Page 123 of Between Never and Forever
“Sure, he’s not. I thought you were supposed to be sober, Rockstar. Was that a lie, too?”
My jaw drops, but he still doesn’t stop. He takes out his phone and starts to read out loud, his voice mocking and dramatic, like a newscaster giving a nightly broadcast.
“It says here, ‘Is Sav Loveless due for another rehab visit? The Hometown Heartless made an appearance at the Music Choice Awards last night, but it seems their lead singer couldn’t even make it off the red carpet without causing a scene. Has she failed yet another attempt to get clean? Judging from the drunk and stumbling, we sure think so. See our exclusive photos of Sav’s despicable fall, even taking out her own bodyguard on the way down. At least her fiancé, Torren King, was there to lend her a hand. Let’s hope she didn’t ruin theGivenchy.’”
My heart is in my throat, and it takes all my restraint not to grab his phone and stomp on it. These tabloids are ruthless, and they don’t care what lies they spread so long as they sell copies. Hammond is going to fucking kill me. I bet the moment I turn my phone back on, it will be nothing but scolding and berating and damage control attempts.
Fuck, if this fucks things up with the label...
I was feeling so good about this weekend, too.
“None of that is true. It’s all bullshit.”
I fist my hands to keep them from shaking, but I can’t keep the angry waver from my voice. Or the hurt. For once, I actually do things right and I still get screwed over.
“I was sober. I didn’t take anything. I didn’t drink anything.”
He raises an eyebrow.
“You just tripped over your dress, then? The one that barely covered your ass.”
“That’s not what fucking happened either. Jesus, Levi, give me some credit.”
“The pictures don’t lie, Sav. These photos with you on the ground. These pictures of you all cozied up with Torren fucking King.”
“The pictures do lie, actually, and if you knew anything about anything, you’d know that. It’s not what it looks like. It’sneverwhat it looks like. You’re being a damn idiot.”
Levi steps closer, his voice lowering to a sensual whisper. A lover sharing secrets, but his tone is menacing. He trails his knuckles up my arm, leaving goosebumps behind as he continues to speak.
“Am I, though? Am I reading too far into it? Matching outfits. Holding hands. Laughing. Cuddling in your velvet seats. Tucking your hair behind your ear.”
His fingertips brush my jaw, then he takes a strand of my hair and runs it behind my ear, so gently I barely feel it. His breath smells faintly of whiskey and something sweet. Something citrusy.Oranges. When he wraps his hand around the side of my neck and rests his thumb on my lower lip, I expect him to kiss me.
He doesn’t. Instead, he meets my eyes once more, and it’s nothing but anger.
“That’s how you do it though, isn’t it, Rockstar. You come on my tongue then turn around and hang all over his arm. Did you think of me?”
“What?”
I shake my head slightly against the firm, warm grip of his hand, and his thumb moves over my lip. I’m so confused by his closeness, frustrated and angry and turned on, that his words don’t make sense.
“What?” I ask again, and his answering smirk is almost cruel.
Cruel, but sad.
“When his mouth was on you. Did you think of me?”
I take a step back, my brows slanting and my jaw tightening. My heart is racing, hands itching to reach for him, but he’s being an asshole.
“Nothing happened between me and Torren. I told you, he’s not my fiancé. He’s not even my boyfriend.”
“That fucking flashy ring tells me otherwise, Sav.”
He glances to my ring finger and back, and I mentally curse myself for not taking it off once we got out of the airport, but I was so tired. I’ve worn it all weekend, and I haven’t taken it off just in case we ran into paps. I almost forgot it was there.
“It’s a stunt, Levi. It’s be—”
“Savannah.”
