Page 78 of The Unexpected

“Hey, don’t look like that. It’s not set in stone or anything. It was just an idea.”

I shake my head and force a smile I don’t feel. This feels exactly like how my life was before, smiling and doing what was expected rather than what I wanted. I thought I’d shaken that girl, but she’s still in there, ready to rear her ugly, pathetic head when I least expect it.

“It’s fine. I think it’s a great idea. You’re amazing in them and your fans adore you.”

I walk off toward the stand to order our food and feel him behind me. I blink furiously to stop the tears. The last thing I need is pictures of me ugly crying at Disney all over social media.

“Can you order for me while I pop to the ladies’ room?”

Xander frowns but nods. As I go to step past him he puts a palm on my belly to stop me and my body lights up from his touch.

“Baby, I’m sorry I upset you.”

God, he’s such a good man, even now when I’m hurting I can recognize that. “You didn’t. Just have the bladder of a gnat, that’s all.”

He gives me a long look then nods and I escape his knowing eyes. I round the corner and see Beck walking toward me and my heart flutters at how gorgeous he is, my chest aching with love for him. He smiles and everything seems better, I feel safe again. He moves up to me and his eyes scan me before a scowl falls over his brow.

“What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Amelia.” I wince at his low growl. I don’t know why I attempted to lie. He knows me too well for me to get away with it. He reaches out and pinches my chin, bringing my eyes to his face. We’re so close and all I want is his lips on mine.

“Xander said his manager was looking to extend his current contract to include a spin-off of his character.”

“So?”

“That would mean we’re stuck in this purgatory for longer and he didn’t discuss it with us. Don’t you think that’s kind of wrong?”

Beck rubs his thumb over my lip as he looks at me and I can feel his need for me underneath his concern. It was always there, I just never saw it until recently and it makes me feel silly.

“It’s a tricky thing to navigate for him, especially with our relationship so established. Perhaps he feels like he’s still on the outside and he doesn’t know if he should discuss his future career with us. And we haven’t exactly been Len’s biggest fans, so maybe we’re the problem.”

Guilt rushes through me at the thought I hadn’t considered. This must be hard for Xander, to come into this even though I was with him first. Beck and I have a deep history that he isn’t part of. I let my head fall to Beck’s chest and he wraps his arms around me as I turn my face into his neck, inhaling his masculine scent. To anyone watching it’s innocent enough, but it feels intimate to me. Probably because of how he makes me feel.

I lift my head. “I feel shit now for overreacting.”

“He’ll forgive you. Xander isn’t a man to hold a grudge but he’s sensitive. We need to make sure he knows that we’re in this with him, not against him.”

I smile up at my best friend, now my lover, and feel such a huge wave of love for him it takes my breath away. “How did I get so lucky to have you in my life?”

He rubs his nose against my cheek, before kissing the corner of my mouth quickly, and then pulling away as if he suddenly remembers he can’t touch me like this because I’m meant to be Xander’s and only his. “Pretty sure I’m the one who got lucky.”

I turn to the stand where Xander is speaking to a woman with two small children, grinning at him like he’s a god. “Maybe we both did.”

“Yeah, you might be right.”

“I’m going to go freshen up. Meet you at the food stand.”

“Yeah. I’ll make sure Xand is okay and not getting mobbed by sex-hungry housewives.”

“Not just housewives.”

The side of his face tilts up as I watch him walk away before I head to the ladies’ room. Luckily it’s quiet as I shut the stall door before sitting on the toilet and taking a minute. How did things get serious so quickly? We were having so much fun and then with a few comments I turned into some deranged, insecure woman. Is our relationship so weak it can’t stand one day out of our bubble without me falling apart?

I think about what Beck said about Xander possibly feeling left out in some way and guilt assails me. I forget sometimes that he’s only been in my life a short time because to me he fits. I can’t imagine him not being in my life, but perhaps I haven’t translated that to him like I should.

I know one thing, and that’s we won’t solve it here so I just need to let it go and enjoy our day. I’ll talk to Xander and Beck at a later date, maybe when we get home, and make my feelings clear to them both. Then, whatever happens, happens.

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