Page 35 of Undefeated Love
“How long are you supposed to keep up this farce of an engagement?” Lei Lu picked up her computer, her fingers flying over the keys. “I see that she, I refuse to speak her name, is filming in Italy for the next several weeks.”
“I wanted to break it off right after the movie but then she convinced me to keep up the pretense of the engagement throughout the parties that night. As reviews came in, they started talking about Oscar nominations.” Alex shrugged. “I certainly don’t want to continue this hoax until March.”
“Did you tell her that you were engaged to Katlin?” Grace asked.
“Hell, yes.” He held up his left hand where he still wore the diamond embedded ring she’d given him. “I’ve told her several times about Kat.” His gaze met Daniel’s. “Although I’m not sure Katlin is engaged to me anymore. She sent me back my ring…without your mother’s blue diamond.”
“In that case, I don’t believe Katlin thinks she’s still engaged to you,” Nita said.
“Do you think he’s the reason she walked away from us?” Lei Lu asked the other members of her team.
“No. Katlin was very specific in her text. We all saw how hesitant and indecisive she was. She knows as well as we do how dangerous that is for everyone, especially during a mission.” Grace wiggled her way off the couch to refill her wine and to grab Griffin another beer.
“Not to mention how tired she was all the damn time.” Nita held out her glass. “Would you please refill mine while you’re there?”
“It would be my pleasure,” Grace said as she grabbed the wineglass.
“Is your friendship with JJ worth all this?” Top pinned Alex with a stare.
“Fuck, no. Nothing is more important to me than Katlin.”
“Then you need to scrape this bitch off. Now.” Tori wandered to the kitchen and started opening cabinets. “I’m surprised Katlin doesn’t have any crackers and cheese here. She’s always snacking on the stuff.”
“I don’t believe she’s staying here,” Alex pointed out. “Before you left to hunt down Jack, she wasn’t living here.”
“Where the hell was she staying?” Lei Lu asked.
Alex shrugged. “Damned if I know.”
“We need to get back to this situation.” Nita redirected. “It sounds to me that JJ doesn’t respect your relationship with Katlin, thus, she doesn’t respect you.”
Alex slumped down in an empty chair. “I never thought about it that way,” he admitted.
“She obviously didn’t give a fuck about how her little stunt affected you and Katlin…emphasis on you,” Tori pointed out.
“You’re right.” Alex thought about several occasions that night. As always, JJ was the center of attention, and rightfully so since it was her first big movie. But JJ’s little quip ‘sorry, not sorry’ should have pissed him off, but he’d let it slide. It was such a typical JJ statement.
“Why did you even agree to take her to the premiere?” Griffin asked.
“JJ had caught her most recent boyfriend in a lip lock with another woman days before the premiere. She called me, in tears, and I agreed to take her.” Even as he said the words, Alex realized how often he was there for JJ yet she wouldn’t budge on the engagement charade for him.
“Like I said, you need to scrape that bitch off just as soon as possible. She’s a user and they’re almost always friendship abusers.” Tori added, “And it needs to be very public with lots of paparazzi around. I know these types of women. Worked with them for years in the modeling world.”
Lei Lu grinned. “I think you need to do it as soon as she comes back to the United States. Don’t play her game. Don’t wait until the Oscars. Surprise her next time you’re together.”
Shakespeare looked down at her. “I had no idea you had this evil side to you.”
Lei Lu leaned up and stole a kiss from him. “I’m a multifaceted woman. Don’t ever piss me off. I can kill you with my bare hands and all these lovely Ladies will help me dispose of the body.”
Henry leaned down and gave her a deep sensual kiss. “The only thing I ever want to do is make you happy.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet. Now cut that shit out.” Nita threw her napkin at the two of them. “We need to figure out a way to get Katlin and Alex back together.”
“They have to walk down the aisle side by side at our wedding since Alex is, once again, still, whatever, the best man and Katlin is my maid of honor,” Grace said as she reentered the living room and sat on Griffin’s lap rather than the empty spot on the couch.
“That makes perfect sense.” Nita took a sip of her red wine. “They’ll be together at the wedding. They can talk then.”
“If we have to, we’ll lock them in a room together,” Griffin suggested.
