Page 82 of Christmas Crisis
“What?” I asked.
“It’s nothing.” Maneuvering his laptop away from his face, he gave me a view of his profile.
“You sure?”
He ran a hand through his hair, the blond strands longer than usual. Finally, he said, “I have my computer set up to alert me when Stone gets mentioned online.” I startled, and he defended himself. “Don’t give me that look, Miranda. My best friend is in a secret relationship with a guy who is in a public relationship with someone else. And I’m the only one who knows. I just wanted to keep up in case you…needed me. Since I don’t really do socials or anything.”
The thing was, I believed him. I knew he was just looking out for me. Still, I recognized a knot of shame in my belly, thinking about how Leo had seen all the pictures of my boyfriend laughing, kissing, and going out with another woman.
It might have been irrational—probably the result of beer and candy on an empty stomach—but I resented the fact that Leo had seen those photos.
Despite already deciding to end things with Stone, I felt the need to justify myself.
“You know all that with Naomi is fake, right? It’s just PR.”
“I know.” He gave me a soft look through the camera, facing it directly again. “I only want you to be okay.”
Was that pity in his voice?
I pursed my lips before whooshing out a breath. “So what did your computer alert you to?”
His eyes darted to the right, like he was looking at something else on his screen. “A pic of Stone and Naomi at a Halloween party tonight. No big deal.”
I opened my phone, and it popped up right away on my feed. Stone and Naomi at some producer’s home in the Hollywood Hills. Dressed in a couple’s costume as ketchup and mustard bottles.
I blinked hard when I saw it.
Forgetting that Leo could see me.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing really,” I hushed out, narrowing my gaze at the image. “It’s just weird, you know. Ketchup and mustard. I could almost see it if he was dressed up as, like, a shirtless barbarian and Naomi was a sexy kitten or something.” I released a humorless laugh. “This just seems sowholesome.”
It wasn’t real. The strain in Stone’s eyes and the tightness of his jaw didn’t escape me. I knew what it looked like when he didn’t want to be somewhere. But it would look very real to anyone else.
“You’re upset,” Leo stated flatly.
I nodded. “I’ll be okay. It just wears on me sometimes.”
Seeing my boyfriend so committed to this act with Naomi reminded me again how I’d allowed myself to become a ghost in my relationship. Knowing I was going to end things with Stone,I found it easier to sit with my reaction to the picture. I’d be off this train soon.
But Leo didn’t know that.
“Panda,” he whispered. “Please. I hate this for you. Hate that he makes you feel this way. This isn’t something you should have to live with.”
It had been a long time since Leo voiced that sentiment out loud, even though his objections to Stone had never diminished. Part of me wanted to inform him that I’d decided to end my relationship, but Stone deserved to know first.
“It’s fine, Bear. I’m fine. Promise.”
His expression fell. He’d heard—and obviously misinterpreted—the resignation in my voice.
“I don’t believe you,” he said, gritting his teeth. “I see how this is getting to you, and now I have to wonder how many times it happens when I don’t see it.” The camera angle changed, and he placed his laptop on the coffee table. His disembodied torso filled my screen as he stood. “How many times have these pictures made you miserable?” he demanded, arms waving in front of him. “You’re asking a lot of me to watch this and not be infuriated on your behalf.”
“Who’s asking you to do that? Certainly not me.” As much as I understood that Leo was coming from a good place, this wasn’t what I needed right now. My tone pitched higher. “I don’t need you to lecture me about Stone.”
“Are you sure?” he growled, flopping back down on the couch. “Because it feels like someone needs to. I thought staying quiet was the right thing to do. But maybe that makes me a terrible friend. Maybe I should have been pushing you on this all along.”
I huffed. “I guarantee you I do not appreciate being pushed. Not then, and definitely not now. This”—I flicked my finger back and forth between my chest and the camera—“isn’t helping. You’ve made your position clear. I know exactly where you standon my relationship with Stone. No good can come from your reminding me. Now you’re just making me angry.”
