Page 68 of The Star

She reaches a hand out, placing it on top of one of mine. “Thank you, Logan.”

“Sara, does Carson know that Cassidy is coming?” I question her, and she meets my gaze with a puzzled look.

“Of course he does. Why?” She tilts her head in curiosity.

I shake my head. “No reason.”

She stands. “Okay, I should get going, big day tomorrow and all.”

I stand as well, and as I do, she steps toward me and wraps her arms around me in a warm, motherly embrace. The gesture feels nice, honestly. I haven’t given much thought to the fact that I’ll never have my mother’s love again, but it helps that I get along with my stepmother so well.

I hug her back for a moment, and then we pull apart. “Thank you, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She turns to head to the door, so I follow her to walk her out. Once she’s waved goodbye and the door is closed, the anger in my gut flares again. Spinning around, I make a beeline for the glass doors and slide them open with force.

“You motherfucker,” I growl as I’m stepping out onto the patio and rushing to the side that faces Carson’s. He’s sitting on the couch with his friends again, and when he sees the deadly look on my face, he stands up.

“What?!”

“You didn’t fucking mention that your goddamngirlfriendis coming to the wedding tomorrow.” I spit the words like acid, waving a hand at him.

Levi and Hayden stay sitting in silence, watching the scene unfold in front of them like they’re in a movie theater.

Carson opens his mouth to speak, but I cut him off with a shout. “You could have fucking told me that before we almost had sex tonight!”

I hear Levi laugh, so I glare daggers at him, and he squeezes his mouth shut.

“Logan.” Carson holds his hands up in defense, even though I’m on an entirely different balcony than him and it’s not like I can beat his ass from here. “I forgot.”

“Youforgot?!” I screech, then look at Levi and Hayden and throw my hands in the air. “He forgot!”

Levi and Hayden both laugh, making me huff a laugh with them. “You…forgot.” I chuckle under my breath.

Carson takes a step closer to the railing. “I’ll come over there and we can talk–”

I cut him off. “Abso-fucking-lutelynot!Don’t come over here, and don’t fuckinglookat me at the wedding tomorrow.” I spin on my foot and storm back inside my room, slamming the door behind me. My heart beats heavy in my chest, and when I realize I’m not done creating destruction tonight, I slide the door open and step back onto the balcony.

“You know what?” I start, walking back to the railing and waving a finger between Levi and Hayden. “Do one of you want to come fuck me? Because clearly, we just do whatever the hell we want around here!”

Carson is still standing at the railing, his head hanging low, but at my words, he snaps it up and gives me a dirty look. “Realclassy, Logan.”

I laugh, throwing my head back as the sound booms from my mouth. I bend my head to look at Carson again. “Classy?!Don’t fucking start with me onclassy,motherfucker, because you’re the one that’s fooling around with your stepsister behind your girlfriend’s back!”

He spreads his lips in a humorless smile, but before he can spit a response at me, I speak again. “Maybe I’ll have a little heart-to-heart with your bae tomorrow, let her know what her boyfriend’s been up to.”

He slices his eyes. “Go wild, I don’t give a fuck.”

I laugh. “Right.”

I turn and head through my sliding glass door, slamming it again, then I fall down on my bed.

Tonight, right now, is the first time I’ve felt like the other woman, the dirty little secret, and it isn’t a feeling I want to have coursing through my veins. Maybe I was a littletooexplosive, but fuck it. Fuck him. Yeah, I knew he had a girlfriend, but he’s the one that’s been chasing me, pursuing me, coming on to me. Even if he says he’s only still dating her because of her pathetic little image, they’restill dating.

Slipping my robe off, I throw it on the floor and crawl under the covers on my bed, hoping that my bitterness and anger subsides by tomorrow so I can keep my promise to Sara.

* * *

My alarm goes off at 10am, pulling me from a dead sleep that has me sweaty and twisted in the sheets of my bed.

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