Emily hoped no rumors would spread about this. She wasn’t part of his agency, but it didn’t seem like Nicolas cared. And a piece of her knew she shouldn’t either, because the truth was he’d just helped her tremendously.
What shocked her more was the fact that he never brought up what he did.
Emily woketo the smell of breakfast.
In the kitchen, her gaze caught a Post-it note, larger than the ones she’d been used to, with Nicolas’s cursive handwriting. He’d placed it beside her meal on the counter, right where she would see it. A sign that he’d already left for the day.
It had turned into routine.
No matter how busy he was, he still found time to leave behind a few words. There was something about the notes that felt more personal than a text. Holding this one, she felt that strange flutter again.
Early morning meeting at eight so I left first. Your breakfast should still be warm by the time you’re reading this. Eat it all. The housekeepers are also coming by at six to clean.
P.S. I’ll be home late.
Don’t wait up.
— Nicolas
Her face flushed red.
Who told him that she was going to wait for him anyway? As if she didn’t prioritize her beauty sleep.
In the next hour, Emily was at Starz’s building, ready to do something she’d been delaying.
Jake was having lunch in his office with papers scattered before him on the desk. At the sight of her, he abandoned them and took her into his arms. “Babe, you’ve finally come to see me! You’ve got to trust me,” he pleaded. “All those things about Stella and me are fake. You know how technology is these days. I’d never cheat on you?—”
“I know.”
He jerked back, shocked at her response. “You…know?”
She gave him a perfected smile. “I know you’d never do that to me, Jake.”
He was thrown into a fit of unexpected coughs. His lies were choking him. She wished they’d keep at it. Block his airway. Have him roll over and justdi?—
“That’s great, Emily.”
She blinked, taken aback by where her mind had gone. These days, her thoughts had gotten considerably darker. To be honest, they alarmed her quite a bit.
Was it the effect of her thirst for revenge?
Jake’s hand came up to rub at her arm.
The desire to twist it off was overwhelming.
“What’s a relationship without trust, babe? Nothing. That’s what it is.”
“Of course,” she managed to get out. “And I trust you more than anyone else.”
14
“Iswear,” Zariah said, “I married a man who thinks I’m a walking spice rack.”
Emily looked up from her teacup, amused. “What did he do now?”
“He asked me—no,quizzedme—on the difference between cilantro and parsley. Like I’m supposed to know that! I barely know the difference between basil and spinach when it’s on pizza.”
She snorted. “To be fair, they do look alike.”
