She had completely blacked out, so she really didn’t even know. Her best guess was, she hadn’t been thinking at all.
As soon as Bryna returned from Las Vegas, she hopped in her car and drove over to Jude’s apartment. She couldn’t let him sit there and obsess over what had happened. If New Year’s were any indication, she wouldn’t hear from him for over a week…not until he cooled off. But they had too much to discuss to wait that long.
She parked her car and then walked up to his apartment. Her stomach was in knots as she knocked on the front door. When nothing happened, she knocked again.
Still nothing.
She pulled out her phone and tried calling him. The phone went straight to voice mail. Fuck! He was ignoring her.
When pounding on the door accomplished nothing, she returned to her car and sat down in horror. She had fucked everything up. All she had wanted to do was experience college the way she was supposed to. She wouldn’t have ever been there if it weren’t for her dad, and now, her relationship was going up in flames. She choked back on the ache spreading out from her chest. I cannot lose Jude over this!
Just as she was about to pull out from the garage, a text came in.
Can’t talk right now.
She messaged back.
Please let me explain.
I’m not free again for two weeks.
Bryna checked her calendar and cursed. Of course he would pick her busiest weekend of the year. Gates’s premiere and the Pink Charity Benefit.
I can meet you late Friday night. It’s Valentine’s Day.
Fine.
She ground her teeth. She had so much she wanted to say in that moment.
Call me when you can. I would really like to apologize.
She waited for him to respond, but when he didn’t, she pulled out of the parking lot and started driving. She was halfway home when she received his last message.
I can’t call. I’m with my wife.
Her heart plummeted.
“GATES, OVER HERE!” a reporter yelled.
“Mr. Hartman, please a word.”
“He’s so hot!” someone screamed from the crowd.
“A picture, please.”
“Right this way!”
Bryna smiled through the blinding white flashes of light. Reporters with camera crew littered the red carpet on Hollywood Boulevard for the Broken Road premiere. A crowd had started forming behind the police barricades hours before the stars were expected to show.
Tonight, Gates was the star.
Crowds cheered for him. Women swooned at his smile. Even the reporters weren’t immune to his charm. He was all charisma tonight. Completely in his element.
Bryna, on the other hand, had been out of it for the past two weeks of Jude’s silence. It was straight up torture. She wanted to find out what the fuck he was doing with his wife, but her heart and stomach twisted because the question was dangerous. It would lead to a road of additional questions she didn’t want to ask herself, but she couldn’t seem to stop. Did he lie about being separated? Has he been with his wife the whole time? Were all the times he claimed to be at work really an excuse for him being with her? Is that why he couldn’t see me? Are they sleeping together? Am I no better than my stepmother after all?
All that tension left Bryna stressed and erratic. So, she focused her attention on the charity benefit. She dove head first into planning and tomorrow night all her efforts would pay off. If she could get through the benefit, then things would go back to being as perfect as they had been in St. Barts.
That meant being a supportive friend to Gates on his big day. She had gone all out, wearing a stunning blue Alberta Ferretti original paired with flashy patterned Louboutin high heels. Gates was in a classic tuxedo and looked dashing.
“Gates, one picture with your date, please,” a female reporter requested.
Gates wrapped an arm around Bryna’s waist, and they both smiled for the camera.
The camera crew snapped a few shots.
When they were done, the woman said, “You make a great couple.”
Bryna felt her cheeks heat, and she glanced at Gates.
“Thank you,” he said.
“Our readers have been asking whether or not you are still taken. Some thought, or maybe were hoping, your relationship was over.” The reporter laughed and conspiratorially smiled at Bryna. “We’d love to hear your love story.”
“Oh, we’re not—” Bryna started to say.
“We prefer to keep our personal life private,” Gates said instead.
The reporter switched tactics. “Everyone saw you two together on New Year’s. I even heard there was a kiss,” she said, raising her eyebrows. “Can you confirm that?”
“We were together for New Year’s,” Gates acknowledged. “But I don’t kiss and tell.”
“A gentleman,” the reporter acknowledged. “Is it true that you were recently spotted out in Las Vegas together as well?”
Gates nodded. “That’s right.”
“A budding romance. Can you tell us how you feel about her?”
Bryna kept her fake smile on her face, but she was ready to get out of this situation. Pretending with Gates was fine for the red carpet, but it was enough that her stepmother thought they were still dating. She didn’t need the rest of the world to know that as well.
“We already said, we keep our lives private,” she said.
“Bri, it’s okay if they know,” Gates said, squeezing her waist.
She raised her eyebrows at him in confusion. “Know what?”
“How I feel about you,” Gates said softly. His eyes stared into her, all bright blue and pleading. He looked like he wanted to tell her something, like he’d been holding it in for a while. “Everyone else seems to know but you anyway.”
Bryna’s mouth opened slightly in surprise. He is not doing this right now!
“Gates, are you saying you love her?” the reporter asked, thrusting the microphone forward. “Care to comment further?”
“No, he does not,” Bryna said. She took his hand and marched him down the rest of the red carpet and inside the theater.
Bryna had been here before for her father’s premieres, so she quickly found them an empty room. She shoved Gates inside and glared at him.
“What the fuck was that about?” she demanded.
He glared right back at her. “What the fuck do you think it was about, Bri?”
“I came to this premiere with you because we’re friends, which I’ve said to you over and over again. I agreed to go months ago. And you have been so good to me lately that I wanted to do something nice for you, but I’m not your girlfriend!”
“You think I don’t know that?” he growled. “You remind me every chance you get. I can’t help that I’m in love with you, Bri.”
Bryna rolled her eyes. Is he really playing this game? “Stop! We’re not even in front of the cameras. You don’t have to bullshit me and pretend that you’re in love!”
Gates’s eyes flashed with anger. “Pretend? You think I’m fucking pretending? I do love you, Bri. I have for a long time.”