The prolonged, uncomfortable silence was made worse by the way he crossed his strong arms over his broad chest and set his long legs wide apart, as if ready topounce.
“Well?” His deep voice stirred parts of her she had forgottenexisted.
Izzie opened her mouth to reply. No sounds came out, which annoyed her because it was so out ofcharacter.
“I never thought I’d live to see the day. Little Miss Isolde Anderson at a loss for words. I’ll be damned.” His irony wasn’t lost on her. When they were kids growing up in North Ranch, they used to argue endlessly about any and all insignificant details. It got worse when they started dating while they were going to Westlake High. Except, then, arguments would end up in hot make-out sessions, when in public, or sweaty mind-blowing sex, if behinddoors.
Don’t gothere!
Shaking her head to dismiss images of Tristan’s muscled legs tangled with hers, or his strong fingers digging into the soft flesh of her hips as he drove her wild, Izzie took a deep breath. The memories weakened her knees and made her see things that weren’t there. Like his eyes turning a darker shade of indigo blue, making her think she picked up a flicker of heat in them. The kind of heat they used to generate in the past instead of today’s anger. It was gone before she could be sure. His gaze went back to the cold rejection that chilled her to the bone, despite the sultry tropicalair.
Eager to break the silence, she blurted the first thing that came to mind, “How’sLilly?”
ReallyIzzie?!
A nerve ticked in his jaw, indicating he agreed that was a stupid thing to say. “Peachy. Thanks forasking.”
He slouched his shoulders when she asked about his mother just as another pained glint flashed in his eyes before the scowl returned to defyher.
Liar,she thought, surprised she could still tell he was hidingsomething.
She had lost the right to that a long timeago.
She turned her chin up to hide her pain and sighed. “You’re not making this anyeasier.”
“I wasn’t aware I was supposedto.”
When she lied to him, she also lost the right to expect him to be compassionate. It didn’t matter that she had lied to protect him. He never learned that. He only knew the lie. She didn’t regret that part, the protecting Tristanbit.
It was the right thing to dothen.
The only thing todo.
That didn’t make it any easier for her to endure his scornnow.
She landed her dream deal with a record company at thirteen, too inexperienced to realize she was about to start on a path to fame and misfortune. Head over heels in love with her best friend, Izzie thought she could conquer the world as long as Tristan was by her side. And conquer the rock and roll world she did, with him as her partner. Tristan wrote the words that her fans screamed out in packed-full stadiums on sold-out tours around the world. He gave her the confidence she lacked to pour her heart out in every recordingsession.
He was herrock.
He was herhaven.
When Izzie broke him, she lost so much more than his love. She lost herground.
She needed to convince Tristan she had changed, but how could she ask him to forgive her, when she had never forgivenherself?
4
Tristan
Tristan’s headpounded with a vengeance. He was aware it would be painful to meet Izzie again, but that devastating emptiness in his chest made for an unpleasant surprise. He always thought he would get furious, outraged even. When he envisioned that hypothetical encounter, he pictured himself dismissing Izzie with a few well-deserved arcticremarks.
He thought he was over herbetrayal.
He thought he was over her.Period.
Instead, his blood turned to lava at the sight of her perfect round face framed by pitch black hair cut way too short. Large green eyes sparkled in the dim light of the restaurant, accentuating a turned-up nose and heart-shaped lips that wore a pale shade of rose. Such a subdued color, lightyears away from the dark mauve hues that used to stain his tank tops and mark his chest along with various other parts of hisanatomy.
Don’t gothere!
