Page 112 of A Summer of Stars

Her ex-husband.

Jeremiah looked down at his arm before sparing me a glance. I waited for him to argue. Maybe defend himself. But he smirked.

“Ah yes, the actor, Kieran Alexander.” He had a British accent. Ironic, since I thought that was supposed to help you sound more polite. He directed his focus to Luna behind me. “Even with this whole stunt, you’ve still managed to make him quite smitten with you. It’s cute.”

I tensed. I didn’t know she had told him about the PR stunt.

He stuck his hand out. “Jeremiah Evans, Luna’s husband, nice to meet you.”

“Jeremiah—” She tried to cut him off.

I ignored his hand. “If you want to talk, then we can talk, but don’t call yourself her husband, and don’t take another step toward her,” I told him.

“This is none of your business. And I don’t think she appreciates you involving yourself in her relationships.” He looked at her, attempting to step around me. “Come back to my hotel, and we can celebrate your win before we’re back in New York.”

I stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Thisismy businessbecause she’s upset. I may not be her husband, but neither are you. You may think you know about our relationship, but you don’t. So the next time you want to question my position, I want you to think about the fact that she’ll be inmyhotel room tonight,” I finished, turning—

With a pinched red face, he said, “That’s sweet, Luna, he cares about you. Has she told you how she feels about you? Probably not.”

I froze.I don’t know right now, she had whispered on the beach.

“You probably love her despite the fact that she hasn’t affirmed any of those feelings, because she’s still speaking to the first man she fell in love with,” he pointed out.

It was like I was inside an elevator that dropped. My heart was in my stomach. I had déjà vu of the night my ex walked through the door with someone else.

I could never love someone like you anyway. You must know that, don’t you?

He kept going. “Does she wear that red dress for you? Pass you notes on Uno cards? Did she show you the room we shared at the Mansfield where we—”

He stumbled backward, throwing his hand against the wall in an effort to catch himself, falling against a group of people behind him. Glasses shattered against the marble floor and gasps bounced off the walls. His other hand clutched his nose as blood spewed.

Luna flicked her wrist, shaking out the pain in her knuckles. She leaned over him, where he sat stunned on the ground, and whispered, “You’re a washed-up tennis player who was only good when I was there.”

Holy shit.

Then she took a glass from a random woman and poured it over his lap. With a rapidly swelling nose, his face was a mask of red.

“Do you finally get the message?” she asked. He stared at her, eyes open and frozen, but said nothing. She nodded calmly, responding, “Fabulous.”

Handing him the glass, she stood back up, taking my hand and pulling me away. Down a hall and into a—

“Why are we in a closet?” Hung jackets brushed my shoulders as she shut the door.

“Because I need a minute.” She exhaled, walking back and forth in the short space between me and the door. She flexed her fingers while her other hand gripped her hip.

“Luna—”

“Kieran, I need a minute.”

I could see how exhausted she was, but I was exhausted too. I felt sick. I loved this woman. I loved her so much. But I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. For the “You’re wonderful, but I could never love you” to come out.

“Talk to me,” I said. “I’m here.”

She stopped her pacing, looking to the ceiling. She took a second to trace her nails before whispering, “I’m not sure I was built for love.”

I stepped forward. “That’s not true.”

She stepped back. “No, I mean it, Kieran.”