Page 80 of Sapphire Storm

“You know this for sure? You saw him this morning beforethey left?”

Rachel was still shaking her head, but more slowly now, hereyes full of doubt and alarm. “No. She wanted me in LA to make sure Scottdidn’t steal anything from the condo after he got the boot. We’ve known aboutthe story for two days now, but she thought she could make some deal to keep itquiet. Yesterday it all fell through, and Scott was…”

“Fired,” Ethan said for her. “Your fiancé was fired.”

She nodded slowly, eyes drifting shut, as if the coldness ofthe term drove home the craziness of the situation in a way that gave her aheadache.

He drew a deep, steadying breath. “Rachel, with all duerespect, I appreciate your good intentions, but you’ll have to forgive me if Idon’t accept your version of events. Because the one thing I’ve learned aboutyour family this week is that no one in it, Roman Walker included, ever tellsanyone the truth.”

When her eyes flashed with anger, he thought she might stormout. In his experience, the children of privilege were never very adept atswallowing hard truths about themselves. But while she’d cooled toward him, itseemed, she made no move to leave.

“It doesn’t make any sense, Ethan,” she finally said. “He’djust risked his entire future to tell me what he thought was the truth about myfiancé. If it was just some act and he was going to pull this after a few days,why tell me aboutyouat all?”

“You’ll have to ask him. And until he tells me otherwise, Ihave no choice but to take his text at face value. And just as a sidenote here,I left my bigoted family in the dust when I was twenty so I could live as who Ireally am. A relationship in the shadows of a straight marriage everyone’stalking about on TV? Not my first choice, Rachel. But I appreciate theconsolation prize, and I realize for some people, career trumps all.”

As she got to her feet, Rachel looked down at the screen ofEthan’s phone. “I get that you’re upset. But he didn’t write this. I’m tellingyou. He didn’t write it.” It sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

“I respect the depth of your friendship. I do. But it was awasted visit, Rachel. It doesn’t seem like there’s anything between me andRoman for you to protect.”

She exhaled sharply. Apparently Roman wasn’t the only onewho thought him occasionally cold as ice.

When her hand reached his doorknob, she looked back andsaid, “Goes without saying, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t go to the pressabout any of this.” She smiled broadly.

“That goes both ways. Mutually assured destruction, and allthat.”

She nodded, and then she was gone.

And for the first time that day, he couldn’t be alone withhis thoughts.

Donnie answered after the second ring. The day’s events camepouring out of Ethan in a rush, but he didn’t sound nearly as wrecked as he hadthat morning when he’d left the voicemail for Roman. His conversation withRachel started to feel like a dress rehearsal for this one.

“That’s bullshit,” Donnie said once he was finished.

“Which part?”

“He didn’t send that text.”

“Why is everyone giving him the benefit of the doubt?” Ethanasked.

“Why aren’tyou?”

“It’s from his phone, Donnie.”

“But why would he send it?”

“It was a long con. Saturday was just the beginning. Hewanted me to…”

“What? Wanted you to what?”

Even though he’d thought the words a dozen times thatmorning, giving voice to them felt like expelling hot gravel from his throat. “Hewanted me to open my heart to him. Okay?” he blurted out. “Because it would bethe perfect moment to kick the wind out of me. Christ, don’t make me say it.It’s already awful enough… I mean, I told him everything last night, Donnie.Everything.About my parents and how we parted and how I never saw them again. I made afool of myself with him…” His voice choked up before he could get control ofhimself. He screwed his eyes shut because the threat of tears made him feellike even more of an idiot.

When he opened them, he was leaning forward over the sink,gripping the edge of the counter, struggling to catch his breath.

“All right, listen,” Donnie said. “I know you think I’m justyour big sex monster friend who never left the business, but I gotta say a fewthings, and you need to hear them. So do you promise you’ll let me finish?”

“Yes.”

“It was a job, okay? What we did was a job, and we’re notbroken and we’re not tainted. And we’re allowed to want people and they’reallowed to want us. And showing someone who you really are, someone you careabout, is not making a fool of yourself. It’s your right. It’s everyone’s right.So if you spent five minutes last night not being mister calm and in controllike you always are, well, then good. But the minute you stop believing youdeserve to be punished for something, you’ll stop believing the worst of him.And then you’ll be able to see what today’s really about.”

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