Page 57 of Best Mistake Ever
We just stare at each other for a moment, the unspoken angst reverberating in the air between us.
‘Do you want to come in?’ she asks.
The hope in her eyes nearly breaks me.
But I can’t let it.
She made a fool out of me and I shouldn’t trust another word she says.
She’s bad news.
Really bad.
But despite all this, I can’t bring myself to leave.
‘Okay,’ I say, and as she backs away from the door, I step into the flat and follow her inside.
15
BEATRICE
My legs are shaking as I walk through Dee’s hallway and into her living room, intensely aware of Jonah following me.
It’s so good to see him. I can hardly believe he’s here.
I wish I wasn’t in such a state though. I barely slept all night and I was so exhausted and miserable this morning, I ended up bawling for twenty solid minutes in the shower.
My face is now a puffball and my eyes look hollow.
In short, I’m a mess.
‘Have you changed your mind about Dee losing her job?’ I ask hopefully.
He gives me such a look of angry incredulity, I flinch. ‘You’ve got to be kidding.’
‘So you’re still angry with me?’
He stares at me for a moment and I swallow uncomfortably in the pause.
‘I trusted you with all my shit and the whole time, you were bare-faced lying to me. So yes, I’m still fucking angry with you.’
I hold up both hands in a gesture of acceptance. ‘I shouldn’t have lied to you. It was wrong of me to do that. I got so carriedaway with pretending to be Dee, I lost my head. Not that that’s an excuse.’
‘No, it’s not.’
I fold my arms defensively. ‘You have every right to be angry. But I promise you, I genuinely meant no harm. I was trying to help.’ I inwardly cringe at the pleading in my voice.
His snort is full of disdain. ‘Help me with what, exactly? Making me look even more of an idiot? Or did you just fancy stepping into Tessa’s vacant place for a bit? See what it was like dating the son of a rock star?’
‘That was never my intention. I’m not interested in your dad’s fame. Things just… got away from me.’
‘Things?’
‘How I started to feel about you.’
A frown flickers across his face and he turns away and walks over to the window, his broad back towards me. I can see the tension in his shoulders and my heart turns over.
I can’t stand him being so cold with me like this. Not after the closeness we’ve developed recently. Finally getting him to smile had felt like a massive achievement. I want to see that smile again. Desperately.
