Breaking Stars (The Celebrity 2)

The second Colin appeared on our doorstep, I wanted to burst through the screen and rip his head off. Paige looked horrified, and I had to fight my instincts to protect her.

Instead, I stood there silently and let her deal with this, since it was way out of my league. A helpless feeling consumed me while she talked to both Colin and her agent out of my earshot. I looked over at my mother, who was absentmindedly stirring her latest batch of tea.

“Mama?” I said, breaking her concentration.

“Yeah, honey?”

“What should I do?”

Before she could answer me, Paige walked back up the porch and inside the house, her face red and her eyes glistening. “They need me to go.”

Pain ricocheted through my chest. “When?”

“Now,” she said, and without another word turned to walk down the hallway toward her bedroom.

I inhaled a choppy breath that stabbed its entire way down. Turning away from her, I shouted for Buster and headed outside. I needed air. I needed space.

Buster barked and ran for Jayson and Colin, who stood whispering to each other next to a Mercedes. My anger only grew as I yelled for Buster to come to me and leave the two dickheads alone. Traitorous dog. The least he could do was bite their ankles.

Paige is leaving me.

I knew this day would come, but I foolishly thought it would be on our terms. How the hell I could ever think that, I wasn’t sure, probably because I didn’t know any better. I hadn’t thought much about her actually leaving, and how it would happen. I’d been so caught up in her simply being here with me.

Pain filled my chest and the simplest task, like breathing, became something I needed to remind myself to keep doing. My heartbeat echoed in my ears as my entire body tensed at what needed to be done. I’d lived through much worse than losing Paige Lockwood, but damn, if it didn’t feel like this was worse. Realistically I knew it wasn’t, but try telling that to my heart. And here I thought I had no heart left after my dad died and Brina left me.

Way to prove me wrong, heart. Now go screw yourself; you’ve done enough damage.

Paige walked back into the hallway, her things clearly packed and ready to go. She turned to look at me, her face twisted in some sort of pleading look that I couldn’t read for certain. Maybe she wanted me to save her and make them leave?

I didn’t know

, so I stiffened my back, sucked in a breath, and knew this was going to hurt like hell. “Just go, Paige. We both knew this wasn’t a forever thing.”

“I know that, but…” She stumbled on her words as her voice broke, and nearly broke me with it.

She knew that?

I hardened my heart, then bit out, “It’s been fun.”

“It’s been fun?” Her face twisted as tears pooled in her eyes, and something inside me snapped.

“You’re a good time,” I said as coldly as I could.

“Is this a joke right now? It’s not funny.”

“No joke. I’m telling you to go. You should have never been here in the first place.”

“You don’t mean that.”

When she took a step toward me, I pulled back, knowing that if I let her touch me I’d be done for. I’d never let her leave if her fingers even grazed my skin. Ever.

“I do,” I lied.

“I know what you’re doing,” she whispered as tears spilled over her lashes, each one killing me a little more than the last. “You’re just acting tough, but you don’t mean it. You don’t, you can’t.”

Her words stabbed at me, but I had to make her leave and go back to where she belonged. Paige had never intended to stay in this town, and if for some crazy reason she convinced herself that she wanted to, she’d eventually resent me for it.

I couldn’t live with that. I had to make her think I wanted her gone, had to push her away. It was for her own good, and mine as well.