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I strode back to the bedroom.
And Ambri, that asshole, didn’t call after me or follow me and throw me onto the bed and fuck me until all my doubts were erased and we were happy again.
After the gallery show, there was a large dinner at the hotel restaurant with Jane, Austin Wong, and the horde of publicists and stylists that seemed to follow me around. Eisheth had left us in Paris, but Daeva, Pico, and Zerin had joined the tour. They were a nice distraction from my fears about Ambri and kept me company when he vanished for hours at a time to who-knew-where.
To resume his extracurricular activities?
That night, the dinner was loud, and the wine and champagne flowed like water. I sat at the head of the table next to Jane. Ambri was at the other end, as far from me as possible while still being in the same room. I tossed back glass after glass of champagne. Someone—Zerin, I think—kept it full. I was drinking more than usual, I noticed, but it was either that or examine the gulf that had opened between Ambri and me, and that was too fucking terrifying. So I drank instead.
An instinct of self-preservation whispered that I was on a train that was speeding up, and if I wasn’t careful, it was going to go off the rails.
But with Ambri’s distance, the sleepless nights, and the nonstop tour, the old loneliness was coming back. I sat at the head of a table full of people who were there for me and yet I didn’t know any of them.
I glanced around, my eyes tired and raw. The booze made things blurry, as if I were underwater. The whole night was a wavering mirage. On one side of the table, two women were whispering and laughing at me when I looked their way. On the other side, two critics were in a serious conversation. They both glanced at me grimly and shook their heads.
This is it. It’s all going to come crumbling down and me and Ambri with it.
“Cole, my friend, you look a bit worn out,” Pico said from my left. “Not sleeping well?”
“Not really,” I muttered. At the other end of the table, Ambri was speaking with a handsome young guy, their heads close together.
“I have a little something to help with that, if you’d like,” Pico said. “A little sleep helper. Just say the word.”
“Thanks. Maybe I’ll take you up on that.”
Jane leaned in to me. She was glowing with the success of the shows on the tour and half tipsy herself. “Cole, you need to prepare yourself. If this tour continues like it has, that appraiser’s original auction estimate is going to be blown out of the water.”
I nodded absently.
She bent and kissed me on the cheek. “I’m going to retire, but you stay and enjoy yourself with your new friends.”
“Mynew friends? Aren’t they from the agency?”
Jane answered but I didn’t hear her. I couldn’t hear anything over the rush of blood in my head. Ambri had put his lips close to the guy’s cheek and whispered something in his ear.
The guy nodded and smiled, and the two of them got up and left.
My heart cracked right down the middle. I was pretty sure the entire room heard it.
Fuck this.
I got to my feet, knocking over my chair. I was drunker than I wanted to be. Someone called after me to stay—Pico, maybe, but I ignored him. I made it to the elevators just as they shut. I jabbed the button as if I were trying to murder it and grabbed the next car. On our floor, I stormed into the suite. Ambri was crossing the living area.
I slammed the door shut and glanced around. “Where is he?”
“Where is who?” Ambri peered at me and grimaced. “Christ, you look like shite.”
“Of course, I do,” I snapped. “You’ve been acting like a complete stranger for days and then tonight… Tonight I have to follow you up here like a pathetic asshole after you leave with some other guy.”
“I didn’t leave with…” Ambri shook his head, his mouth hard. “Rohan, that bastard.”
“Why?” My voice cracked. “Why are you trying to break us?”
“I don’t know what you mean. I told you, I’m growing bored—”
“Of being with me?” Tears flooded my raw, aching eyes. “If that’s true, then just say it and put me out of my fucking misery.”
Ambri’s jaw worked but no sound came out. Finally, he let out a frustrated cry and paced a circle, tearing his tie off.“Fucking goddamn bloody fucking hell…”
