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“You have a hell of a nerve.”
He shrugged.
Paige turned away. She’d always found Noah’s shrugs unbearably sexy. Was this what it had been like for Chloe all these years? The constant push-pull, the loving and the loathing, the longing for the fairy-tale ending, for the kiss before the final credits, for that pivotal moment when the frog turns into the handsome prince.
“Is it serious?”
“Are you?”she asked, incredulous. “What exactly is going on here, Noah? What are you trying to say?” Had seeing her with another man been all the push Noah needed to realize the terrible mistake he’d made?
“That I miss you,” he said again. “That I missus.”
The words swirled around her head, making her dizzy. “I miss you, too,” she admitted.
And then she was in his arms, and he was kissing her neck, her cheek, her eyes. And it was almost enough to block out the stubborn image of Heather straddling his naked body.
Almost.
And then his lips found hers, and it was almost enough to blot out the lingering, bitter taste of his betrayal.
Almost.
“I’m so sorry, Paige. I was an idiot.”
“Yes, you were.”
“It’s just that we were going through a rough patch,” he said. “I was in the middle of a very complicated case. You’d lost your job and were crying all the time, wandering around the apartment in those god-awful gray sweats, no makeup, dirty hair, moaning about how unhappy you were.”
Whoa. Wait a minute. What?
“And I admit, it kind of got to me after a while,” he continued, seemingly oblivious to the sudden stiffening of her shoulders. “I had my hands full at the office. I was worried about money. I mean, your being fired made things more than a little tight. We were fighting constantly. Nothing I said or did was right. You had no patience for me at all. You probably don’t remember, but you were short with me all the time. And then Heather started coming over. And she’s got her hair just so, and she’s always laughing and happy and—”
“You’re saying what happened was my fault?” Paige interrupted.
“No, of course not. I’m just trying to explain why I was so susceptible.”
“You slept with my cousin because I was wearing sweatpants?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“My hair was dirty and Heather’s wasjust so?”
“Stop twisting my words.”
“Then stop talking, you fucking idiot!” Paige shouted. “No, I’m wrong,” she corrected, marching back toward the hotel. “Youaren’t the idiot.I’mthe idiot! What the hell was I thinking? Once a frog, always a frog!”
“Please lower your voice,” he cautioned, following her. “People are staring.”
She came to an abrupt stop. “Well, then, I think it’s time we gave them something to stare at, don’t you?” And with that, Paige hauled back and slapped him, hard, across the face.
Behind her, she heard a collective gasp, then saw her cousin pushing herself to the front of the small crowd.
“What’s all the commotion out here?” Heather asked, the smile sliding from her face as soon as she saw Paige and Noah. “What’s going on?” she asked, as Noah brushed past her into the lobby, eyes down, cheek red. Heather glared at her cousin, then turned on her five-inch heels and hurried back inside the hotel.
“If you’ll excuse me,” Paige told the group of stunned onlookers, who parted as one to let her pass.
Sam jumped to his feet as soon as she entered the ballroom.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said.
