“Thanks,” she replied with a weak grin, which grew smaller as she looked at another post. “I really hope people like the trilogy, especially since it’s complete now.”
I opened my mouth to tell her how fantastic book three was. I’d literally had to force myself to put it down when I noticed the bookstore employee relieving Serenity from the signing. Even now, I itched to slip away with her as soon as possible so I could dive back into Ember and Krail’s story.
But before I could tell her any of this, Bradley leaned closer to her and nodded his head hard while shooting a brief glare my way. “They’ll love it. You’re a great writer.”
Serenity looked up from her phone to frown at her ex. “You’ve not read my books, Bradley.”
Thatmade my brows shoot up, and I fixed my stare across the table. “You haven’t read her books?”
Bradley shifted in his seat and fixed his narrowed eyes on me while grumbling defensively, “No. I’m a busy guy. My job is very demanding, so I have little free time for things like reading a book.”
“It’s notabook. It’sherbook.”
Silence descended, and while I hadn’t thought it possible, the tension grew. Even the blondy next to me had abandoned his phone to watch mine and Bradley’s stare-off.
The more I learned about Bradley and how he’d treated Serenity during their relationship, the weaker my hold got on my human guise. He didn’t like reading? Fine. He was busy. Understandable. But he’d been with Serenity for eight years. They’d had plans to spend forever together, yet he couldn’t make the time to read even one goddamn book to support and encourage her? It wasn’t a random book; it washerbook. These stories were a piece of Serenity, her heart and soul given form on paper, yet he’d dismissed that gift as an unimportant inconvenience.
This man was worthless.
Serenity suddenly cleared her throat and got to her feet. “I sure am thirsty. How about I get us water?”
She was trying to diffuse the tension, but it wasn’t going to work. I stood to help her, and Bradley immediately parroted me, claiming he wanted to help, too. Serenity looked at a loss as the three of us went to the bar, grabbing water, before returning tothe table where Johnie-boy still sat, playing on his phone. Why was he even here?
I looked at Serenity, who seemed to be growing more and more uncomfortable as she idly stirred her straw in her drink and looked around the bar.
Why werewehere?
The reason I’d had didn’t seem good enough anymore.
“Want to dance or anything?” Bradley asked her, pointing at the fairly empty dance floor in front of the stage.
Serenity refocused on her phone with an anxious nibble on her lip. “No thanks. I need to check my sales for today. I didn’t get a chance at the signing, so …”
I studied her face and the hope in her eyes as she pulled up whatever report gave her today’s figures. Release day sales were huge for authors, especially an indie author like her. Even I knew that. After finding out that Serenity was one of my new favorite authors, I yearned to see her succeed even more than I already had.
I watched her for any signs of excitement over good numbers, but instead of a cheerful laugh, she froze. Her lips parted slightly, and I could practicallyhearher hope breaking and dissolving. The light left her eyes, and her shoulders slumped. A knife dug deep into my chest at the sight. I saw the defeat, the despair, the doubt engulfing her mind, and my gut reaction was to wrap her in my arms to weather that storm with her.
“Will you get off that thing?” Bradley sighed, reaching over to rest his hand on Serenity’s wrist. “It’s clearly just bringing your mood down.”
“Sorry,” Serenity mumbled so softly, I wasn’t sure the two humans at the table could even hear the broken sound in the word. She turned the phone off and put it away.
“We’re supposed to be celebrating right now,” Bradley plowed on. “You don’t seem to have a very celebratory spirit.Come on. Stop being so blah and just be happy. You released a book today!”
I ground my teeth as Serenity closed her eyes and murmured a brief excuse about needing to go to the bathroom. I didn’t watch her go. My venomous eyes were locked on the bastard across from me.
I rested my arm on the table and reached for my drink. I sipped on it with an air of nonchalance while my insides went wild with rage. My voice somehow came out calm as I drew, “Great advice, man. I’m sure ‘just being happy’ never occurred to her. What a brilliant idea. You just found the cure for struggles with mental health right there.”
Bradley’s face went red, and his cheeks puffed out. “What’s your fucking problem, dude?”
“You and your shit comments.”
“No one asked for your opinion. Why are you even here? You don’t know me. You don’t know Serenity. How about you just mind your own fucking business?”
I slammed my glass down and snarled, “When you talk to her like that, youmakeit my business. You don’t want me pointing out your dumb shit? Then don’t fucking say it.”
Bradley blew out a hard breath and tugged at the roots of his hair. “Why do you care so much? Are—Are you two dating?”
I curled my lip in an arrogant sneer while resuming my drinking. I watched him over the rim of the glass. If he thought I was going to answer that, he was mistaken. I refused to give him the satisfaction of an answer. Instead, he could wallow in not knowing what she and I were or what lines we’d crossed.
