I stop…and I realize my own words.
“You. You did all of this,” I say. “And you blamed me for it.”
And Damien believed it.
I shove up from the chair and open my purse but the bartender waves it away. Fine by me. The faster I can get away from Dylan the better. I need to get out of here, away from it all. I need to see Rachel, if she’ll even talk to me.
“I’m sorry.”
Rachel and I say the words at the same time the moment she opens the door. We embrace, sobbing into each other, and after a long moment, she takes me inside.
“Do you want a drink?” She asks as we make our way into the kitchen. “I have prosecco.”
“No,” I sniff.
“Tea?” she offers, and I spit out a laugh.
“Since when have you ever known me to drink tea?” I ask. “I’m all right. I don’t really need anything.”
“Ice cream?” she asks.
“Sure.”
We sit on the couch, one tub of mint chocolate chip and two spoons, both of us apologizing again and again. Finally she shakes her head. “No more, El. Just…tell me what happened from the beginning. No judgement, I promise.”
So I swallow a bite of ice cream and I tell my sister everything.
“He was…mesmerizing, Rache. I walked into that interview confident and determined. I wanted that job because I knew the kind of power he had. Everyone knows Damien Graves. Working for him was like reaching for a castle in the sky. But then I sawhim and something in me just…unraveled. I don’t know how I didn’t make the connection earlier. His eyes are the same as they were behind the mask six years ago. His touch was the same. His level yet gravelly voice. His…well…” I blush and so does she.
“Jesus…”
“Yeah. At first, I didn’t like him. He was sharp and mean and didn’t seem to think I could do the job. But I proved him wrong very quickly. Then, he showed me the contract. I’d heard rumors about men like him hiring women for things like this, but I didn’t think it was real…”
“This is Vegas. Anything can be real,” she mutters, and she’s not wrong.
“Obviously, I was determined to turn the job down. It was insane. But I went home, and I realized just how desperate I was.”
“No one can blame you,” Rachel says, touching my hand. “Especially with that much money on the table.”
“But that’s the thing,” I say, wiping my eyes as my chin starts to quiver again. “It wasn’t just for the money. It was him. He’s just…I’ve never felt like this before, Rache. It’s not money or status or anything else. It’s Damien. I…fell in love with Damien. And then when I realized who he was, who he is, and seeing him with Luca?” The tears begin to stream. “It’s too much. I let myself believe in too much.”
Rachel sets the ice cream aside and leans in. “But why? Why is it too much? You love him. You just said it. And clearly, he loves you too.”
I shake my head. “No. No, he does not.”
“What makes you say that?” she asks. “I’ve seen him with you. And with Luca.”
“Because he believes I am the one working with Dylan.”
Rachel shakes her head. “I don’t believe that,” she says. “I don’t believe that he buys that story at all. I think…he let himselffall for you and now he’s afraid. So, he is looking for any excuse not to love you. He’s a hard man, El. But hard men, once broken, love the hardest.”
I am quiet for a moment as I think about that. I am afraid to let myself believe it because if it is true, both of us are broken.
“I don’t think we can fix this,” I say softly. “He’s so angry with me right now.”
“Because he loves you,” she smiles.
Chapter 42
