Page 126 of Dare You to Lie

I shook my head. “I look like a fool.”

Riley wrapped her arms around me, and I cried.

“I’m so heartbroken,” I sobbed. “I feel so disrespected and broken. He knew how embarrassed I was about the Alessandro situation, and he still broke things off with me in front of everyone.”

“I’m so sorry, Kat. It will be okay. You’ll get through it and come out on the other side. With or without him.”

“Without him,” I said, wiping my nose with my sleeve. It was already dirty as hell, so why not? “I’m not taking him back after what he did. My mother is a monster and called me fat in a wedding dress, but what Sid did felt so much worse. He betrayed me, and he did it with an audience. There’s no coming back from that. What we had is broken.”

No matter how badly my heart hurt or how much I wanted to take him back, I couldn’t. Not after what he did. I kept our secret, not only for me but also for him. The worst part was when I asked him if we’d made love and he wouldn’t look at me. His face had haunted me for the last week. He’d looked ashamed.

I deserved better. He was right about that. I wanted to be with someone who was proud to call me theirs, not someone who would run at the first sign of trouble. Or because they got scared. So my heart would just have to get on board with this decision because we were never going back to Sidney Lewis. Ever.

“THREE...TWO...ONE...Happy New Year!” There was cheering and singing and lots of drunk people celebrating.

Rebecca grabbed me and hugged me. “Happy New Year!” She had a big smile on her face, and her cheeks were rosy from the cold and the alcohol she’d consumed. I smiled even though tears leaked from my eyes, no doubt making my mascara run.

“Aw, Kat. I’m so sorry,” she shouted.

I waved her off and smiled again. Hands landed on my shoulders and spun me around. Riley grabbed me and jumped up and down. Excitement buzzed off her. “Happy New Year!”

I nodded and smiled, feeling like a puppet. Maybe if I faked happy enough, I’d actually feel it. Anna was next to hug me, but she said nothing, just gave me a knowing look, and that opened the floodgates.

Here I was in a short sexy dress, my hair in waves and my makeup on point, and I was sobbing. I was glad we’d rented out a table at one of the rooftop bars instead of standing in the middle of Times Square. It would still be a few hours before we could leave, though. The streets were closed, and there were people everywhere.

Some guy walked by and grabbed my ass. I spun around and hit him upside the head with my clutch.

“Ouch. What the hell?” he said.

“You grabbed my ass.”

“That wasn’t me. I swear.” He held up his hands, and his eyes were wide.

He was so earnest that I believed him. “Sorry.”

“You could make it up to me by buying me a drink,” he said.

He was tall, dark, and handsome. The kind of man I would have dated when I lived here. He wore a fitted suit, had an expensive haircut, and smelled amazing. It did nothing for me, though. Instead, it brought on a fresh wave of tears, and the man grimaced and recoiled.

Rebecca pulled me to her side. “Excuse us.”

“Sorry,” I said with a sniff. “I’m a mess.”

“It’s okay. Do you want to go?”

“No. You guys are having so much fun.”

Riley and Anna were dancing near our table with two men. They looked like they were having a fantastic time, and I didn’t want to be the one to ruin it.

“It’s okay. We can go.”

“You should dance with someone,” I said into her ear.

She blushed and shook her head. “I’m not interested.”

“Is there someone else?”

She bit her lip.

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