Page 29 of Her Supermodel Stalker
I hurry into my car and buckle my seatbelt. I’m turning the ignition switch on when he knocks on the window.
I sigh and roll down the window.
“What happened? Have you forgotten our next wine-tasting dinner?” he asks.
“No. But I can’t go with you.”
“Why not? Are you not feeling well?”
I pause for a moment, fighting the tears that threaten to spill. And then I say, “I don’t think I should go out with you anymore.”
“Why? What happened?”
The eagerness in his eyes dims, and the disappointment makes me wish to take back my words. But I remind myself he’s just acting. “Nothing.”
“Are you jealous of Amanda or something? There’s nothing between us, I swear. She’s just a bitch that thinks she owns me.”
“But you used to date her,” I say.
“It wasn’t real,” he says. “It was an act she talked me into. It was stupid, but she thought a romance with non-celebrity would create a good image.”
I can’t hold my tears any longer. “Is everything you do an act? You should probably become an actor instead of a model.”
“I have the thought,” he says with a shrug, not aware of my agitation. “But I’m not good at acting.”
That doesn’t help to ease my distress. “On the contrary, I think you can easily win the Oscar with your superb performance!”
I roll up the window, forcing him to let go of my car door, and then I drive away without a backward glance.
When I get home, I skip dinner, telling my mom I’m not feeling well, and head straight to the bathroom. As soon as I’m alone in the bath, I let my tears flow.
I’ve been such a fool. Although it hurts, I replay every word Amanda said to me in my head. No matter how hard I try to resist, I can’t dismiss anything she told me because everything makes perfect sense now. Of course, this is a prank. In fact, I’ve had the suspicion myself. How am I supposed to believe that out of his millions of fans, he notices me, an unimpressive, small-town single mom, by chance?
What is the chance a celebrity will fall for their fans? I’ve done enough online gossip research to know there are just a handful of cases. And even in those handful cases, the ordinary party isn’t just a nobody. Some of them are rich, some of them have connections with the celebrities, and some of them have mutual friends. At the least, they were from the same city. So what else can explain a supermodel who spends most of his time in metropolitan cities like NY, London, and Paris, would lay his eye on a girl from Sunnywood Valley, an unknown place on the planet? It has to be a scheme, a desperate attempt to salvage his degraded reputation, right?
Lying in my bed, I stare at the ceiling. Or rather, the handsome face of Devin Gamble again. Tomorrow, I tell myself, I’ll remove his posters and throw them into the trash bin. But at the moment, I can’t take my eyes off my fantasy man.
Even though I’m mad and ashamed, I still can’t help but miss him. Our passionate night together fueled my desire for him. In the past week, I couldn’t get him out of my mind. When I open my eyes, I see his posters, but when I close my eyes, I feel his hands and his lips. I remember every thrust he gave me and every word he whispered in my ear. He was in every single dream of mine every night. Oh God. I stuff a pillow between my legs to stop the ache. Why can’t I just enjoy the act, as Amanda suggested? What difference does it make whether or not it’s real, especially I didn’t even expect this to last, anyway?
My phone rings, and I glance at the screen. It’s Devin. I don’t pick up, but it keeps ringing. He’s been texting and calling since I got home, but I ignored him.
I sigh and answer the call. After all, he’s my boss.
Chapter 14
Devin
My heart sinks when I watch Lexi’s car race out of the parking lot. What the hell has happened? I went to her office to take her to my house to get ready for our date, but found her desk empty, and then I was greeted by the anger on her face.
Amanda. The bitch did something to her despite my warning. I know it. But what the hell did she do or say?
I call the spiteful woman the moment I return to my house. She told me she was going to LA to stay with a friend over the weekend and should’ve arrived at the city already. “What the hell did you tell Lexi?” I ask her as soon as she answers the call.
She pauses and then shouts in a caustic tone over some background noises, “Oh, my flight was perfect, thanks for asking, Devin!”
I roll my eyes. Damn. She knows how to put me down.
I take a deep breath to calm down. “Listen, Amanda. I appreciate what you’ve done for me. Thank you for coming here to check on me. But this is important. I need to know what you said to Lexi.”
