AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Besides, I haven’t told him about Tom. Not yet. My plan is to spring it on him that my date is joining us when we get out of the limo at the screening. That way, with a crowd, he is less likely to shout and demand things from me that I don’t want to give.
My stomach roils with dread. When I tell him about Tom, about not wanting to carry on this charade with Felix… it’s bound to sour his mood.
I want to enjoy his affection while I have it, even if fleeting.
“Thank goodness.” Margot Price waltzes into the room in a black, floor-length, Dior evening gown, one of her white-gloved hands resting at the center of her chest. “Leighton, you’re here.”
“Uh-huh. Not sure where else I’d be.”
Her usually beautiful features twist into irritation at my quip. “You said you didn’t want to come tonight.”
My father clears his throat and straightens at my side. He clearly doesn’t want to rehash our brief, albeit contentious, conversation from this morning. I’d taken that discussion as a bad experience, that once again I had lost the battle.
But my mother’s words make me wonder if I got it all wrong. What if I didn’t put the dress on and come downstairs to meet my parents at the agreed upon time? They’d have had to go without me. And now, I’m internally kicking myself for figuring this out too late to do anything about it.
The driver clears his throat, and we all turn to face him. “Sir, ladies, the car is ready.”
“Very well, Dennis.” My father nudges my back to guide me forward, and we walk with my mother out to the limo.
The ride to the premiere doesn’t take long, and my nerves jangle and spark in apprehension as the seconds tick by until I tell my parents. I pause to look around for Tom the instant we’re out.
During the drive over, he had texted he was on his way and that he’d find me. I smile in anticipation of seeing him. I can barely wait to have him at my side. My parents might have a problem with my decisions, maybe even with Tom, but I don’t care. I need him. I like him way too much to let him go.
Although, right now, he isn’t here. But for now, the knowledge that he will be any second now injects me with the courage to do this.
Once we’re on the red carpet, things go sideways. Both my mother and father are pulled in different directions by actors, movie industry types, and their partners.
I stand back, smiling at one or two people who try to get my attention, and regret my silly idea of waiting. It’s now or never. Felix will be here any minute now, and I have to tell my father before then.
My hand grabs onto an arm as Rupert greets an up-and-coming Korean director. “So sorry to interrupt.”
I push between them, pausing to check once more for Tom. No sign of him.
My dad pulls from my grip and commands, so only I can hear, “Then don’t.”
“It can’t wait.” I’m sure to say it loud enough so that the lovely woman smiles and excuses herself with promises of finding my father later.
“Leighton, I’m working. Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited to talk to—”
Leaning in so only he can hear, I cut him off with a feral need to unload this beast. “I won’t pretend to be with Felix. Not tonight. Not anymore.”
He pulls back and stares down at me as if only seeing me for the first time and he doesn’t like what he sees. As if none of what I’m saying makes sense. “I beg your pardon? We already agreed—”
“No.” The one word cuts like a knife, stinging the tip of my tongue as well as causing my father to flinch.
His lips press together into an angry slash, and his nostrils flare, but he’s very aware of where we are. He keeps his composure in check, trying with all his might not to give any indication to someone who might be watching that all is not fine.
I rush on before I lose my nerve or worse, he talks over me. “I never agreed to anything, least of all to fake dating Felix. In the beginning, I’ll admit, I foolishly wanted it. Hoped it might turn into something more, but Felix is…” I lean in again and drop my voice to a whisper. I need to get this off my chest, but causing a scene is the last thing I want. “An asshole.”
As if waiting for his cue, my father lists to one side, and the asshole in question slides into my line of sight. Felix approaches, the hugest grin on his Ken doll face, and stops next to my father.
Like acting a part, all eyes on him, his gaze never veers from mine. His pupils swim with fake adoration mingled with a strong dose of “go along with this, Leighton.” He swoops in before I can react and plants a soft kiss on my lips but not without angling just so in case any photographers are looking.
“Leighton.” The raspy, almost secretive way he says my name used to make me blush and quicken my pace along the red carpet, but now I want to vomit. He clutches my waist as if we’re long-lost lovers. “Always a vision.”
My mother appears out of nowhere to loop her arm around my father’s. At the same time, she steers him toward a bank of cameras. For a beat, Rupert Price stares at me, my declaration most probably ringing like an alarm in his ears.
Shaken, his expression seems off-kilter and he blinks a few times, breaking our silent understanding. No, we haven’t reached any kind of mutual agreement, not with what he does next. Like my mother and Felix, Rupert swings toward the cameras with his megawatt smile fixed in place.
