Page 78 of Hidden Gem
Jason gripped the edge of the table, trying to think. He was high, or drunk, or both, and the room was spinning. He couldn’t risk standing up. Could he risk being photographed?
Luna giggled. “We can’t have this guy homeless, can we?” She cast another pleading look at Jason, and he caved.
A faint nod was all Luna needed to scoot closer to Jason, lean into him and pose for the camera. The reporter, whose name was something like Rolo or Rome– Jason’s brain offered up useless guesses – gushed about how amazing they looked together. Jason wasn’t sure if he smiled. Possibly. His face operated on autopilot, reserving any remaining brain activity for figuring out how to get out of the situation. How to get home. Coming here had been a huge mistake. Doing those shots had been a gigantic mistake.
Oh, make it stop.
The reporter left, and Jason sighed with relief. Luna made no move to return to her side of the table. Her hand moved on his thigh, massaging the tight muscle under his trousers. The sensation was too much, cross-firing with every other signal wreaking havoc in his body. “Please, don’t,” he whispered. “I’m a bit—”
“I know,” Luna whispered. “I know you have trouble sleeping, and I want to help you. I’m not expecting anything before we’ve sorted out this problem of yours.”
She gave him a conspiratorial smile, and Jason tensed from head to toe. Who had blabbed about his troubles?
Luna pulled her hand away and rested it on the table. “It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone.” Her beautiful face turned earnest.
Could he really trust her? Did he have a choice? His poor brain had turned into cotton wool. He was at her mercy.
Where was Marnie? Part of him expected her to step in and save her. But she wasn’t here. She wasn’t coming. She’d broken up with him.
“I have something you might want to try,” Luna continued, digging into her purse. “This stuff works. One hundred percent.”
She gave him a quick peek at the bottle of pills before hiding it back into the depths of her handbag.
“I don’t do drugs.” He shook his head, looking away.
“Me, neither.” Luna winked at him. “Only when desperate.”
Desperate, huh? She’d managed to choose a word that perfectly described the lump of emotion sitting in his gut. He needed Marnie. Right now. He was standing at the edge of a cliff, about to fall. Didn’t she see? Didn’t she care?
Luna’s arm snaked around his and nudged him up. “Let’s get you home. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.”
Chapter 37
Marnie stepped closerto Elsie’s bathroom window, tilting the white stick towards the light. A pregnancy test was meant to clear up confusion, not add to it, right? Was the faint second line a ghost haunting her vision or a sign of early pregnancy? She wrapped her cardigan around her waist.
A light knock on the door made her jump.
