Page 106 of Love You Like This

“No.” I shake my head. “It was early enough that I could take a course of two medications. Ended up feeling like the worst period of my life.”

“Okay. Good.” She tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. “The girls took care of you?”

“Yes. Shan, Steph, and Amber were amazing.” I look at her. “Are you disappointed in me?”

“Not at all. I could never be disappointed in you.”

The air whooshes out of my lungs in relief. More tears sting my eyes. I hadn’t realized how much it would mean to come fully clean to my mom. Eighteen-year-old me needed this conversation so badly.

A heavy knock sounds at the door, interrupting our conversation. We both look at each other when the knock comes quickly again. It’s too heavy and frantic to be another delivery.

“Jade?”

Mom’s eyes flare at the sound of Xander’s voice. I should have known he’d come here to look for me. I mouth to her that I’m going to hide and for her to pretend I’m not here.

I walk into the guest room and stand by the door, so I can eavesdrop on their conversation.

“Xander? Lovely to see you.”

“You, too. Is Jade here?”

“No. Do you need me to pass on a message? Is it about the band?”

“No, no. It’s just a personal thing.”

“Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?”

Mom? What the fuck? I scowl at her through the wall.

“No, thank you.” His voice trails off as if he’s trying to develop x-ray vision and see through the walls.

“Do you want me to pass along a message if I speak to her?”

“She knows I’m looking for her.”

No shit. My mind flashes back to the video from my doorbell camera.

“Okay. Congratulations on the tour.”

“Thank you.” I can hear the warmth in his voice. “It was good seeing you.”

“Same to you.” I hear the jingle of her bracelets as her arms move, maybe giving him a hug. “Swing by any time.”

“I will. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you more in the future.”

He is confident, I’ll give him that. I wait to come out until Mom closes the door, and I hear the lock flip. Her brows lift as high as they can when we lock eyes.

“You can hide out here as long as you need to figure out what your plan is, but I think he’ll be coming back. He doesn’t seem remotely interested in giving you space or time.”

“I know.”

My heart twinges at the thought of him waking up alone today. Especially after last night. It was shitty, but I didn’t want the paparazzi to get photos of me leaving. I also just need space to think. There were already comments on the article I read suggesting I slept my way to the top. It’s exactly what I didn’t want to have happen.

I do love Xander, but I also love my job and hate that this forces me to choose. What would another possible employer think about this? All it will take is one Google search for them to find this story. I’ll be haunted by it for the rest of my life. The question is what would haunt me more, losing Xander or my professional reputation?

I’m out on the balcony soaking up some sun and watching the traffic below while I wait for Darren to show up. I finally responded to his flurry of messages after taking a shower and thinking about how to approach this mess. I still don’t know, and that’s exactly why I needed to call him in.

My arms are braced on the railing when the glass door slides open behind me.