Chrissy scooted closer to me on the bed.
She smiled uneasily and glanced around my room—Econo Lodge, downtown Denver, eighty dollars per night—where I’d been staying for the past three weeks. I refused to run home and hide. I refused to repeat last summer. This time, I had money saved and didn’t need to lean on my parents. I also didn’t want Matt to find me, if he was even looking.
P.S. I slept with Seth.
I winced and shook my head.
No, he probably wasn’t looking.
“Have you been back to work?” Chrissy said.
“Nope.” I sipped my drink and eyed Chrissy over the glass. She’d been keeping me company some nights—or checking up on me. No one else knew that I’d broken up with Matt, but everyone else knew Matt was alive.
The day I moved out of our condo, the Internet exploded with M. Pierce news: Unstable author back from the dead.
Did anyone believe he was gone?
More publicity stunts from M. Pierce.
I didn’t read those stories or watch the news.
I kept expecting a phone call from Nate, but it never came.
I took a week of vacation from work, called in sick the following week, and was rapidly running out of excuses to avoid the agency. But Pam didn’t call or e-mail. Dead air.
“I’m going to,” I said. “Probably, um, on Monday.” If I still have a job.
“Great. You need a wake-up call?”
I rolled my eyes. “What I need is for our pizza to get here.”
“Your pizza, Han. I’ve got a date.” Chrissy hopped off the bed and stretched like a cat. A tight black skirt inched up her thighs. Her lashes were spiky with mascara and a stud glinted on her nostril. Huh. She did look more dressed up than usual, which I’d failed to notice in my gin and tonic haze.
I glanced down at my sweatpants.
A surge of self-pity went straight to my eyes and I blinked quickly, looking away.
“A date. Cool.”
“Yup. Working, dating, showering … things people do in the land of the living.”
I glared at my sister and she arched a brow. Maybe this was why I reached out to Chrissy and no one else. Because I knew Chrissy wouldn’t let me wallow.
“I guess I should … grab a shower,” I murmured.
“Probably, yeah.” My sister preened in front of the bureau mirror. She fluffed her thick short hair and checked out her ass. Looking at her, I felt grimier by the moment. When had I last shaved, washed my face, moisturized? “Then you can get dressed and come with me.”
“Excuse me? I’m not feeling that ambitious, Chrissy.”
“It’s not a date date, okay? You won’t be third-wheeling it. I’m—” My sister paused and sniffed, still studying her reflection. All the vanity I lacked, Chrissy possessed. “I’m just going to hang out with Wiley and the band guys,” she said hurriedly.
“Wiley and the…” My mouth fell open. The band guys?
Goldengrove.
Seth.
Unwelcome memories rushed over me. Seth Sky driving his Bentley, sneering and staring into the dark. Bringing me a little plate of food in Nate’s basement. Barging through my condo doorway, his hungry tongue in my mouth.
And then … standing beside my hospital bed, holding my hand as I coasted in and out of consciousness. All night.
“Yeah, I’m totally a groupie now.” Chrissy laughed.
I bit my lip and searched for words. Clearly, Chrissy had no idea about my brief and sordid history with Seth. And to be honest, I had no idea about it, either.
A few weeks ago, Matt Sky was my lover, Nate Sky was my friend, and Seth Sky was my enemy. But now? Now I envisioned Matt and Nate together, closing ranks. How had I missed the deceit in Nate’s smile and the lie in Matt’s gaze?
And Seth, who seemed so unwelcome before, now stood clearly in my mind’s eye. Vulnerable. Honest. A casualty of Matt’s game.
I slid my drink onto the bedside table, ice jostling in the glass.