Then I slid my phone in my pocket and leaned against the side of the trailer. Unfortunately, the fresh air did nothing to loosen the knot in my chest. Nothing had since the first time he’d told me I was overreacting.
I slipped back into the trailer just as Leah arrived. The supporting actress with a string of indie hits dropped into my chair and tilted her head toward the mirror.
Catching sight of my left hand, she murmured, “Wow, that ring is gorgeous. When’s the big day again?”
I draped a cape over her shoulders. “Three months.”
“Girl, I would’ve locked that man down as soon as he proposed.” She wagged her brows with a grin. “Reid Hawthorne is kind of a big deal.”
“Mm-hmm.” There was a time I couldn’t stop talking about Reid, but now it just hurt. Especially anything to do with the wedding. I dabbed some micellar water on a cotton pad to clean her face. “How’s the skin feeling today?”
“Good.” She tilted her head so I could smooth the pad over her face. “Your family must be thrilled. My mom would be throwing parades if I landed a partner in a law firm who represents half of the biggest names in town.”
I forced a laugh as I snagged a damp washcloth from the hot cabi. “Yeah, they’re excited.”
Excited was a major understatement. My mother had almost cried when I told her Reid proposed, and my sister had point-blank told me not to screw things up because he was out of my league.
I’d learned not to pay attention to the crap they said, but when things between Reid and me started to go sideways, I couldn’t help but wonder if they were right. That I’d never find someone better if I finally got fed up and called off our engagement. But not in the way they meant.
I didn’t care about Reid’s money or status.
When I lifted the washcloth off her face, Leah kept chatting, oblivious to the turn my thoughts had taken. Luckily, she shifted into everything she’d want for her dream wedding even though she wasn’t even dating anyone seriously at the moment.
It was a relief when I stepped back and studied her face under the lights, making one final adjustment to the blush. The look was camera-ready, exactly what the studio was paying me for.
“You’re all set.”
Leah beamed and squeezed my hand. “Thanks, Lila.”
I had maybe ten minutes before the next talent arrived, so I sank into the makeup chair and pulled my phone out again. My text thread with Reid came onto the screen. I read over our last few messages again, then locked the phone and pressed it to my chest.
I couldn’t keep shoving down my feelings so I wouldn’t come across as a jealous fiancée. Couldn’t let the things my family said make me too insecure to speak up for myself.
I was one of the most in-demand makeup artists in the industry, getting paid top dollar by the studio, yet I was still waiting on a man who refused to protect our relationship from a paralegal who had decided she wanted my fiancé.
Twisting the engagement ring on my finger, I watched the diamond catch the light. The night he slid this on my finger had been the happiest of my life. Now the band felt heavy.
I couldn’t sit across from him at dinner tonight and make small talk while Kaylee’s shadow loomed between us. Reid needed to finally hear me. To set real boundaries with her.
I slipped the ring off for a second, holding it in my palm. My hand looked strangely bare without it, so I took a slow breath and slid the ring back on. Then I opened our text thread again.
My thumbs moved before I could second-guess myself.
Me
Hope you’re not too tired tonight. We have some stuff to talk about.
Opting to keep it vague, I hit send. Then I stood and got back to work. My hands were steady even though my pulse wasn’t.
Whatever happened at dinner tonight, things with Reid were going to change. They had to.
2
REID
The sun was dipping low when I leaned back in my chair, rubbing the bridge of my nose as I scanned the latest draft of the contract on my monitor. We’d locked in twelve million guaranteed plus first-dollar gross participation for my client, his biggest deal yet. If the movie exploded, his paycheck would too. I definitely earned the hefty retainer he paid the firm.
My phone buzzed with a notification from the managing partner.
