So, I packed my bag and got on the bus to Chicago.
Four hours later, I arrived.
Seagulls swooped low. The dock was nearly empty. I told myself I was ready for whatever would happen. But after I rang the doorbell, I didn’t see the familiar handsome face I expected.
It was Vivian.
Her eyes sharpened as they landed on me. Her makeup was still in place, but that wasn’t what disturbed me most. It was that she was wearinghisshirt.
And nothing else. It barely reached over her ass, highlighting her long, tanned legs.
I tightened my fists around the bag I’d brought for John.
“Really?” she said, folding her arms. “You think now is an appropriate time for you to show up here?”
Her icy tone hit me like a slap in the face.
“I…I just wanted to offer my condolences.”
Her features were both hard and full of pity. “John has enough to deal with.”
“I just want five minutes.” I crossed my arms, which was tricky while holding the bag, but I committed to it, holding my arm at an awkward angle. If you’d told me a month ago that I’dshow up at John’s house with a rom-com on VHS and a bottle of whiskey, I would’ve spit-laughed in your face.
“Why?” Her well-manicured brow arched. Goddamn it, even in this light, there wasn’t a pore in sight.
“Because he’s my…friend.” My words sounded thin, childish, almost. An obvious lie. And we both knew it.
She let out a sigh, brushing her forehead before running her French-tipped fingers through the waterfall of blonde curls, craning her neck up and down the deck. “Nora, was it?”
“Yes,” I said tightly.
“Do you think you’re the first?”
“Excuse me?” I said, somewhat breathless.
“Do you think you’re the first?” She stepped closer, bare feet pressing against the threshold, a barrier between me and everything John. “He flirts. It’s part of his job. You’re not the first fan who’s gotten trapped in his dark eyes and pretty words.”
I wanted to say something. Anything. But she spoke faster.
“He is going to be my husband. He just…got carried away.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. I wanted to throw it in her face—that I knew. That he’d confided in me. But my words got stuck halfway. Because John had told me her secret in confidence. But the mention of other girls, real or not…it hurt.
“It was never going to last,” Vivian said, with something like pity in her voice. “He risked enough as it is.”
She glanced over her shoulder as noise traveled from inside. It sounded like it came from the kitchen. I wanted to call out but bit my tongue at the last moment. What if he didn’t want me here? What if this was really out of line? He would’ve called if he wanted to see me, wouldn’t he?
Defiance burned inside me. But I didn’t want to leave without speaking to him.
“He is a grown man. I think he can speak for himself.”
Vivian leaned against the doorframe, folding her arms so the fabric stretched, making it clear she wasn’t even wearing a bra.
“The last thing he needs right now is to be reminded of this god-awful competition. If you’re here for your five minutes of fame, I have to disappoint you.”
At that moment, John’s voice called from the inside. “Viv?”
Without breaking eye contact, she turned her face. “It’s just the press. Why don’t you go back to bed? I’ll be there in a sec.”
