Page 11 of Something New

She covered a wince, wondering how soon she’d be packing up her new house and moving, especially if she couldn’t find a new role. Oh, her situation wasn’t that dire. She had saved her salary as much as possible, terrified of the day when she wouldn’t have the steady job, knowing how easy it could be to lose everything. However, she never really thought it could happen to her, not when she had seemed to be on top. How quickly people fell.

Still, she turned and frowned. “I packed light, trust me. Just what I needed. Stop complaining unless you’re not strong enough to handle it. I could always help you.”

He snarled an incoherent reply, but the meaning was clear. She smothered a grin. Wyatt was so easy to manipulate, at least in this. Then her smile faded, remembering a time when he could see right through her. She had to be careful this week. He had already proven that he was as perceptive as ever, and not fooled by her charms. And she wasn’t sure where he stood with her, if he was still pissed or over the past. His signals were confusing. First, he was cold and distant, then he defended her like a white knight. To be safe, she’d have to protect herself. Don the armor she wore like a second skin since living in Hollywood until she knew if she was safe, whatever that meant.

Deciding he could handle the luggage—honestly, there were only a couple of bags—she headed up the stairs and turned the corner, running smack into the couple she hadn’t expected to see. Delaney Winters, the ice-cold society princess, was wrapped around her ex-fiancé, the man she supposedly destroyed when she broke their engagement. Well, they certainly didn’t look broken up. Typical Delaney. Twisting Ethan around her little finger already, manipulative like her father.

Her father had been a convincing con artist in his time, using his position and influence to persuade friends of his to invest in his scheme. Hell, he had even duped her middle-class family to invest in his scheme. Then, before he could make things right and refund the losses, he died. No justice, not that he would have gotten any. Anna wasn’t stupid. People of his class didn’t go to prison; they went to Club Fed and had a much easier time than the average person.

No, the real punishment was to the people around the criminal-the people they stole from, their families, their friends. Delaney’s father’s crimes had started the fissure in the foundation of their friendship and within weeks, the group had fractured, never to be together until now. And now, Delaney was picking up right where she left off, with the perfect partner, Ethan Van Owen, scion of his family. Anna snorted. Delaney always got off easy. Typical.

She stomped her feet irritably, making enough noise to startle the couple. "Unfreakingbelievable. Get a room, would you? There's one right there for God's sake."

Ethan and Delaney broke apart, guilty looks on their faces, along with a cloud of lust.

Wyatt dropped the suitcases and leaned down to whisper in Anna’s ear, “Maybe you need to get laid, Anna. Pull that stick out of your ass.”

She glared up at him, foot tapping. She crossed her arms over her chest, restraining the urge to smack the smug look off his face. He only leaned against the wall, his duffel thrown over his back, grinning broadly.

"Sorry, man. Didn't mean to interrupt." Wyatt winked at the couple.

Traitor. He was always sympathetic to Delaney, treating her like a princess. Anna resisted the urge to snarl at him and settled for an elbow to his stomach. He barely flinched, but she winced at the pain that shot down her arm.

"You weren't interrupting anything. We were just talking," Ethan replied smoothly.

"Sure, you were, mate." Wyatt stepped around her and clapped Ethan on the shoulder while Anna rolled her eyes.

Meanwhile, Delaney studied Anna with a wary look. "Anna. Good to see you again." Delaney held out her hand, and Anna looked at it as if it were a copperhead poised to strike.

Anna arched a perfectly manicured brow at the hand. "Is it? Wyatt, my room is down here. Bring my stuff, please."

She pushed past Delaney, banging her with a suitcase. "Oops. Sorry, Delaney. Did I hurt you?"

She knew it was petty, but dammit, she had let Delaney in, despite her absolute confidence that they were too different, had too much separating them, to really be friends. She had overcome her initial wariness of the cool, beautiful woman, and Delaney had turned her back on Anna when the going got tough, proving that their friendship only ran as deep as a summer creek in the dry season. Anna wasn’t worth a deeper friendship, wasn’t worth her trust, or her faith, when Delaney needed her friends the most. No, Delaney cut them all out of her life, and Anna learned to watch her friends, because chances were, they weren’t as good of friends as she thought.

That lesson helped her when she got to Los Angeles. When she was forced to room with other women, she played the game, being friendly but guarding her heart carefully. Sure enough, when it came down to jobs and roles, friends betrayed each other, and sisterhood was abandoned for personal gain. Anna never worried about that. Many careers were ruined with poor choices in friendships or bedmates, but no one got close enough to Anna to have information to spill to the tabloids or gossip rags.

Thank you, Delaney Winters.

Wyatt wrapped an arm around Anna’s waist, pulling her hard against his side. "Stop being such a bitch, Anna. Why the hell did you bring so much shit?"

She ducked out of his embrace and glared at him. "Not going to happen, mister. No way. Not again." She stalked the remaining steps down the hall and into a room at the end. “Bring the bags. Please.”

Wyatt followed her down the hall and into her room. He dropped the bags on the floor. “What crawled up your ass and died? Delaney used to be one of your best friends, and you were beyond a bitch to her. She’s been through a rough time and didn’t deserve your shit.”

Anna whirled and got up in his face. “When I want your opinion, Wyatt Turner, I’ll ask for it. Until then, thanks for the bags. You can go now.”

He paused in the doorway, a pensive look on his face. “You know, Anna, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but remember, these are your friends. I have a feeling you need them, maybe more than you know. Don’t alienate the last people who might actually give a damn about you.”

He stepped into the hall, and she slammed the door in his face without comment.

Chapter Five

Wyatt tossed his duffel into his room. He studied the white door across the hall, tightly shut, much like the woman who he barely recognized today. Anna more closely resembled the porcupine than the warm, sexy, flirty woman he remembered from their dating days. Her body was spiked with sharp edges and tension, while her words were poisonous and sharp, flaying everyone around them. He leaned against the wall and tried to reconcile this Anna with the woman he had expected to see.

He hadn’t expected her to be the same woman she was five years ago. Hell, they had all changed. But Anna seemed much harder, more brittle, as if she could shatter with the slightest touch. His mind wrestled with the change, but another part of him challenged it, wondering why he should even give a damn when she had shown her true colors by walking out on him when he needed her the most?

He knew better than most that Anna was a brilliant actress, able to be whomever and whatever anyone wanted or needed her to be. She had certainly played the part of a devoted girlfriend through his first knee injury, although guilt probably played a huge role in her decision to take on the part. But, when his second injury came around, Anna was in California, setting up her career, and she made it very clear she wasn’t coming back to Texas and nursing him through another round of rehab, especially not with the uncertainty of his career hanging in the balance, a career both knew was most likely over. Instead, she began building a name for herself in the tabloids, on the arms of eligible bachelors, costars, and anyone who could elevate her career to the next level. Her strategy paid off. She was now a star and obviously thought she was too good for Wyatt or anyone there. It was amazing she even deigned to come home again.

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