Page 48 of Almost Perfect
Now that I saw this ugly, painful truth, what did it change? And did it free me from that doom, or did it double-down on it and practically guarantee it?
NINETEEN
Calla
The problem with having a friend like Jenna was that she had no qualms pestering, being invasive, and pushing until she got her way.
Like now. Her beautiful face stared back at me from the screen, a goopy green hydrating mask covering her skin like it did mine since she’d express-mailed me a home spa kit and told me to have it on by the time she called tonightor else. She’d given me a full minute of silent treatment when I’d tried to shrug off her questions about Wyatt.
Her “So tell me about Mr. Saint” had only made dread pool low in my belly. I didn’t know what to say. Knowing she’d outlast me, I relented. “Fine. What do you want me to tell you?”
“I want to know how you’re doing. I know you haven’t had a month-long lovefest, but you mention him anytime we talk, and when we text, I could swear half the time you’re with him. So?”
I blew out a long, slow breath. “I like him.”
She hooted and pumped her fist. “Yes! I knew it!”
“It’s not like that’s a huge revelation.”
She made a face. “Whatever. You haven’t expressed interest in a man beyond a ‘he’s pretty’ a handful of times in recent years. And youlikingsomeone? A normal human someone?”
“As opposed to all those alien someones I have feelings for?”
She laughed all out, then speared me with a look like she knew my darkest secret. “I know about you and the blue aliens.”
I shook my head and waved that off but couldn’t stifle my own laugh. “You’re nuts. An insane person.”
“Seriously though, why are you weird about this? What’s the problem?”
I huffed. Aside from knowing that anything I wanted enough would be doomed? “I don’t think he likes me. Yes, he’s attracted to me. But that’s not enough for either of us. It hasn’t been the lastfiveweeks, and especially now.”
“What does that mean? Why now?”
“I thought we were kind of… getting close to something. But then, he went on a date last weekend.”
“What!?”It was a shriek heard round the world, but then Jenna wasn’t really a delicate, subtle kind of woman.
“Yep. Last weekend. And then all this week at breakfast, it’s just been weird. His brother was there every day, and it was like he made a point to be there so Wyatt didn’t have to be alone with me or something.”
She made a disgusted groan. “Well, I’m now suggesting you find some other quiet, sexy cowboy for your entertainment.”
I chuckled, but my heart ached. “Yeah. Well. I’m still here at least another week. I’m not sure if I can justify staying any longer, but I wish I could.”
“I know, sweetie. I’m sorry. But listen, can we shift from stupid hot cowboys and talk about your idiot criminal manager for a sec?”
My turn to groan. I let loose and started to scrub my hands over my face when I remembered the mask.Oops.“He’s getting more and more persistent. He calls every day, leaves a message every time. I’ve been deleting them without listening. I have nothing to say to him at this point.”
He’d responded so terribly to the meeting before the end of the year, and this attitude about me taking a break was not working. I’d been questioning my partnership with him for years, and especially after Candy passed, but he’d been awful. It was one thing to disagree about a plan but entirely another to borderline harass me to get his point across.
“Cut him. He’s done.”
Jenna was a take-no-crap kind of woman, and she didn’t stand for this. She couldn’t understand why I’d kept him on for the last few years, and I’d begun to see her point more and more vividly.
“I can’t just do that. We have a contract. But trust me, my lawyers are looking at it. I tried to get him to take a step back so we could meet when I return to LA and reevaluate with a little space from all the crapstorm of stuff we’ve been dealing with, but he wouldn’t do it. Kristoffer said Rad’s been nonstop with him, too.”
She shook her head. “Nope. Done. Doney done.”
“Probably so. And in the meantime, I think I’m going to do the interview.”
