Page 39 of Total Obsession

I opened my mouth to say something, but she cut me off.

"I know why," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Does it have anything to do with a man whose name is a weapon?"

She constantly teased me about what she saw as my infatuation with Axe. I wished she could see it from my perspective. I wasn't infatuated, or obsessed, or any of those things about Axe. It's just that we had a history, and that was hard to ignore.

"When's the last time you even heard from him, anyway?" she asked, not letting me get a word in. Miranda had an attitude as fiery as her natural, curly red hair. She was about a head shorter than me but had the prettiest freckles that ran across her cheeks. Whereas I was mostly skin over bones because of my modeling days, she had a good bit of curve to her.

"He works a lot," I said in response.

"That's not an answer," she pointed out.

I scrunched my face at her. "Do we really have to get into all of this?"

She shrugged. "I just hate seeing you waste your youth and your fame on some guy who can't even bother to get in touch with you."

"I never said he hadn't gotten in touch with me!" I instantly regretted giving her this information.

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "So, just what does dear old Axey-poo claim he's up to these days?"

"You're the only one that's even remotely skeptical of him," I said, pushing myself out of the chair to gather my belongings. It was clear that Miranda wasn't going to let this go, so we might as well start heading out of the studio.

"Everyone else is just enamored with his money," Miranda scoffed. "Including you!"

I didn't respond. Miranda knew about the gifts that Axe had sent to me. Huge bouquets of roses, a Cartier watch after my first day on the set, a diamond bracelet, and champagne, just to name a few. Even I had to admit, it was a little much. I would have traded the gifts just to be able to see him.

We made our way down the hall and into the elevator. I stayed quiet, but Miranda was persistent. "I'm just saying to be careful you're not getting too wrapped up in this guy. I'm only saying this because I care about you."

"I know," I said, trying to remember that she was just being a good friend. It was never an easy thing, though, when your friends didn't like your love interest.

If I could even call him that.

The elevator doors opened, and we made our way out to the street. "Do you wanna grab lunch?" Miranda asked me.

I shook my head, feeling a little irritated by her line of questioning and also just pretty depressed in general.

"I think I'm just gonna grab something at home," I said to her.

"Suit yourself!" she said, hailing a cab. "Catch ya tomorrow."

"Bye," I said, deciding that I would walk the few blocks back to my apartment rather than grab a car. I figured the fresh air would do me good.

The entire walk I was in my head, replaying everything that Miranda said. I didn't even know what to classify my relationship with Axe as. At the party, he'd said privately that I was "his woman," but what did that really even mean?

Sure, he sent me gifts, and messaged me from time to time, but what sort of relationship was that? In the last month, I hadn't even spoken to him on the phone once. Only text messages.

Before I knew it, I was pressing my key against my apartment door.

"Well, it's about time you showed up."

twelve

ZOEY

"Oh my God, you're here!" I said, immediately forgetting all of the doubt I'd felt about him on the walk home. "How? When did you get in?"

He somehow looked better than the picture of him I'd held onto in my head. He was dressed in designer slacks and a button-up. His dark hair was slicked to the side, and when he stood and opened his arms, I couldn't help but run to jump into them.

"Does it matter?" he asked me. "I'm here now."

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