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“You’re right.” I bite the inside of my cheek. “But if any of that happened, I’m not sure it would make me happy.”
She searches my features. “You’re too fucking good for him, you know that?”
I half-smile. Everyone should have girlfriends who’re in your corner, no matter what. “I’m tempted to say you’re biased, but I think I’ll take the compliment.”
“You bet your ass, you should.”
I walk into the kitchen, then glance around the space.Why does this no longer feel like home? Why do I feel like I left behind the one place I could have called home? Why does he feel more like home? Especially when he’s been such a mean, horrible person to me all along. Guess I am a masochist. There’s no other explanation.
There, finally. I head toward the bottle of red wine hidden behind the spices. I balance the phone on the counter, then slide the bottle out and dust it off. Yeah, that’s how long it’s been there. Or rather, how long I haven’t been in this apartment. No matter. Wine doesn’t expire, does it? Nah, should be okay. I hunt around for a corkscrew and open the bottle. I pour some of the scarlet liquid into a wine glass, then grab my phone and walk over to the window.
“Salut,” I raise the glass toward the screen, then sip from it. It goes down smoothly, but it’s not enough to take the edge off of the pain that’s clinging to my nerve-endings. I take another sip, then tip up my chin. “Enough about me and my sad story. What about you?”
She winces.
“That bad?”
“Worse.” She steps into a patch of sunlight and a golden glow fills the screen. “Where are you?”
“By the pool.”
“How do you stand all that brightness?”
“It’s California—" She laughs. “There’s a reason Hollywood is situated here.”
“Isn’t all that sun overwhelming for you?”
She chews on her bottom lip. “If you mean, does it end up shining a light on my faults, then you’re right.”
“Oh, babe, that’s not what I meant.”
She hunches her shoulders. “I know.” She glances to the side then back at me. “The label dropped me.”
“What?” I straighten. “What do you mean, they dropped you? They can’t drop you. You’re their golden child. The girl with the magic voice who shot up the charts like a meteor—"
“—And crashed just as fast.” She begins to pace. “Maybe finding fame so quickly was a curse. It would have been better to inch up the rankings. Might have made for a steadier ascent, and I’d have had time to ground myself at every phase. This business is fickle, you know? And I’ve barely managed to keep afloat, let alone, take the time to network along the way and make friends in the industry who can help me out. Anyway, when you’re unsuccessful, no one wants to be your friend, you know?”
“I’m your friend. And so is Penny and my new friend Mira, who you haven’t met yet. Also, you have your sister Olivia, and through her, the network of the wives and girlfriends of the Sovranos and the Seven. So, you have a lot of people rooting for you.”
“Just not him.”
“Eh?” I blink. “You’re talking about Declan, I take it?”
“Declan who? He hasn’t bothered to reply to my last few messages.”
“Aww, maybe he’s just been busy.”
“No doubt.” She flips her hair over her shoulder. “At least, my manager is rooting for me. If it weren’t for that, I might just have closed up shop and gone home, you know?”
“But that’s good, right? It means you still have a chance.”
“Maybe.” She hunches her shoulders.
“I wish you were here. You shouldn’t be having to go through this on your own.”
“I was thinking of visiting, for your wedding, but guess that’s not happening, huh?”
“Not anytime soon, and not to him.”
