Page 28 of From Us, Forever

“Good,” he firmed before sliding his arm from my shoulders and lacing his fingers with mine as he dragged me out of the venue.

I only blinked, trying to process what happened as I waved a grinning Gabe goodbye.

Jay opened the door tohis dark Porsche 911 and helped me inside.

I watched a wide smile dance on his face as he slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine. It was only when the chill blast of the AC breezed through the heat of my skin thatI was able to fully comprehend what had just happened.

“Did you have to do that? I asked youto call me when you got there.” I twisted in my seat as I faced him. The sharpness of his side profile was lit by the bright sun filtering through the windshield.

He shrugged. “I wanted to pick up my girl. Is that a bad thing now?” His hand swept over and grabbed mine, placing a kiss on the back of my hand.

“Yes, did you see everyone looking at us? Now, they’re all going to talk about it.”

He sighed. “Evelyn, we were already photographed together, and it’s only a matter of time before people start connecting the dots. But no word is going to get out of that place, okay?”

“Fine,” I said, letting it go. “But I must say I did like the look on her face.”

He threw his head back in a laugh, the sound so deep and melodic that it did something to my heart.

“How did you know her anyway?”

“Her husband is a music director. I have worked with him a few times for our videos and Amelie loves to pop up on set.”

“Ah. Your music videos,” I breathed, pausing. “Can I be honest and say I don’t like a single one of them.” A prickle cracked my throat. “Especially brown-eyed girl,” I whispered hoarsely.

He stiffened because he knew exactly why. The music video to our song, the song he wrote for me, had him almost naked all over another girl with pretty brown eyes. My stomach twisted even at the thought of it.

“I’m sorry,” he said in a forlorn tone.

“It’s okay,” I muttered. “It didn’t hurt as much as what you said in the interview.”

“What did I say?” He frowned, lifting a brow.

“They asked you who did you write it about.” I swallowed. “You said no one special,” I whispered. My words hung in the air heavily.

He inhaled sharply, his knuckles turning deadly white on the steering wheel. “I don’t remember that.”

“It’s okay.” My hand reached out to squeeze his thigh. “In a way, if it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have ended up on the rooftop, and I wouldn’t have met Gabe.”

I swayed forward as he hit the brakes and veered into the curb suddenly. “What do you mean you ended up on the terrace?” His eyes snapped to mine.

My eyes widened. “I just did,” I said meekly. “It all just got too much for me.”

A tense beat of silence passed as he wrung a frustrated hand through his hair.

“Somehow when I think I’ve heard all about our past, it only gets more fucked up,” he whispered.

I sighed. “Jay, it’s fine. Like you said, it’s in the past.”

“Still doesn’t make it right,” he said flatly. “I’m tired of saying sorry but I am. I’m sorry you had to go through that, and I wasn’t there for you.”

“Not your fault. I ended up with you anyway.” I smiled.

“That you did.” He gave me a heart-wrenching smile, kissing the back of my hand as he started the engine again and sped off.

A small smile was still dancing on my face as I thought about all the fucked-up things we went through. The more I thought about it these days, the more I felt like it all happened for a reason.

“How about we go grab some food?” he asked as he lifted his sunglasses over his head, his blues shining at me so full of love.

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