The prickle in my nose was an unwelcome reminder of the feelings I thought I’d gotten past. I guess seeing it all play out from a different perspectivedidchange things. Yeah, Drew had thrown up plenty ofred flags, but I kept seeing unmistakable green flag sweetness from Drew that contrasted with the negatives.
No. I couldn’t allow myself to fall for the fiction on screen. Drew had made it clear where we stood. We were done.
“You don’t like my popcorn,” Nora said glumly.
I glanced down at the full bowl in my lap. “No, it’s delicious. I just don’t really have an appetite.”
The show had moved on to a new secondary storyline about the band getting their first dance wrong. I’d been so in my head at the wedding that much of the night was a blur.
“Was watching a bad idea?” Nora asked.
I shrugged a shoulder. “How could I not watch? I had to see firsthand how they’d frame us, and the resort.”
“Oh shit, that’s right!” Nora exclaimed. “I totally forgot this was Drew’s Hail Mary play at redemption. I think they nailed it. I’m ready to book my imaginary wedding there.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Dorian was a gigantic pain in the ass but he did all of us a solid. He could’ve included negative stuff like the green screen debacle but he didn’t. And the establishing shots of the resort are stunning. I think they’re going to be booked out for years thanks to the show and my phone has been ringing too. I’ve got a half dozen new clients and my DMs are flooded with requests from suppliers to try their products.”
The show was winding down and I had to wonder if the viewers noticed the lack of airtime given to me and Drew in the final moments. Obviously the focus was on Kristen and Carter, but after following us as a secondary plotline it would’ve made sense to close the show with at least one double interview with the two of us.
The problem was we’d both pretended to be too busy to make it happen, so they’d wound up doing brief solo interviews with each of us. I’d found my inner actress and grinned my way through my parting wishes for the happy couple.
“You’re so good,” Nora muttered.
It cut to Drew and I gasped at how shellshocked he looked. At least, he looked that way tome.I’m sure to the rest of the world he appeared just as polished as ever. Nora reached over to grab my hand.
He was talking about how much fun he had working with Kristen and Carter, and how he could always tell which couples would make it. He said he knew that ‘Carten’ was a winning combination from the first time he met with them.
Total liar, but whatever.
Dorian’s voice asked him aboutourchances of lasting as a couple and I gasped.
“Turn it off,” I commanded, jumping to my feet. “No need to watch him bullshit the world. I lived through enough of it.”
Nora turned it up instead.
“Our chances?” Drew mused. He was smiling but I could see the storm clouds in his eyes. “Oh, I have no doubt that I’ve found my person. She’s everything I want in a woman. She keeps me sane and makes me crazy at the same time. There’s no one in the world like Emilia Marino, and I’m so proud to call her mine.” A beat while Drew stared directly into the camera.
At me.
“She’s my forever.”
The tears came out of nowhere, and Nora jumped up and wrapped herarms around me. I dropped my head onto her shoulder and leaned into my bleakness.
“He’s so fucking stupid,” I sobbed.
“Shh, I know. Just let it out. You’ve been bottled up for too long. Have a good cry and then you’ll feel better.”
I cried for what could’ve been, and what we’d lost. My tears were tinged with my anger at Drew, but were mainly just filled with a bone-deep sadness that wasn’t going to dissipate after this cry session.
Or the next.
No, the Drew-scars were going to remain for a while. I could only hope that eventually they’d fade and allow me to trust my heart again.
30
DREW
Iknew better than to assume Harrison’s surprise invitation to go surfing was just a fun hang. I could smell ulterior motives in the air, but I played dumb and agreed to it anyway because I needed the distraction. Anything to get out of my own head after last night.
