Page 31 of Oh Boy!
Yup! That’s what this is about. I’ll never learn my lesson; I’m nothing more than a distraction.
Nathan would prefer to be alone with the calligraphy icon in Paris. Damn, I should have Googled her to size up the competition. Now I get it! He didn’t introduce me to her when I came to pick him up in Pennsylvania. It was never about his fans. It was about his precious Kitty. Flashbacks of the way the dark-haired bohemian woman stared at me makes my head spin. They hadn’t spotted me when they were exiting the hotel, but their body language betrayed their intimacy.
Why didn’t it strike me then?
“I get it. You’ll be busy, and I’ll be in your way… So tell me, where does that leave us, Nathan?” I can’t help my snippy tone. “Oceans apart?” Springing from the couch, I circumvent him before he has time to react. I’ve heard enough. “I really think you should go now, Nathan.” My throat constricts, and I can’t hold back my tears any longer. “I need to be alone right now.”
He looks at me like I’m crazy. “You made that choice, Sally.”
“So, now you’re blaming me too?”
“I’m not blaming anyone. Just stating a fact is all.” As if emerging from a trance, he eventually gets to his feet, and I retreat. “I don’t understand, I—”
I raise my hand to stop him. “Don’t.”
His brows furrow, but he has the decency to let it slide and head for the door, grabbing his coat on the way. He bites his lower lip, drawing attention to it. He stops and swivels at the threshold and sighs. “I’ll call you later. I hope you’ll be ready to listen by then.”
I hear the door click shut from the living room. No anger. No remorse. No emotions.
“You just don’t care,” I say to nobody, then pour myself some wine and fetch my phone. I need to know. Curling up on the couch, I hiccup between sobs and catch my breath.
“Hey, Courtney. Sorry to call you at this indecent hour…” I toss back some wine, staring at the label on the bottle. Aloxe Corton… Good choice.
“It’s barely nine.”Oh!I’m so exhausted from my argument that I thought it was later. “You don’t sound so great. Have you been crying?”
“Yeah, well, I have, but that’s okay now. I’m okay… Anyway, bear with me. I’m going to be very intrusive…”
“Shoot.”
“What happened between you and Nathan?” I gulp the rest of my wine.
“Trouble in paradise?”
“Nah…”Liar!“It just occurred to me that we never discussed it, and he’s being extremely secretive. I… wanted to clear the air between us.” More wine, straight from the bottle this time. “Make sure you and I are good, you know.”
My friend insists that she doesn’t want to rain on my parade; I must be convincing enough… All in all, I shouldn’t have asked. Her confession highlights what I was too blind to see. “Classic one-night stand. Not much to say. Was fun while it lasted. I’ll spare you the details. He must have blocked my number, though, because I tried to call him several times. I must admit that I was stunned when you told me that you guys were getting serious.” She lets out a bitter laugh. “Glad he’s different with you.”Or not… “To be honest, I don’t think he’d remember my name if he saw me again.”
Holy shit! I need more wine, but the bottle is empty. I should have known better as soon as I heard his response to her name a few days ago.
“Who?”
