She didn’t respond. He already knew the answer.
“Are we ever going to talk about this?” he pushed.
She exhaled and looked away. Now that they were going to have to face each other every day, she knew she should just hash this out with him. But she was still hurt. Still angry. The man who was supposed to care about her, the man who’d been making plans to see her as soon as she returned, cut her sky-high hopes into tiny pieces. And his betrayal had left a deep scar. One that still ached.
“Maybe if you understood why I’m doing this,” he said, “we could be friends again.”
Friends. That word took on a whole different meaning now. Not true friends, but work friends. Because once she’d gotten a taste of more, friendship just wouldn’t be enough. She tried to imagine getting back that sweet friendship they’d had in the beginning. One she missed almost more than the romance they’d developed.
“Say something, Z.”
“Here’s the thing.” She fought to keep her voice cool, but her heart was tearing. “It’s different now. To be honest, I don’t trust you. And I don’t keep friends I can’t trust.”
He exhaled fast and sharp, like she’d gut-punched him. His gaze tilted toward the ground with misery etched in his features.
“I’m sorry I have to say that to you,” she told him. “I’m not trying to be mean. I’ll work with you because I have to, but that’s all that’s left between us. If you’re hell-bent on telling me what’s going on, I’m sure you’ll find a time and place. But honestly, I don’t care what led to this. All I care about now is doing a kick-ass job on this film. So don’t expect anything to change between us, because it won’t.”
She turned and forced her feet to move toward the comfort of the air-conditioned trailer Despina had so generously offered to share with Zahara.
“Z,” Chase called. She sighed, stopped, and turned. When she met his gaze, he said, “I’m not giving up.”
She turned away without comment, but his soft declaration gripped her heart and shook her already-crumbling defenses. Her stomach folded, and fresh sweat slicked her forehead.
At the trailer, she jogged the steps, closed the door, and dropped her head back against the hard surface. To soothe the nausea, she took a slow breath through her nose and let it slide out between her lips.
Out of nowhere emotion overwhelmed her and a sob escaped. Just as quickly, bile rose in her throat. All Zahara had time to do was take a couple of deep breaths. But it wasn’t enough, and she ended up vomiting in the sink.
Shocked, Zahara pressed the back of one hand to her mouth and ran the water with the other. The nausea passed as quickly as it had come. But then exhaustion kicked in.
“What in the hell?” She felt possessed. Her thoughts were erratic, her emotions irrational. She wasn’t herself at all, and she didn’t know how to get back to her normal. Especially not now that she had to face her biggest mistake every day.
The stress was literally making her sick.
“This is such bullshit.” Zahara rinsed her mouth and splashed her face with water.
She was about to head back outside when Despina stepped in. The actress blocked the doorway, crossed her arms, and lifted her brows. “We have something to talk about.”
“What?” Zahara asked, clueless.
“Chase Layton.”
“What about him?”
Despina dropped her arms and gave Zahara that don’t-bullshit-me look. “You and him. When did that start?”
Shit. Shit, shit, shit. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh yes, you do.” A mischievous little smile lit up her face. Despina grabbed her arm, and pulled Zahara to a seat on the edge of the platform bed. “He is delicious.” That sounded hilarious in Despina’s accent, but Zahara couldn’t even manage a smile. “I love the idea of you two together. You’re such a good fit. Tell me everything.”
“How did you know?” she asked, terrified Chase had said something.
“It’s written all over your body language.” She waved away the fear on Zahara’s face. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. But I want details.”
Zahara closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. “Don’t get excited. We aren’t as great a fit as you think.”
Chase reluctantly returned to the crowd surrounding Lila and forced a smile even though his gut was shredded. Lila slid her arm around his waist, and Chase wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Cameras clicked, flashes sparked, reporters yelled questions—about Lila’s impending divorce, her almost-ex-husband, the rumored abuse in their marriage, Lila’s and Chase’s future plans, whether or not they were engaged again, whether or not they’d set a wedding date yet, how the film role would impact their plans… They were relentless.
He lifted a hand toward the crowd. “I’ve got to get to work now.”