“No, of course not. But we both felt emotion in those kisses. I know there was something there.”
“Chemistry.”
“No, it was more. And he just blew them off as kisses to make the ‘fake girlfriend gig’ look even more convincing.”
“Why did you kiss him?”
“I was attracted to him from day one. You know that. He’s gorgeous, and when he looked at me, well, I couldn’t resist. I was kissing him for real. It wasn’t just for show. I don’t know. I’m so confused.”
“The job’s over, right? So just forget about him.”
“You never kissed him. You can’t forget a kiss like that. You just can’t.”
“At least you didn’t sleep with him.”
I blew out a long breath. “If I couldn’t get over a kiss, I’d never get over that.”
“So forget about the kisses.”
“How many men can kiss like that? He kissed me like no one has ever done before.”
“But he’s a player. He kisses girls on a daily basis. It’s what he does. So, of course he’s experienced. He’s an asshole. And he has to hire somebody to make him look like he’s a saint. Just run away while you still can.”
“His kiss was addictive.”
“Because he gets lots of practice. Now enough about the kiss! Everything worked out. You did him a big favor, and you got paid. Case closed.”
“I left a day early. I’m not sure if he’ll even pay me the rest now.”
“Of course, he will. So what if you bailed out a day early because you got your feelings hurt? You accomplished the job. And if he doesn’t pay you, then he’ll have to deal with me. And I’ll give him hell.”
“I know you would.”
“You should’ve let me take the acting gig. I wouldn’t have gotten involved. I love Barry way too much to hurt him.”
“And Barry would’ve flipped out about the proposal.”
“Yeah, that might’ve messed things up. It’s a good thing I didn’t take the job.”
“Let’s put it behind us, okay?”
“Okay.”
I hung up and pondered everything. I was so gullible. I tried to tell myself that those kisses meant nothing. But deep down, I knew they meant something to me. I just wish they would’ve meant something to him.
Filled with fresh vindication, I deleted his number and ringtone from my phone and hurled myself down on my bed, feeling about
as terrible as possible.
For one of the first times in my life, I didn’t dream.
Chapter 3
To my extreme relief, when I woke up the next morning, everything was perfectly ordinary. There were no galas to attend, no fundraisers with people I didn’t know, no photographers camped outside my window. Because they probably still thought I was in the Caribbean with Marcus. Everything had gone back to the way it was supposed to be. Life had moved on, and I was certainly ready to move on with it.
I’d gotten up a few minutes before my alarm, and took an uncharacteristic morning shower—usually I was a night person. After quickly blow-drying my hair, I let it fall in loose waves down my back, enjoying the stray curls as I applied a thin dusting of makeup. When I was satisfied, I pulled on my favorite amethyst scrubs and a pair of new running shoes my mom had gotten me in an effort to make me work out. I even wore my lucky robot socks.
Yep—it was time for a fresh start, and I was going to put my best foot forward. No pun intended. Fine. Pun…kind of intended.