Page 90 of Hot to Trot

One phone call had changed everything. But not really. As he said she was in a television series that would start filming again soon. Wasn’t like she was going to quit her life so she could burn his dinners and kill the one plant he had on his kitchen bar. She was a working actress who had a forward trajectory.

"I will come back to Oak Stand at some point. I have to get my car," she said, knowing her voice sounded unconvincing. Life could get crazy for an actor juggling filming schedules on two different coasts. Not to mention Bert had left her a message about a possible advertising campaign with a cosmetic company. They wanted her lips on their ads. Things were heating up in the best of ways.

So where did that leave her and Adam?

She hadn’t been ready to answer that so soon. Wasn’t sure how she could when they hadn’t gotten past the glow of being together last night. Reality could deliver quite the bitch slap.

"Sounds like you believe what you’re saying.” His voice was dejected. Unconvinced.

“Um, I do.”

He sighed. "I'm so stupid. I knew who you were and how this was going to go down. I tried so damn hard not to want you. Not to trip over myself and go down, but I did it anyway. It’s my MO. I fall for the wrong girl every time. We’re at two different places in life and it was never going to work. Still, I jumped right in.”

"Don't say that. Two people can be different and still have a relationship. Neither one of us has to sacrifice who we are to be together. Just might not be the way you thought it would be. We’ll have to be flexible, and last night taught me that you’re fairly flexible.”

Her attempt at humor fell flat.

He shook his head, and she could almost see the regret leaking from him, filling the room. She felt it to her core. "It won't work, Scarlet. You're on a path that will always lead you away from me, and I'm not going to follow you around New York or L.A. That’s not the life I want. I need to have purpose. And you need to shine. We're too different. We want different things. And that’s okay. Our timing isn’t good, but I’m not sure it ever could be, you know?”

She rubbed her eyes. Was he right? Maybe they were merely two ships passing in the night, two stubborn ships unable to change course. She dropped her hands. "You want this to be goodbye?"

He swallowed hard, but his face had schooled into a mask. “It is what it is."

Something about the way he so easily accepted that it wasn’t going to work infuriated her. “Always scratching lines in the sand, aren’t you? Always making up damn rules for how you think life should be. Who says I have to stay here and be the little woman? Who says if you come to New York you have to follow me around and powder my nose? You’re just giving up. Not even caring enough to fight."

"I can't give up on something that never got out of the starting gate."

"We got out of the gate. We had sex three times last night. That's way out of the gate, mister!"

"Calm down, Scarlet," he said, patting the chair arm next to him. "Sit down. Please."

"No. You sit down," she yelled, even though he was already sitting. "You don't want to make it work because it's easier for you that way. You get to say, 'I screwed Scarlet Rose and then I dumped her."'

"Please. Let’s talk about this like adults."

"No. No, I won't. You’re being patronizing.”

“I prefer the term rational.”

“Well, I don’t. Ugh, everything is screwed. I shouldn't have gone with you last night. I shouldn't have opened my heart to you." Scarlet felt her emotions gallop out of control. Her heart squeezed so hard in her chest she thought she might collapse out on the floor. It had happened again. She'd fallen for a man and he didn't think her worthy enough to take a risk on. How had she been so stupid?

He watched her with a mixture of resignation and wariness, but he didn't try to calm her.

She dropped to the couch and put her head in her hands. She didn't want to cry, she wanted to pretend everything away. Adam was right. Their relationship was impossible. She jumped to her feet. "I've got to get out of here. I can't deal with this right now. I can't go through this another time."

Adam rose and reached for her arm. "Scarlet, don't leave this way. You're being overly dramatic."

“Well, it’s in the job description.” She twisted away from his grasp. “And I'm being honest about how I feel.”

“Okay, yeah. I see that.”

“Look, you’re right. We were a mistake from the beginning, and nothing, not even last night, can change the fact we're not meant to be. You said so yourself weeks ago. I'm not the right kind of girl, yet I let myself believe in a fairy tale. This isn't some movie or romance book. There isn't always a happily-ever-after. Sometimes things end and no one is happy."

He flinched and stepped back. He didn't seem to know what to say, and she damn sure had no words to make anything better.

She picked up her purse and headed for the door.

He didn't follow her. When she took one last look over her shoulder, she felt something in her chest break loose and flood her with grief. He watched her like he had no answers.

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