Page 89 of Almost Perfect
“Well, she handled that like a champ. No surprise, I guess. I don’t know if it’ll put a dent in public opinion or not but seems like she did the best she could’ve.” Warrick rubbed his hands together and glanced at me from the corner of his eye.
“Agreed. I don’t know what else she could’ve said, especially considering it’s all lies people are spouting.”
Warrick crossed his arms and hit me with a look. “How are you?”
“Fine.”
He didn’t respond. Just waited.
Crap. I didn’t want to talk this out. I needed to sit with these feelings and figure out how I felt about them.
“I’m good. She was great. I’m going to head—”
“Nah, you’re going to tell me what’s going on in that thick skull of yours.” He nestled himself deeper into the couch.
With a sigh, I admitted, “I don’t know. I’m invested, but I don’t know if she is. She says she is, and I want to believe her. But we haven’t talked since she left—not about anything but this whole mess. And I don’t know what her plans are. And I still don’t know how this can work, even though I want it to.”
“That’s all pretty reasonable to wonder. Also sounds like some things you could easily talk with her about.”
I grumped. “Yeah.Easily. ‘So, Calla, are you going to give up your fame and career and move up here to be my neighbor?’”
He scoffed. “No. Try, ‘So, Calla. I’m in love with you and I want to have your babies. Will you be my sugar mama and let me cook for you until we die?’”
I wanted to grumble at him, but he’d said it so cheerily, I laughed. “Okay. Sure. I’ll try that one.”
I couldn’t even be mad he’d said it aloud before I had. Because yeah, I loved her. I had for a while, and that’d made everything brighter, and scarier. It made this time, these hours without her, far worse.
He reached over and shoved my shoulder.
“You should.” Shooting to his feet, he grabbed his keys from the counter and swung them around his finger to catch them in his hand. “I’m off. Let me know when she’s coming back, and I’ll make sure to get gone.”
And that was that. Warrick was rooting for us. My mom had said the same. But was Calla?
THIRTY-NINE
Calla
My couch at the house in LA was stylish and pure white, but not comfortable. Imminently less so now that Jenna had left for filming she couldn’t miss.
But in reality, I hadn’t been comfortable since I’d left Wyatt’s arms four days ago.
Oof. Had it really only been that long?
It felt like the Earth had traveled into a different solar system, not just around our sun a handful of times. It felt like the space around my heart was stretched thin, or maybe like my own little ozone layer that’d kept me safe from burning exposure had worn through.
What had I done to chip away at the safety? Well, obviously, hiring Rad Bickman had been a mistake. I’d never liked him, had struggled to trust him after he introduced Candy to Chet, but I’d ended up sticking with him because he’d gotten me places I wanted to be. His slimy approach had worked, and I’d convinced myself it wouldn’t bleed into anything else.
How stubbornly ignorant, because this was beyond my imagining.
Actually, no. I couldn’t truly say that. I hadn’t suspected he’d pull something like this, but I’d run into the scum of the earth in the years since starting up, andsurprisewasn’t the main feeling anymore. More so, it was shock that he had the audacity to go for me this openly. Anyone who was tied in knew who had been spouting lies.
And now? He’d decided to sue me for damages. Apparently, all his “people” had stopped taking his calls, and my lawyers had threatened him with a restraining order if he tried to get near me. I didn’t think he’d be a physical threat, but my security team lead had suggested it, and after discussing it with law enforcement, they felt they could make it happen. Mostly, it was a deterrent, and thankfully, he’d stopped calling me.
But I hadn’t left LA. I hadn’t booked a flight, and as I stared down at Julian’s name, preparing to message him one more time for a flight to Silverton, my fingers stalled. He’d insisted I use his plane for the return—he’d promised it’d stay in LA, as would his pilot, and there’d be no issues scheduling the flight.
It wasn’t the favor that plagued me. It was what Wyatt would say. The fear rattling me, making my fingers shake, was the knowledge that when I got to Silverton, we’d have to talk about the future.
And as much as I felt vindicated after the interview with Danita and everyone viewing that as a smashing success to sway public opinion, I still felt trapped. I still wanted to go back to the mountains and snuggle into Wyatt’s chest and not have to deal with this version of my life.
