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“Mmm. From what you’ve said, she probably thinks a trial would give her the same exposure as a starring role. Honestly, I feel a little sorry for her that she’s so jacked in the head.”
“I know,” she agreed. “To be that self-involved and calculating has to be exhausting.”
“If you don’t press charges, she gets away with it, right?”
She lifted one shoulder. “For the most part, yes. When Gage and I talked to her uncle, he agreed to pay for all of the damage to my cars and the cost of Gage’s upgraded security system. He’ll also be putting his house up for sale and moving out of the community because having Kerri around isn’t going to happen. For us, that’s the end.”
“And for her?”
Morgan spread her hands. “Who knows. Mr. Montague says that he’s going to get her help, but personally, I can’t see how it’s possible to fix someone who wants to be broken. She needs attention so badly she’ll do anything to get it—negative or positive. I imagine she’s a lot like dealing with an infant or a toddler.”
Infant. Fuck. Just hearing the word made me think about how late my period was. And since my best friend knew me too well, she quickly caught on to my reaction. Pointing at me, she asked, “What was that look?”
I cringed, dreading the fact that I couldn’t keep pretending nothing was wrong. “So… um . . . speaking of little humans.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Yeah?”
“I’m late,” I blurted out.
“Ohhh,” she breathed in surprise. “Did you forget to take a pill?”
Without needing to think about it, I shook my head. I was always diligent about taking my birth control pills because they were the only thing that helped to control my migraines. If I skipped a pill, I was practically guaranteed to be laid low with a headache the next day. “No, I’ve always taken it at the right time.”
“But you’re late anyway.”
I nodded.
“Are you sure?”
I gave her a pointed look, barely refraining from rolling my eyes since she’d asked a question when she already knew the answer to it. “Of course, I’m sure.”
“Right, right.” This time, she nodded. “How late are you?”
I looked away for a few seconds, knowing my answer was ridiculous. “Um . . . about nine days.”
“You’re that freaking late?” she whisper-shouted.
“I thought maybe it was stress, or nerves from being on the set of my first movie, or maybe even the time change,” I rattled off all the excuses I’d been telling myself for the past nine days.
“I don’t think the two-hour time difference would’ve been a huge adjustment for your body. I could see your point if you’d been in London or Australia, but Chicago isn’t a big stretch.”
I let out a long breath. “I do know that, but denial is a mighty thing.”
“Does Vaughn know yet?”
With that one question, we reached the most difficult part of the conversation. I shook my head emphatically. “No, because I stopped talking to him.”
Morgan’s head reared back in surprise. “What? When? And more importantly, why is this the first I’m hearing this?”
“I told him I was too busy to see him anymore two weeks ago.” I tried to say it as nonchalantly as I could, but my voice wobbled at the end.
“What the flip? Why didn’t you tell me any of this? It’s not like we never talked.”
I felt like a shit friend for keeping her in the dark this long, but I still felt like it’d been the right decision. “Because I didn’t want you to worry about me and that’s exactly what you would’ve done if I told you. It wasn’t a big deal, so I decided to wait until I came back home.”
She cocked her head to the side and gave me a look that made it clear she wasn’t buying what I was selling. “Hmm. Did you change careers while you were gone?”
I wasn’t sure where she was going with her question, and my brow furrowed in confusion. “Huh?”
“I really hope not,” she continued as though I hadn’t said anything. “Because I have to tell you, on a scale of Kerri to Oscar-worthy, your acting abilities are about a negative five.”
“Ha ha,” I grumbled, not feeling humorous about anything right at the moment.
“Seriously, you’re full of it, and you know it. I know you and Vaughn were a new thing, but I’ve not seen you that interested in anyone ever. Cut the shit and tell me why you told him to go pound sand when I know for a fact that you really, truly liked him.”
Really, truly liked him wasn’t strong enough for what I’d started to feel for Vaughn. And the feelings hadn’t gone away in the past two weeks like I’d hoped. The pain hadn’t dimmed, either. Then again, how could it when the asshat wouldn’t let me forget him? I wasn’t sure why he kept calling, texting, and sending me shit all the time, considering what happened. But in an odd way, that remaining connection to him had kept me semi-sane while I wrapped up my project in Chicago. “Another girl moved in with him shortly after I left,” I mumbled.
