Page 65 of Best Served Hot
Nicole looked relieved. ‘What would I do without you?’
Alex answered that with a smile. Deep in her heart, she never wanted to find out. That’s how it was already. Alex couldn’t understand this feeling. She’d never been this completely swept up in her life. It didn’t even matter that they’d met in just about the worst circumstances imaginable. Somehow, she liked Nicole more than anyone she’d ever known. It felt amazing. And terrifying.
Alex wanted to trust Nicole’s feelings. And she so very nearly did. She hoped that with time, and after they’d gotten away from all contact with Ethan, things could settle down, and she could find her feet with Nicole. Because right now, this was all she wanted. Nicole was all she wanted. Everything else could work itself out.
If nothing else went wrong, it could all go so right.
Thirty-Seven
It was just after nine, and the party was coming up, though probably yet to peak. She and Alex had been careful to choose this moment. Quiet enough to be noticed, loud enough not to have to talk to anyone for more than a minute.
They were making an appearance at the bar rented out for the party, drinking one drink, and then fucking off to get a late dinner together. Nicole couldn’t wait. She wanted to be alone with Alex. Nothing else really had her attention.
She was desperate to take Alex’s hand as they walked into the bar. But she didn’t want anyone to comment on it. She liked that this was just theirs.
As they passed through the bar, many cast and crew members greeted her with enthusiastic salutations like, ‘Hey, you made it!’ and, ‘Here they are!’
Nicole and Alex gave that warmth back and kept moving, doing a very quick lap of the place. Nicole hoped to complete a party speed run in less than thirty minutes.
She’d spent last night with Alex, being as she was technically unhoused at the moment. Not that she’d be anywhere else right now. Though she did not want to just quietly move in or anything like that.
She was going to start looking at rentals tomorrow. She wouldn’t screw this up by rushing it. She wanted her and Alex to have room to grow and breathe.
She had to remember that she was just coming out of a marriage, albeit a dysfunctional one. Nicole had tried so very hard not to see how separate their lives truly were until it was too late. But now she was glad. Once the shock passed, it made the end that much easier.
A fresh start called. And it was going to be with Alex Torrence.Theperson. No one made her feel more comfortable and happier than Alex. Nicole could fathom the good fortune she had to have Alex fall into her lap. But she wouldn’t question it further. She wouldn’t do anything to unravel this chance.
She might have been insecure, but she wasn’t stupid. She and Alex were falling in love. As they pushed through the crowd, she felt that love even though Ethan was here, and she hated him. He couldn’t ruin this feeling.
As she thought that, she spotted the smug bastard, toasting with his favoured actors, which was to say the ones whose careers were starting to lift off. Kendall Evans and Max Main. You could see the arse licking even from a distance.
Everything either of them said, he laughed like it was the funniest thing he’d heard since sliced bread. The thing was, Kendall and Max were all right people. They were not letting their rising stars turn them into arseholes. But they had stayed too long out of loyalty, a loyalty Ethan was squeezing every last drop out of. Nicole knew a thing or two about that.
‘Look at him,’ she said, smiling at Alex. ‘What a tit. What the hell was I thinking?’
Alex grinned. ‘Snap.’
They went to the bar, Nicole feeling happy despite Ethan’s presence. She was finding that the video was not bothering her as much as it had a couple of days ago. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that it would never be released.
The second Ethan put it out, he lost his power. The threat was gone, and Ethan wouldn’t want that. He wanted them to live in fear of him. What good was it otherwise? It would ruin her relatively established reputation and Alex’s burgeoning career, and though Nicole did fear that, she knew that Ethan probably knew that would leave them with no reason to stay quiet about the kind of man he was.
Therefore, in the long run, his reputation might take a hit too. Though the hit might only be minor, he couldn’t know that. No one knew what the consequences of this video being leaked could turn out to be. It was mutually assured destruction.
If they released their nukes, they might destroy each other but themselves, too. So maybe it was all fine? Maybe Nicole and Alex could get comfy in this holding pattern.
At the bar, Nicole waited her turn. ‘What are you having?’ she asked Alex.
‘Err, beer, I guess?’ Alex said.
‘I think we can do better than that. How about a bottle of champagne?’
Alex’s eyebrows shot up. ‘What are we celebrating?’
‘Everything,’ Nicole said, smiling.
Alex reached down and gave Nicole’s hand a quick squeeze. Nicole squeezed back. If anyone saw this, let ‘em talk.
‘Can I get a bottle of champagne, please? Whatever you have,’ Nicole asked the bartender. ‘And two glasses.’
