Page 23 of Worth Every Moment
Raising a hand, I cut her off with a gentle, “Please. Enjoy the rest of your evening. There’s plenty more to see, but if you don’t want to stay, my driver is outside. He’ll take you wherever you want to go.”
To her credit, she takes it well, and the tension in my shoulders loosens as I head in Dominic’s direction. Not my finest moment, but at least I was honest with her.
I get a view of Erica, standing opposite the designer, looking altogether too passive for someone who’s being screamed at.
“You selfish bitch, how could you do this to me?” Dominic squeals. Red-hot rage rises through me.How dare he speak to her this way?
Without stopping to think, I push through the crowd, but I’m still a fair distance away when Dominic throws his champagne over Erica, soaking the front of the silk dress.
“That’s the last dress of mine you’ll ever wear,” he yells, before turning and storming towards the exit.
By the time I reach Erica, Dominic has vanished, escorted from the premises by security. She’s surrounded by women attempting to comfort her, but I shove through until I’m right at the front.
“You really like to make a scene, Lefroy,” I say, and she smiles before she’s even looked at me.God, that smile is something else.I know it’s all forgiven from our last encounter. We’ll probably never talk about what happened when she threw me out, or why we haven’t spoken. Maybe she never even fucking noticed.
Maybe all this is in my head.
“And you really like to be there when I do,” she says, with a bitterness that’s all pretense. It’s more like a private joke, and internally I’m jumping up and down that I get to share it with her.
“I love it.” I put my arm around her shoulder. She folds into me, resistance melting. She fits so perfectly under my arm that I don’t know why the hell she doesn’t just want to stay there. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” I have no clue how I’m actually going to do that, but any excuse to get Erica on her own works for me.
“You coming to the ladies’ with me?” she teases.
“Aren't the bathrooms all gender neutral in these places now? So yes, I’m coming with you.”
“I’m okay.” She tugs at her dress. “It’ll be dry in a moment. Stained, but dry. Let’s go get another drink instead.”
There’s no way I’m letting her wriggle out of a moment alone with me. “I’d rather you were comfortable first.”
“I am comfortable.”
I draw back to peer at her. “You’re not upset? That madman was screaming at you.”
She rolls her eyes. “Oh, no. That’s just Dominic. It’s his way. It’s annoying because it doesn’t do much for my brand.” I’m the one restraining my eye roll now.Her bloody brand. “But I was expecting it, to be honest. I should have told him in private.”
“Told him what?”
“That I’m quitting modelling. I had to work up to it because I knew exactly how he’d take it.” She glances at the stain on her dress. “I thought telling him in public might keep him in check. Stupid of me. But I finally did it.”
Her words catch me off guard and I halt, turning to face her, unable to control the surprise that must be scrawled across my face. “You’re quitting? But you…”arethe hottest woman on planet Earth. “Is it the acting? Can’t you do both? Loads of actresses do modelling campaigns.”
“I want to do something different,” Erica says matter-of-factly. “I’ve been doing this for over a decade. And I’m getting older, you know? I have to make plans for the future. Acting can sustain me for longer.” She grips my arm, an inner light shining through her eyes. “I’m really excited to see where it takes me.”
“Oh.” Dread filters through my veins like ice, and as much as I want to match her enthusiasm, I can’t.Please say it doesn’t take you away from me. We continue walking, and the crowd filters out. Soon I’ll have her all to myself.
“What about your date?” Erica asks, glancing around as if she’s just noticed we’re alone.
Something warm stirs beneath my ribs, replacing the chill.She noticed.There’s no way I can admit that I ditched my date at the mere thought that Erica might be in trouble, so I mutter,“Fuck my date.”
Erica does one of those fake gasps, striking her hand to her chest. “I’ll leave that to you, thank you very much. And beforeyou ask.” A cheeky glint gleams in her eyes. “No, I don’t want to watch.”
My smile must be insanely big right now, and I let out a laugh that probably looks totally incongruous to anyone outside of me and Erica. She’s just been yelled at and soaked in champagne. It makes no sense for me to be laughing, but when I look over at her, she’s grinning too.
“Are we okay?” I ask, unable to resist asking for confirmation.
“Yeah. I’m sorry I threw you out that night.”
I shrug. “Throw me out anytime. I’ll always come back for more.”
