve helped him out of way too many messes for him to just drop you like this.” He sounded furious on her behalf, which was nice.

“No, thank you, though. I don’t think that would help.”

“Okay, Lola,” he sighed. “I am just so fucking over all this bullshit.”

She lifted her head up. “Which bullshit?”

He gestured to the window, at the sprawling city below them. “New York. All these fucking pretentious assholes thinking they can say whatever they want about you. About us.”

“You mean Aly Ray Carter?”

“Yeah, I mean Aly Ray goddamn Carter. Like, how dare she? Ihateher.” His hands were balled up into frustrated fists. “Who does she think she is?”

Lola sat all the way up then. “I mean, it’s not Aly’s fault. She was just doing her job.” Lola wasn’t sure why she was being put in a position to defend Aly. All this just felt very bad.

Justin was incredulous. “Herjob?It was her job to say that you don’t stand for anything?”

She returned to her fetal position, whispering, “Well, she was right. That’s why it’s so devastating. She wasright, Justin. What do I stand for? I’m a nothing.”

“Was it also her job to tell the world that you don’t take us seriously?”

The reality of Justin’s anger slapped her in the face. “Oh my god!” Lola cried. “That’s not what I said!”

“Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was for me? For my family?”

She put her face in her hands. This had nothing to do with what Aly said about her and everything to do with what she’d said abouthim—and them as a couple.

“Look, Lola,” he said, sounding like he was gearing up for a speech.

She braced herself.

“Maybe it’s time we leave all this behind.”

“Leave all this behind?”

“Maybe we should just go back to LA.”

Her heart caught in her throat. She always knew he’d say this to her someday, but she never imagined he’d say it now, like this. She didn’t want to hear it. Not yet. Not now. Maybe not ever.

“My parents offered to give us the WeHo house. That means I could take my time looking for a good job, one where I could work during the day. Maybe even open a private practice. We could start over. Have a nicer, easier life, close to family and friends who have known us forever. Don’t you want a situation that’s a little…” He searched her face. “A little kinder?”

Lola tried her best to remain composed, but she was dangerously close to having a total meltdown. She balled her hands into fists, willing herself to be calm.

If he noticed her reaction, he ignored it. “You’re almost thirty. I’m thirty-two. We’ve been together for five years. I know you told ARC that you don’t want to, but I think it’s time we start thinking about next steps.”

“Next steps?”

“I want to get married,” he said plainly. “I want to start a family. You know I do. I’ve always wanted to. And I don’t want to do it here, in this goddamn mess of a city, where we have zero family. We have an out, Lola, a way to leave all this behind and be near people who love us. Why wouldn’t we take it? This was always the plan anyway.”

She looked at his face. His gorgeous, symmetrical, flawless face. A muscle in his jaw was pulsing. His T-shirt didn’t have a single wrinkle in it. He even smelled good. He was still the man of her dreams. But the words coming out of his mouth terrified her.

He said, “Why do you think I went to LA without you?”

“To get an award?”

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