Page 99 of Heart to Heart
“I’m so sorry, Jay. Tell them it was my fault, that I kidnapped you or held you hostage.”
“Yes, because that’s completely plausible. It’s fine, Avery. I wasn’t planning on being employed that much longer, anyway. At least, not in California. I’m planning on moving.”
“To be with Sasha?” He nodded, and I thought I detected the hint of a blush across his cheeks.
“I’m happy for the two of you. At least someone made a love connection on the show.”
“What do you mean by that?” he asked. “That man has it bad for you. He has since the beginning. We all wondered why there even was a show.”
“Then Jessica came along, and he made his choice.”
“Jessica? He doesn’t want anything to do with Jessica.”
“That’s not what she said, standing half naked in his hotel room, wearing nothing but his shirt.”
“But didhetell you that?”
“Well, no, but—” I paused as the realization struck me that I’d put the puzzle together using the wrong pieces.
“All I’m going to say is I’ve been doing this job for a few years now. I know the reputation Tristan has, and I know the reputation Jessica Davis has. The man screwed up once, and no one has let him live it down. The difference between them is that he owns his mistakes while she hides hers. If you didn’t hear it from him, I wouldn’t believe it.”
Sick to my stomach, I scrolled through my phone, through social media messages from people I hadn’t spoken to since high school and text messages from Guy that I deleted without reading. My voicemail was full of calls I wouldn’t be returning. What had I done? Tristan had the world turn its back on him when he needed someone the most, and what was I doing? Turning my back on him. I knew Jessica had lied to me. I didn’t even need to hear it from Tristan.
“Go to YouTube and searchTristan Tate Twitterpated. I don’t think you’ll question much after that.”
I did as Jay suggested, pulling up a fan-made video with over a million views. Tears streamed down my face when scene after scene of Tristan looking at me evolved from awe the first daywe met, to admiration, and then to affection, and somewhere in between, love. If I hadn’t realized what I already knew, I would know without a doubt now that Tristan was enamored with me.
“We need to go back,” I said, wiping the tears from my eyes.
“That’s great and all, but I don’t think we’ll be able to anytime soon. This traffic isn’t exactly moving.”
Jay’s phone rang again, and he looked at me in the mirror questioningly.
“Let me answer,” I said, reaching out my hand. He handed me the phone. “Tristan.”
“Avery,” a voice that wasn’t Tristan’s answered the phone, “this is John. Hold on, I’ll hand the phone over.”
“Avery,” Tristan answered, his voice shaking. “Listen, what Jessica told you...”
“I know it’s not true,” I blurted out.
“You do? How?”
“Because I know you, Tristan.”
The phone grew silent at the other end before he spoke again. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. I thought she was different, that she’d grown up.”
“You don’t need to apologize. I’m sorry I ran. Jay and I will be heading back to the hotel. We’re stuck in traffic right now. It’s at a standstill, so it may be a while.”
“Stuck in traffic? Where?”
I looked up at Jay, who answered, “The 680”, having heard the question.
“The 680,” I answered.
“You’re on the 680? We’re stuck in traffic on the 680, too. Where are you? What are you near?”
I looked out the window. “I’m not quite sure where we are.”
