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“Brian.” My voice is barely a whisper, but it has a strong effect on him. He reaches out to touch my arm this time, but I flinch. At last, my body is awake.
The urge to make a scene is strong, but there are so many people here that it will never be forgotten. “It’s nice seeing you.”
“Really?” He raises an eyebrow. Based on my reaction the last time we saw each other I should have turned around and left. Perfectly reasonable, right?
Then, why the hell am I still here? I can walk away. I can push him back. I can do anything I want. Why do I want to stay?
“No.” I toss my hair back as I realize this is a set-up. Brian’s here because of the talk he had with Dennis. In fact, I bet Dennis invited him here. There’s no way he could pass the security without an invitation, and I doubt a college professor is hanging out with people in this industry.
“I am glad to see you.” His voice is low but steady.
“I know.” I nod and take a sip of my drink, trying to keep my cool. The drink leaves a tingly sensation on my tongue. “Why are you here?” There’s no reason to pretend this is a coincidence.
“To see you,” Brian says simply, his calm energy contrasting with my own.
“You’ve had plenty of opportunities to see me. To talk to me.” I pause, sensing my voice is about to break. “Why now?”
Did he see me that night and remembered that I existed? Or did he run out of toys and decide to revisit an old one? Is this a game for him? I try to tame my thoughts but it’s pointless, another burst of anger is already consuming me.
“I missed you.”
I burst out laughing, the sound clear and intense. “You don’t say.”
“It’s true. That’s why I immediately suggested we go to the—”
I raise my palm and keep it between us. “The fact that you even thought that after what you did shows how little you think of me. You think I don’t have any self-respect? That in order to avoid some annoying family nagging, I’d be willing to stoop so low.” I point my hand at his chest, finally releasing all these thoughts from my chest.
He’s taken aback. “The way I left—it didn’t have to do with you. I had to leave.”
“And you had to tell me that via a text message? I mean, okay you didn’t want to see me, but couldn’t you at least have picked up your fucking phone and—and say what you had to say?”
He just stares, his lips pressed together until they’ve disappeared.
“Or, I don’t know, at least answer my messages?” That’s the last hit.
He lowers his head, his confident look gone completely. “I was a coward.”
“I know,” I repeat.You still are. When his gaze meets mine again, all I see is pain. It melts me inside and I know I don’t have much time before I succumb again to his charms. I need to distance myself now.
“Carol, let me explain,” he pleads.
“We are way past that.” My legs decide to obey me this time. I move away from him, toward the inner hall. Dennis and Rose are standing in front of the buffet, their eyes glued on me and I’m pretty sure they have witnessed the whole thing. Suddenly, Dennis moves in the other direction. To Brian.
I don’t look back until I’ve created a safe distance. In the blink of an eye, Rose is standing next to me. “Did you know about this?”
She shakes her head and hugs me. Her embrace is so tight—it’s like she’s trying to hold together something broken. “Dennis told me about Brian when I saw you two talking. He thought it would be a good idea for you to meet, you know, for closure.”
I don’t see how being stalked would offer me any closure. But as much as I want to be mad at Dennis, seeing Brian gave me some weird satisfaction. It made me feel alive again in a way that I had forgotten I was capable of.
“I’m so sorry, Love. It’s my fault. If I hadn’t been so set on that stupid revenge plan, he wouldn’t have done it. Are you okay?” Rose looks at me full of worry, but my mind is racing.
The plan. The answers.
As much as I want to tell him off and never look back, I also need a date for the wedding. Three birds with one stone.
Maybe— maybe it’s not a bad idea after all.
I don’t know if I ruined that chance with my reaction—I mean, he did offer to tell me—but the plan sounds like the ideal solution right now. “I’m fine actually.”
