Page 5 of Broken Romeo

No, no, no. This is the last thing I need. Nothing can rattle me. Not today.

“It’s Kate,” I say firmly. A sobering thought strikes me like a mallet to the heart. “Are you here to audition?”

If he’s also auditioning for this show, I’m out. There’s no way in hell I can share a stage with that man again.

I hold my breath and make a wish. New World Stages is large and houses several theaters and rehearsal spaces. There are any number of projects he could be connected to.

“No.” He steps forward, arm outstretched to hand me my water bottle. I breathe a silent sigh of relief and take it, careful not to touch him. “I’m not auditioning for anything.”

If I could tear my gaze away from his, I would, but he’s too magnetic. Too beautifully charming… and he damn well knows it.

He’s a spider, and I’m an unsuspecting fly about to become his meal. But I know the moment I touch him—feel his skin brush against mine—I’m done for. I’ll be stuck, locked within him, and no amount of struggling will wrench me free.

“You look good, Kather—” He catches himself. “I mean, Kate.”

The edge in his voice catches me off guard. In a boyish movement, he shoves his hand casually into the pocket of his dark wash jeans. His eyes, those eyes, sweep my body, locking me right where I am.

I should say you, too. It’s the natural, polite response. And fuck if it isn’t true. But I can’t bring myself to say it.

Slowly, his eyes land south, seeming to fasten to my hips and a smile quirks his lips. “Are you nervous?”

I gulp. He can’t tell my ass is sweating, can he? Sure, he may remember from our college days, but I’m not sweating so much that it’s visible… am I?

Oh, God, please don’t let it be visible.

“I… I…” I try to formulate a sentence. Any sentence. “I need to pee.”

His smirk lifts, and he shifts, moving closer to me.

“I mean go! I need to go. I-I have somewhere to be.”

He nods, his gaze sliding down the hall. “So that’s it? That’s all I get after five years?”

My breath hitches as blood rushes to my cheeks. With a flare of my nostrils, the flustered, stuttering girl is gone, replaced with me. Angry, resentful Kate. In a rush of fury, I remember who I am. Who he made me.

“Yep,” I hiss, my voice low with venom that I’ve been suppressing for years. “You don’t deserve more.”

There’s a million things left to say. He betrayed me. Hurt me in ways that I hadn’t even fathomed I could be hurt.

I almost didn’t hear his muttered “Fuck,” over the roaring rush of blood in my ears. “Would it help if I said I’m sorry?”

It’s a start. “Nope.”

His jaw ticks. I could always get under Holden’s skin, and I delight way too much in knowing I still can.

“What if I said that I had my reasons for what I did?” he asks.

When I don’t answer, he leans forward, and he’s too close, too far into my personal space. I can smell the hint of lemongrass on his skin from his soap—that damn soap hasn’t changed in all these years. It’s too much. He’s too much. And today is too fucking important to let him knock me off my game.

I jump back from him and shove the door to the ladies’ room open, marching through the open door. “There is nothing you can say to me to make up for what you did.”

“Don’t be so sure—”

I don’t let him finish the sentence and, instead, shut the door in his face.

Jill is right. I was the best actress in my undergrad program, even if I wasn’t able to prove it all that much. Everyone knew it… except maybe me.

I cannot let Holden James or anyone else for that matter, ruin my potential.

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