The room empties, but Cash lingers at the door. He catches my eye, mouthsI’m sorry, then the door clicks shut behind him.
I look at Miles. “This is?—”
“You should take it.”
THIRTY-NINE
Summer stares at me. “What?”
“The tour. LA. All of it.” I force myself to look at her. “How could you not? This is what you’ve been working for.”
I sound so reasonable.
So supportive.
So full of shit.
I’ve been telling myself this since Spencer started talking, replaying it all in my head like game tape.Be supportive. Be happy for her. Don’t make this harder than it already is.
Still, saying the words out loud feels like a puck to the ribs.
“Miles, they want me to pretend I’m dating Cash.” Her voice rises. “You got that part, right?”
That adds a knife to my gut, but I manage to shrug. “I know it’s fake. And I trust you.”
That part’s true.
“It doesn’t bother me.”
That part’s not.
She shakes her head, searching my face. “How are you okay with this?”
I’m not. I’m the opposite of okay. I’m watching the best thing that’s ever happened to me slip away.
But what’s the alternative? Ask her to stay? Turn down the opportunity of a lifetime? Watch her resent me months from now, when she realizes what she gave up?
I’ve watched what happens when someone sacrifices something for you.Vanessa. The slow burn of resentment that doesn’t give a warning, just shows up one day in the way someone looks at you across a room.
No.
I won’t be that guy. Won’t be the reason she looks back and wonders “what if.”
I press my tongue against the back of my teeth, trying to find words that aren’t a lie. “Because I know what happens if you don’t go,” I finally settle on.
She lets out a breath. “What?”
“You’ll regret it.” I step closer. “Maybe not today. Maybe not next week. But eventually. And when you do, you’ll look at me and wonder what your life could’ve been if I hadn’t been in the way.”
“You’renotin the way?—”
“If you stay. If you turn this down because of me.” My voice is rough. “I’llbe the reason. Don’t try to tell me there’s anything else keeping you in Chicago, Starling.”
Summer shakes her head, emotion building right before my eyes.
I cup her face in my hands. “I won’t be the person who holds you back.”
Her eyes shine, but she won’t let the tears fall.
