Page 42 of Love to Prove You Wrong

“She’ll like me after she sees what I’ve got planned,” Justin told Russell, ignoring me.

Russell grinned. “Man, this is going to be such an interesting night.”

The two of them started talking about work, call times, and scripts. Meanwhile, the cogs in my head kept turning. Justin had planned something, and I didn’t like it one bit. What if me coming here was all some ploy to make fun of me? I still wasn’t one hundred percent sure about trusting him.

I pushed my worries aside. All I’d been doing lately was worry. Tonight was about having a good time. So what if Justin had planned something stupid? I was here to party with celebs. Nothing could ruin that experience.

I ordered myself a glass of champagne and plucked another appetizer from a passing tray. The food at this party was next level. Alicia probably had a private chef that catered to her every need. It was quite an accomplishment that she was able to stay so thin. If I had a private chef, I’d never stop eating.

As I sipped my drink and munched on my food, I let my gaze wander around the room. It was weird seeing all these people I knew from TV in real life. They looked exactly like they did on the small screen, yet completely different at the same time.

Then Justin put his hand on the small of my back, guiding me inside. “Alicia’s about to make a speech,” he said.

“Uh-huh.”

His hand didn’t leave its spot, and I felt my face go beetroot.Relax,I told myself.Breathe.

Alicia grabbed a microphone and thanked everyone for coming. She said some other things as well, but I didn’t hear one word of it. Justin’s hand was still on my back, turning my extremities into Jell-O.

The applause that went around the room snapped me out of the blubbering state I was in. Justin leaned closer, his lips brushing against my ear.

Every hair on my body shot up when he whispered, “You think you hate me? I’m going to prove you wrong, Addy. You long for me, and you know it.”

Then he let go. He walked over to Alicia with confident strides and took the microphone from her. A grin unfurled across his mouth as he slung a guitar around his body.

“I know this guitar belongs to the band who’s going to perform later, but they were nice enough to let me borrow it. I’ve got something special prepared for tonight, friends.”

His gaze zoomed in on me and he winked. He rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, and the sight of his strong forearms made me gasp. I needed another drink. My throat had become as dry as a desert.

“I wrote this one myself, so please bear with me. It’s far from perfect, but I hope it’ll do the trick.”

Justin strummed the guitar, eliciting cheers from the crowd. My eyes were transfixed on his mouth, his fingers forming the chords, his expression nothing but lust-inducing. I put a hand over my mouth, nearly hyperventilating.

“Let me melt your icy heart,” he sang, his voice reverberating through the room. “I know you love to hate me, and it’s driving me insane.”

He looked at me, and I could feel everyone else’s eyes on me as well. This made zero sense. Was he… doing this for me? Why?

I backed away and ran. I couldn’t bear to hear what he was going to sing about next. I pushed through the crowd and opened the first door I could find.

I knew that running away was lame and that I’d have to stop doing it sooner or later, but for now, I figured later would do the trick. As long as I kept pushing the truth away, it wouldn’t be real, would it?

Oh, who was I kidding. The truth was undeniable. It was right there in my sweaty palms, my pounding heart, and elevated body temperature.

I needed something to fan myself with, or I’d faint. I let my gaze wander to find something useful, but apparently, I had stumbled into a pantry.

Still, I wasn’t going to let someone find me unconscious at Alicia Bright’s birthday party. I ripped open a package of lasagna sheets and fanned myself with one of them.

There were footsteps outside, and someone rattled the doorknob. Justin came bursting in, his forearms still bare, taunting my insides to light on fire.

He stared at the lasagna sheet in my hand. It was enough to make his scowl disappear. “What are you doing?”

I swallowed. “I needed some air.”

He closed the door behind him, taking a cautious step toward me. I didn’t back away this time.

“You didn’t like the song?” His voice came out low and hoarse.

“I did. It was good,” I said, barely audible.

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