Page 49 of Awestruck at Dusk
“Like this?” he said, pulling away for a second, his gaze on my mouth. I wet my lips and nodded. He was about to kiss me again when someone cleared their throat beside us to get our attention.
If You Wouldn’t Mind
“SORRY TO INTERRUPT,”Tobias said to us. He looked upset and drunk-ish. “Liam just told me you introduced Jordan to Cecile. What the fuck, Billie? You know how much I like her.”
Whothe heckis Liam?
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Nathan said to Tobias, tapping his shoulder twice. “You need to settle down, mate.” He lifted a brow at Tobias as a warning.
“I-I’m sorry, Tob. I didn’t—I mean, I know whathappenedbetween you, but I didn’t know where you stood, and you hadn’t even approached her all night. How was I to—”
“I was waiting for the right moment to do so,” he interrupted me. “I know what I’m doing. I wasn’t going to throw myself at her the moment she arrived. But now …” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Now Jordan’s got his fucking tongue down her throat, and she—” he trailed off, dragged a rough hand through his hair, and gripped his neck.
Nathan said something to him in Swedish with a gruff voice, but Tobias didn’t reply. Instead, he glanced at Jordan and Cecile with a scowl and met my gaze once again. “Youknewhow much I liked her.”
“You said that in October, Tob! You haven’t mentioned a thing to me about her ever since. For all I know, you might be dating someone else. You never talk to me about these things. How was I to know?”
“We’ve kept in touch,” he tossed in. “You’re Cecile’s best friend. I’m sure she said something.”
She hadn’t. But I didn’t think Tobias would believe me anyway. He was pissed and wanted someone to blame.
Me.
“Jordan came up to me and asked to meet her, Tob. What did you want me to say? No, you can’t meet her because she slept with Tobias six months ago?” I was getting a bit worked up because I didn’t know shit about what was happening between them. Nathan kneaded my shoulder, trying to calm me down. But it wasn’t working.
“Try two weeks ago,” Tobias spat back.
“What?” I couldn’t believe Cecile hadn’t told me anything about this. And I’m sure Sophie didn’t know either. She would’ve told me something if she did. And yes, Tobias had been in Europe to promote his film right after William was shot. I remember he wanted to stay here in New York, but he was obligated to go. I guess he went to Paris and sought her out.
“Stop acting like you didn’t know, Billie.” He turned around and walked away, taking an angry sip of his beer.
Damn it. “Tob!” I yelled at him. But he didn’t turn around. “Tobias!”
“Let him be. He’s drunk,” Nathan said, standing behind me and kissing my shoulder. “You did nothing wrong. He’ll be sorry tomorrow. And if not, I’ll make him.”
I blew out a breath. I’d never argued with Tobias before. And I didn’t like it one bit.
“I swear Cecile hasn’t mentioned a thing to me about it. Who’s Liam, by the way?” I asked Nathan in an annoyed tone. “Do you know him?” I thought it was absurd how Tobias was pissed at me because of some snitch-guy I didn’t even know.
“Ah, yes. Liam Kelly. Actor. Australian. He’s good friends with the Sjöbergs. He was at the Superbowl with us, actually.”
“Shit,” I said, looking over Nathan’s shoulder. Tobias ambled toward Cecile and Jordan’s table.
“What?” Nathan asked, turning around. “Shit, indeed.”
Tobias stood between them and talked to them, but we obviously couldn’t catch a thing. They were too far away. But he kept patting Jordan’s back. And the lack of concern in Cecile’s face was inspiring.
I want to be like her when I grow up.
She didn’t seem to care. Or at least that’s what she was letting on. But still, wow. I’d faint if I were in her position.
Nina and Aiden took a seat at another table. Sophie sat with Ren next to Cecile, but she observed their interactions with her big doe eyes.
I’d rather not watch.
“I’ll be right back.” I kissed Nathan’s cheek. “I’m going tothe loo,” I said that in a terrible British accent.
“Oh, my.” He laughed and kissed me back. “Why am I getting turned on by that?”
