Page 15 of Hollywood Comes Home

Ian sauntered to his desk, perching on the edge, folding his arms over his chest. “I’ll support whatever you think is appropriate for you right now. We’re friends.”

“And as my boss?” I wiped away the last of the moisture in my eyes with my robe’s sleeve, rolling my shoulders back confidently. “What does Mr. Knight think?”

Pushing off the desk, he lumbered toward the door, gripping the handle, and paused. Without turning around, he asserted his condition. “If I see my business suffering because of your emotions, Iwillpull you from headliner, from the main stage, and off the floor entirely. Am I clear?”

“Okay.”

He exited the room instantly, closing the door behind him. Jenna stood, holding her arms out. I reached for her, hugging her tightly. Both Jenna and Ian had been a turning point in my life. Ian and his friends saved me from my last relationship. Since then, we’d all grown so much closer. But for Ian, his business was…hisbusiness. I understood and respected that about him.

“Alejandro kind of asked me out.” I blurted into our embrace.

“What?!” She pushed back, shocked. “What did you say to him?”

“Nothing yet, but I might as well start somewhere, yes?”

She sighed. “I don’t want to be in the middle of you and Chance. You’re both my best friends, so just do what makes you genuinely happy.” She took my hands in hers. “I would tell you both the same thing, okay?”

“I don’t want you to feel like you’re in the middle, ever.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, relief swept over her face.

When Chance and I broke up, we agreed we wouldn’t allow it to come between our friends and us. He and I needed time to heal. Unfortunately, we had different ways of self-healing. “I’m going to try to get some sleep now.”

She nodded. “Me too.”

I sashayed to my room with a new sense of confidence I didn’t have before I saw Chance with those women. Maybe seeing him moving on was what my heart needed to see. The pain was still there, but I had to focus on myself. Working tomorrow would be a great distraction.

That night, I tossed and turned, fighting thoughts of what he was doing right now. At one point, I even reached over for my phone, hovering my finger over his name, debating about calling him. Chance and I were a couple, but he was also one of my best friends. I felt like I had lost two people at once when he moved away. While drifting into a light sleep, I let him go... I had to.

KNOCK KNOCK.

Yanking the blankets to my chest, I sat up quickly. “Come in?”

Puzzled, I stared at the door, waiting to see who was there. It opened slowly. A familiar platinum blonde peeked around the corner of the large wooden door.

“CHANCE!” I shouted.

“Hey baby, I flew home as soon as I could.” He lunged for the bed, pulling me into his arms, holding me firmly against him. “I missed you so much, Amber!”

“Oh, my God!” I cried out. “I missed you so much!”

“I’ll never leave you again, I swear.”

“I love you so much.” I sobbed into his chest.

“Amber, there’s something I have to tell you.”

Peeking up, I peered into his eyes, but they looked different. They slowly turned grim and murky.

“Chance?”

Instantly, he became a statue. I nudged him, but he didn’t move. He faded away into a mist. I reached for him, but he disappeared.

“Come back!”

“Amber.” His voice sounded far away.

“Amber.”

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