Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Despite not having eaten for hours, I don’t have an appetite, but I force myself to eat a little. Face to face, it’s nearly impossible to avoid eye contact with Cam and Wyatt, especially when they both seem intent on capturing my attention, their gazes lingering on me much longer than they should.
I can’t help but remember all of the other meals we’ve shared together, and all of the new experiences they introduced me to, and I want to cry with anger and frustration.
I turn my full focus to Jessie and somehow get through the meal, and finally, what seems like years later, we arrive home.
I thank the men at the car, hoping they’ll drive off, but they walk us up to the front door. I try to say goodbye there, but Wyatt touches my arm. “Can we please talk?”
His eyes are pleading, and I can’t say no, especially after the way they helped me this evening.
“Please,” Cam adds.
“I need to get Jessie to bed. Storytime, and all that.”
“We’ll wait.”
I shrug a shoulder, like it means nothing to me. “If you want.”
I give Marissa a sheepish look as the men follow me in, then update her on Jessie’s diagnosis. When I go off with Jessie to get her ready for bed, I leave the men with Marissa, half hoping she’ll give them an earful, but that’s not her style.
I take care of Jessie’s wrist according to the doctor’s instructions, then tuck her in and read her favorite book, one I could probably recite in my sleep. In the back of my mind, I try to anticipate what the men will say and how I’ll respond. I warn my heart not to get involved, and tell my head to remain in firm control.
After my sweet daughter has been asleep for several minutes, I tiptoe out, whispering, “I love you” to the dark room, and sending up a prayer of gratitude that she wasn’t hurt worse today.
Marissa’s in the living room watching TV, but she’s alone, and I’d be lying if I said a small wave of disappointment didn’t run through me.
“Did they leave?”
She looks toward the back door. “They’re out back. I think it was a bit frosty in here for them.” She arches an eyebrow, looking devious, and I laugh, even as my stomach is doing all sorts of fluttery things.
Outside, our traitorous little Goldfish is lying next to Cam, who’s sitting on the concrete. Wyatt’s in a chair; they’ve left the loveseat for me.
I sit down, my body stiff. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Thanks for agreeing to talk to us,” Wyatt says. “We just want to explain and apologize about the video.”
I frown as a little memory pings in my brain. Cam mentioned a video the morning after I found out about them and Trish. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“The video that was way over the top.” Something about Wyatt’s tone gives me the idea that he thinks I’m playing dumb.
“The one that was lewd and obnoxious,” Cam adds.
“I haven’t watched any of your videos in weeks, and I don’t care what goes on in your videos.”
Wyatt squints at me. “I’m talking about the video you saw that made you break up with us.”
Now I’m squinting back at him. We must look like two people trying to decipher a code printed in four-point type. “I broke up with you,” I say, looking at both him and Cam, “because you fucked Trish.”
CHAPTER 60
STELLA
From one extreme to another, their eyes go from narrow to wide as saucers. They also suddenly become hard of hearing. “What?!” they both say at the same time, raising their voices so much that I worry they’ll wake Jessie.
“I guess you didn’t realize I knew, but I did. You told me you didn’t want any other women, then you fucked your editor, and who knows how many other women.”
“We did not!” Wyatt says with conviction, though his voice is lower after seeing me glance toward Jessie’s bedroom window.
Cam’s on his feet now, and has disturbed Goldfish from his sleep. “Stella, where did you get an idea like that?”
I fold my arms over my chest and sit back against the cushion. “Directly from Trish herself. Why? Did you tell her to keep it a secret?”
“My god, Stella. We didn’t do that. We would never do that!” Wyatt’s at the edge of his seat, looking at me like I’m speaking a foreign language.
“Trish told you that?” Cam asks, incredulous. They’re both pretty convincing. Maybe they should try to use their internet fame to get acting jobs.
“She did. Was it just a one-time thing, or have you kept on fucking her?”
Cam falls to his knees and reaches for my hand, but I avoid his grasp. “Stella, it’s not true. We’ve never had sex with Trish. We haven’t so much as looked at another woman since we met you.”