“I know, right? Just one of themany perks of stardom.”
I catch another big shot comingin, as indicated by all the flashes sparking back to life. As I see the guy,wearing shades and flashing an all-too-familiar smile, I’m horrified.
It’s Jordan. In a black suitblazer and an emerald-green tie, he holds hands with his current love interest,Ryan Sharidon, star of an hour-long network television hospital drama. Jordan’shair is spiked, his chiseled jawline sharp as ever. His shoulders appearbroader than usual in his suit jacket, leading me to believe he’s in evenbetter shape than when we were together.
My heart races. Sweat collects onmy forehead.
I want to spring from my chair andhead to the bathroom to get away from it all, but I know that will just delaythe inevitable. Gotta keep my cool.
As Bryce detects my discomfort, heglances behind him. He eyes me uneasily, and I know it’s because he’s thinkingthe same goddamn things as everyone else.
Now I really don’t want to behere.
But as Jordan has the audacity toapproach our table, I rise and offer a friendly smile and a hug. “So good tosee you.”
“You, too. Tad, you’ve met Ryan.”
“Yeah. Good to see you again. Jordan,this is Bryce.”
Bryce and Jordan shake hands. “Beenhearing a lot about you. How you enjoying all this craziness?”
“It’s a lot,” Bryce confesses in atone that suggests it’s far more than he could handle long-term. He doesn’trealize he’s throwing me under the bus. Being where we’ve been, Jordan and Iknow how difficult it is to date people who aren’t in the spotlight. Not justfrom our own experience, but from watching friends make the same attempts andfail. This life isn’t for everyone. After we finish our brief exchanges andintroductions, Jordan and Ryan follow the host to their table.
“I think I’m gonna head to thebathroom real quick,” I say.
Soon, I’m hovering over thetoilet, gasping for air after releasing what remained of lunch.
It was nearly unbearable seeingJordan with one of the guys he’d been cheating on me with. My chest burned likea motherfucker when he was standing right in front of me. I just wanted to pounceon him and beat the crap out of him.
I fold my arms and fall backagainst the stall door.
My muscles are tense. I’m shakingwith rage.
It reminds me of the night I discoveredthe texts in his phone. When I saw that he’d been cheating on me with, not one,but four different guys.
I was devastated. I tried to givehim a chance to come clean, and when he didn’t and I presented him with theevidence, it pained me to see him defend himself. To see him act like thecomplex nature of our relationship demanded that we live like that. Then weekslater, to be the one the media pinned it all on—to have them treat me like Iwas the one doing that to him—was just painful. It felt so twisted that eventhough I hadn’t done anything wrong, I was the one getting slammed for doingthe very thing I despised Jordan for doing to me.
“Just get it together,” I tellmyself. “Get it to-fucking-gether.”
Because he can’t see me fallapart. He’s already seen that once. He doesn’t get to have that satisfactionagain.
Twenty-Seven
Bryce
I can only imagine how startled Tad was to see Jordan here.To have to face the very guy who fucked him over had to be painful.
My thoughts drift back to Jeff—towhen I discovered his indiscretion. I fucking hated him for what he did to me,but in the end, I forgave him and took him back. One time had been hard enoughon me, had been nearly too much for me to handle, so I can’t even imagine what Tadmust have gone through when he discovered Jordan’s betrayal.
The waiter comes by and sets abasket of chicken wings between us. Tad starts to glance over to Jordan’stable, but then shifts his gaze to me. “Well,” he says, “tonight’s going to be aninteresting night.”
Yes, it is.
An awkward silence extends from finishingthe wings through when our entrees arrive. We’re both lost in our thoughts.
“They say time heals all wounds,”Tad says as he cuts into his steak.
“But some wounds leave scars,” Isay.
