Page 13 of The Billionaire's Lust

“Yeah, like any of them would have said that I looked like crap,” she snorted.

I paused at the landing. “We have two more floors before we get to the lobby. If you need a second, third, or tenth opinion—”

She stopped, turning slowly before blinking up at me. “You’d do that--embarrass the hell out of me, just to help me feel better?”

“To help you see that you look kick ass tonight,” I clarified, maneuvering past her. “That guy isn’t getting laid for like, two weeks because he couldn’t take his eyes off you.”

She went quiet and we finally made it downstairs. I worried that maybe I’d gone too far, especially considering the last time we saw each other we’d been at each other’s throats. “I thought I was helping. If it was too much, I’m sorry--”

“No, I’m sorry,” she interrupted. “I know why you did it and it was really sweet.” She started fanning her eyes, trying to keep the tears at bay. “Just don’t ever do it again, okay? And about Lucy’s—”

I felt tears of my own pool and my throat tightened. Now I was going to cry. “It’s okay. I was out of line and you needed a friend and I was being a horrible one.”

She gave me a tight hug then pulled open the door. “Let’s get out of here before we both ruin our makeup.”

The limo pulled onto the street, each slap of the tire against the asphalt bringing us closer to the theater that was hosting the premiere.

“I wasn’t kidding about what I said back at the apartment, Leila.”

I snapped my compact closed and sliced my eyes over to her. “You look great, Megan.”

“Not about that,” she said with a snicker. “So don’t get the driver to pull over so you can wrangle a herd of strangers to boost my confidence.” She slid her gloss back into her clutch then hesitantly met my eyes. “I’m talking about you and Jacob. Tonight’s not the result of some argument and you’re trying to just piss him off by going to Cade’s event, right?”

I raised my eyebrows. “Wow. I really must have been a bitch lately if that seems like a remote possibility.”

She settled back in her seat, a smirk on her glossy lips. “Your word, not mine.”

“Sorry,” I said with a weak smile. I couldn’t fault her for being shocked—run-ins with Cade had been the source of a lot of contention between me and Jacob. And considering it had been The Leila Show 24/7 ever since I climbed on the Whitmore jet, bitch was being kind. I could tell her how I thought that Jacob and I had worked things out, but it was time for me to be the friend she’d been to me. The best friend she deserved.

“Tell me what’s going on with you and the new guy you’re seeing,” I said, remembering what she said in the restaurant.

“Nothing to tell.” She managed to keep her voice light, and if I didn’t know her, I might have let her shrug it off, but there was an undercurrent of anger. Of hurt.

“I think we both know that’s not exactly true.”

The nonchalant gleam in her eyes frosted over to an unmistakable ‘Danger Ahead’. “There’s nothing going on with any guy of any sort.”

“Nothing?” I said, not budging. “You were downing margaritas like they were cups of water. You’re a one-and-done kind of girl when it comes to drinking.”

“I thought we were talking about you and Jacob. Why are you trying to change the subject?”

“Why are you?” I fired back.

She flipped her hair then glanced out the window, then back to the front, then picked at invisible lint on her dress. Anything except looking me full-on. This guy, whoever he was, had really gotten under her skin.

“We don’t have time for it right now.” When the car slowed to a stop, we both looked out and saw that downtown was officially a parking lot.

“Well would you look at that!” I said, crossing my arms. “Looks like we have plenty of time.”

“You’re really not gonna drop this?”

“Nope.”

She let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine. There is no guy. There was a guy, but now there’s just me. I’m over it, I’m fine. End of story.”

“A story generally has a beginning, middle, and end.”

“And I just gave you a synopsis. Spoiler alert—it’s over.”

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