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I set my hands on her shoulders. “I didn’t fuck you for your mother.” The idea was ridiculous. And gross.
She shook her head. “You fucked me for the movie role. You fucked me over, Luke. Oscar performance. God, I want to hit you with a shin pad right now.”
“You think I used you to make a connection with your mom?”
“I know it.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “This is insane. I didn’t–”
“Why else would you pick me? Why else would you tell me you need me after dealing with Lacey? Even Sam said my job was done.”
I stared at her wide eyed. Why else? Because she was everything I ever wanted in a woman. I needed her because I fucking NEEDED her. Not for anything else. “I could’ve come to this and chatted up your mom without you being here. I didn’t need you to talk to her.”
“Good thing the woman almost died the last time you met so she’d remember. Couldn’t risk this opportunity, right?”
“Aspen, you need to calm down and think clearly. You’re being ridiculous.”
She laughed, but tears filled her eyes. “Maybe. Definitely. It’s all on me. The one who always messes up. Who blew up her own life. Made her family hate her. You have everything. Everything in your life goes right. It’s perfect. Perfect family. Perfect job with money and fame. I’m not even smart enough to keep my heart out of it. You said it was fake after all.”
“It’s not fake,” I admitted.
“Tell me the truth. Did you plan this? Our meeting at that bar in Hunter Valley?”
I blinked at her. Shit. SHIT!
Her eyes brimmed, her gaze a mix of hope and newfound awareness of how she’d been used.
“It’s not what you think,” I said, trying to reach for her.
She shook her head, stepped back.
“Yes or no? Did you know who I was when we met at the bar?”
“It’s not–”
“DID YOU?”
I sighed.
“Yes.”
41
LUKE
* * *
“Derek, there you are,” Chris, the producer, called.
I stared at Aspen. Her mouth hung open and tears slid down her cheeks. She wiped at them and took a breath.
Shit. Now? Now Chris wanted to talk to me? When I had to explain to Aspen what I’d done and why, but I couldn’t. I had no choice but to turn around, paste on a smile, all the while I was angry and hurt and every fucking emotion at once. I shook Chris’s hand.
This was why I was here. This was the moment.
I took Aspen’s shaking hand and introduced her.
“It’s great to meet you,” he told her, then gave me his full attention. “It’s official, the gossip about you was wrong.”
