Page 22 of Nathan
Press Storm
Nathan
River put down her sunglasses and lifted herself onto my kitchen counter using both hands. Kit was already sitting opposite River, with a cup of coffee, while I stood leaning against the fridge.
“Do you want to tell her?” I asked Kit, who’d come half an hour ago and was already caught up.
Kit tilted her head. “River, love, do ye want the bad news or the good news first?”
“The good news.”
“The good news is that our plan worked. Nathan succeeded in kissing Serena, and I got some clear shots.”
“And the bad news?”
Kit and I exchanged a glance before she continued. “The bad news is that Storm won’t care one bit about who Serena kisses.”
“Of course he will,” River insisted.
“No, he won’t. It was all a scam. Serena and Storm aren’t really together. The whole thing is fabricated to get media exposure for their new film, and the worst part is that Serena thought that you were in on it because Storm told her ye understood.”
River’s mouth dropped open.
“That’s how I reacted too when Nathan told me. I have no idea what kind of game Storm is playin’ but all the things we’ve seen in the media with the love declarations and the proposal… it was nothin’ but a bunch of lies.”
“I want to kill the bastard for doing this to you,” I muttered while River stared at the floor as if someone might have dropped a cue card telling her how to react.
“I’m so humiliated. It’s one thing if he fell in love with Serena, but to crush my heart for money and exposure... that’s just sick.”
“He’s playin’ with people’s emotions and breakin’ yer heart without the least bit of care.” There was both anger and sorrow in Kit’s voice.
River closed her eyes. “It’s all fake?”
“Yes. Serena told me so last night.”
“Why? I don’t understand.” River looked shell shocked.
“Neither do we, but Serena was of the understanding that you and Storm were still dating in secret. She thought all the headlines with your heartbreak were part of the act.”
River spoke on a breath of disbelief. “She thought I was acting. Is that why she invited me to meet up? Because she thought I was in on it?”
“Yes,” I said.
Kit tapped her lips. “I wonder what Storm’s agenda is. Why didn’t he tell ye the truth?”
River sat with her eyebrows drawn together. “It’s like I don’t even know him. Who would do something like this?”
“It’s a mystery to Nathan and me too. And either way, it makes the photos I took of Nathan and Serena worthless because they’re not going to break Storm’s heart or cause a rift between him and Serena. He probably just laughed and deleted my email.”
“You already sent him the email?” River asked Kit.
“Yes, last night. I followed the plan and used the address ye gave me.”
I moved from one foot to the other. “Did he answer you?”
Kit checked her phone before shaking her head. “There’s nothin’.”
River’s shoulders fell, and she looked so sad that I walked over to hug her. “If this doesn’t give you closure, I don’t know what will. Storm is a callous manipulator unworthy of you.”
