Wade nodded and continued to eat his hamburger. The second I left the café, I ripped into Liam. “How dare you! You don’t even know Wade. He works for my father and brother and happens to be a friend of mine and part of our family. You don’t hear me complaining that you’re living with your ex. And the last time I checked, Liam, I don’t remember us being exclusive.”
“Is that what you want? To see other people?”
“Liam! We’ve barely gone out on two dates.”
“We’ve fucked plenty of times.”
“Oh, so that makes us boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“Maybe!” he shouted over the phone.
“Have you gone out with anyone since I’ve left?”
“No.”
I sighed. “Neither have I, but Liam, I also wasn’t out to be in a serious relationship.”
“Then I want to be exclusive.”
Rolling my eyes, I asked, “Why?”
“Because I don’t want you having lunch with this Wade guy.”
Anger pulsed through my body. “You’re being a complete dick. I’ll have lunch with whomever I damn well please. You don’t see me telling you to move out of the apartment you share with your ex, and I know for a fact she walks around naked! You told me.”
“That’s different.”
I groaned. “I’m not doing this. The only time you ever call is when you want phone sex. If you need sex that bad, fuck your ex.”
Hitting End, I stared at my phone. I was about to go back in when it rang.
Liam.
I debated sending him to voicemail, but answered. “What?” I snapped.
“I’m sorry. I got jealous, and it’s only because I want to be the one having lunch with you.”
“Wade is just a friend. Liam, maybe what we shared in New York was just meant to be fun. You and I both know this isn’t going to work. Not with you being in New York and me in Texas.”
“I’m not ready to just give up like that, Amelia. Are you?”
I wanted to be honest with Liam. I was forcing myself to feel things for him that just weren’t there. I didn’t want to tell him over the phone though. It was better to do it in person. “I’m not sure what I want at this point, Liam. Why don’t you go to the audition, and we’ll talk about visits after?”
Liam let out a sigh. “Okay, I might not be able to make it to Texas if I get the part.”
“We’ll talk Saturday night, okay?” I asked.
“I want to see you, Amelia. How long are we going to have to wait?”
My chest felt like someone was sitting on it. “Let’s talk about it after your audition, and we have a better idea of things.”
The silence on the line proved that Liam was not happy about having to wait.
“I’ll call tonight, if I can.”
“Okay. Talk soon.”
“Bye, Amelia.”
“Bye, Liam.”
The line went dead, and I walked back into the café. At the mere glimpse of Wade my stomach dropped. I stood frozen in place as I stared at him. He was talking to Lucy and wore a huge smile. There was something about him that held me captive, and I knew that I couldn’t go on with Liam. It wasn’t fair to him or me. When Wade looked at me my breath would catch, and I got excited at the chance of glimpsing him. I wanted to explore these feelings. Especially since I’d never really felt them before.
I knew then what I had to do.
I will end things with Liam this weekend.
I dragged in a deep breath as I walked into the apartment. Nancy sat at the table surrounded by a few of our mutual friends.
“Liam!” they all called out. “We need another player.”
Forcing a smile, I made my way over to them. “For what?”
“Strip poker, and don’t say it.”
I lifted a brow. “Don’t say what?”
“If you say one of the five forbidden words, you have to take a shot.”
Nancy was looking up at me with a smirk. She must have had ten layers of clothing on.
“Afraid you’ll lose, Nance?”
She laughed. “You know how bad I am at poker. How was the audition?”
I was still pissed about not being able to make it to Texas. Amelia seemed to have something on her mind, and I had a feeling I knew what it was. Things weren’t going to work out between us. I think we were both lonely when we hooked up in New York. I wasn’t going to lie to myself and say I didn’t crave her. I did. But not in a healthy way. I was using her to fill up an empty space. I just didn’t know why it was empty.
“I got the part.”
Everyone cheered, and Nancy wore a smug expression. I had nothing to do with landing that role. Nancy did with the strings she pulled with whomever it was she knew. It was her way of keeping me in New York and away from Amelia.