“I’m sorry,” she gasps. “It’s just…”
“It’s okay.” I shake my head, smoothing down my shirt. “You were right to stop me. I might not have stopped myself.”
“I shouldn’t have let that happen,” she whispers, fingers still curled in my collar like she can’t decide whether to hold on or let go. “Because the truth is… my head is a mess.”
Lila swallow hard. “I have to tell you, Hale—I almost kissed Evan.”
The admission is so unexpected that all I can manage is pure confusion.
“Reyes?”
The name hits like a cold slap—jealousy, shock, and something uglier I don’t let myself call by name.
“It’s stupid. I mean, we didn’t kiss. We wouldn’t have. But there was a moment, and I wanted to.”
I’m not sure what to do with that. Is she saying she prefers another man?
“And then Noah…” She runs her fingers through her thick hair.
“What about him?”
“There’s something between us. I can feel it, but I haven’t acted on it. He’s probably not interested.”
I scoff, because that’s ridiculous. Of course Noah is interested in Lila. Who wouldn’t be?
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because this campaign is already a powder keg,” she says, voice shaking. “And if I’m going to be anywhere near you—near any of you—I can’t be careless.” “Honest about…?”
Lila shrugs. “I don’t know, actually.”
“So, you’re saying you’d rather it was Reyes kissing you in your kitchen right now. Not me.”
For some reason, I’m not entirely upset by that. It’s just so painfully obvious that Lila is an incredible woman with immeasurable beauty that I can’t resent my own men for desiring her. It’d be like getting angry at them because they also acknowledge the sky is blue and the grass is green.
“No!” Lila quickly protests. “I want—God, I really do want you. But it’s complicated. I want a lot of things right now, Hale. And sometimes, you really don’t always get to have everything you want.”
Indeed, I’ve never heard truer words than that. I sweep a hand over my face, scrubbing my stubble.
“Alright, then.”
She stares at me for a moment. “That’s it? Alright?”
I nod once. “Alright. I understand.”
“You’re not mad?”
“Why the hell would I be mad?”
“I’m mad at myself for forgetting where the line is,” I say instead, voice rough. “Not at you for being human.”
She tilts her head again, as if letting the world lay in a state of imbalance will help her see the path forward. But from the look on her face, it seems like Lila doesn’t know the answer to that question.
Shaking her head, she hops off the counter. I step toward the door.
“I’m sleeping here tonight, since I’m already home,” she says. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow? The third episode is shooting.”
“I’m off tomorrow.”
