Page 108 of Movers and Shakers

There it was. The anger I deserved.

“I’m sorry,” was all I could say.

“For playing me?”

“I didn’t mean to play you. None of it was done with the intention of it going this far.”

“So why did you do it at all?”

“Because you seemed to like Rose more.”

“How? How did I like you as Rose more?”

“You opened up to me, Barry. You kicked Lila out when you found out about Wilfred and then toldme.I came in to check on you to seehow you were doing, but I never expected you to show me this rooftop and open up. And once you did, I thought Rosewould be better.”

“I meant for Ruth and Tom to leave. Not you.”

I blinked. “But . . .‍”

“Why would I kick you out?”

“You kept diverting the conversation when it was about your family.”

“Because you’reLila Wilde. You didn’t have time to hear about my melodramatic, broken family. You’re a pop star, an international sensation. Why would you care about me?”

“Because you’re interesting? Because I care about people in general? You have such a perfect impression of me that it was harder to get you to see I was a normal person. And Lila is just a wig anyway. She’s not real.”

“So, it’s all a lie?”

“The feelings weren’t.”

“Why didn’t you tell me until now?”

“I . . . there’re a lot of things that happened and—‍”

“Just answer this: was it because you didn’t trust me?”

“I trusted you.”

“Then you should have told me.”

I opened my mouth to try and defend myself, but nothing came out. There was no way to justify it.

Besides, the damage was done. Barry looked at me like he hated me, and I couldn’t blame him.

“I guess I have my answer,” he said. “You didn’t actually trust me. Don’t worry, though; no one will know. Whatever you think of me, I know the kind of person I am.”

I opened my mouth to tell him that it was far more thantrust.But my phone rang.

And it was Juno.

I cursed. She’d found me. When I was quiet this morning, she had been worried about me, but I told her I wanted alone time.

Not that I was coming here.

“I have to go,” I said. I had no idea what she would say if she came up here. She, like Mom, was going to bepissedthat I did this.

“Then go,” he said. “Go live your double life.”

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