Page 90 of False Promises

“A production party.” I offered her a half-shrug. “You might know some people already.” Maybe it was better to keep an eye on her than leave her to her own devices alone in the city. The woman was a loose cannon. As Riley said, there were three of us to keep an eye on her. What was the saying again? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Guess it never applied to a situation better.

The offer I dangled in her face did the trick because sparks returned to Savannah’s gaze. “Gimme an hour. I need to freshen up. I can’t wait to get there.” Spinning on her heels, she hurried away.

Raking my fingers through my hair, I sat back and propped my elbows on the table as I blew out every particle of oxygen from my lungs.

“Okay, this is worse than I thought,” Riley said, breaking the tense silence that had fallen upon us. “Has it always been like that?”

I shook my head. “No. I’m telling you she’s going nuts. Or is so sure of herself she doesn’t even pretend to play a role anymore.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Riley said. “I promise.” He clapped my shoulder, bringing me some much-needed comfort.

* * *

“Everyone is ignoring me,” Savannah complained as I sipped on a lemonade, and she downed her wine as if it was water. “You lied to me, Carter. I know nobody here.”

“You usually don’t have any problem introducing yourself. I’m sure you can find people to chat with.”

“All you do is flirt with women right in front of me,” she accused, waggling a red-manicured finger before my eyes.

“You can’t be serious. Are you jealous of Aisha Jones? I told you she was the live act on the show tonight. We’ve known each other a long time.”

“Don’t force me to go to people so you’re free to do whatever pleases you.”

I snickered. Where was the mirror when I needed it? Savannah deserved a reality check. Quick.

“Are you listening to me or just pretending to be?” she whisper-screamed, poking my chest with her digit.

I shook my head and stuffed my free hand into the pocket of my denims, trying to even my breathing and not give her words too much importance.

“You are delirious. I heard everything you said. Doesn’t makes sense to me, nor do I agree with any of it.”

Savannah dragged her ruby fingernails down my chest.

My eyes traveled to the people mingling around us. We hadn’t caught anybody’s attention yet. I hated myself for bringing her here tonight. At least Riley and Sam were witnesses to her antics.

From further away, my manager nodded and made his way toward us. Mentally, I thanked him because every argument with Savannah always escalated from zero to one thousand in seconds. “Can I steal Carter away for a minute?”

Savannah leaned back, pouting again, but nodded, her arms folded over her chest.

“Okay, fine. You’ll come back to me quickly, right?”

“Yeah.”

Riley led me away. “You looked like someone desperate to be rescued. I volunteered to be the man for the job.”

He shrugged, and I burst out laughing.

“You gotta cut her loose, Carter. And fast.”

“I know. I must make sure I cover all bases first. She’s a ticking bomb.”

“I’m calling it the mission to reclaim your freedom. And your sanity. Why haven’t you told me before this how bad it has been?”

“I’m not a quitter. I didn’t wanna fail. For a long time, I made excuses for her behavior. Now I can’t deal with it anymore. What we had—or I thought we had—is unsalvageable.”

“By the way, you’re not failing if you call it quits. I know how loyal you are. You’ve always been. But this needs to end before it burns you alive. You’ve lost some of your essence in this relationship. Savannah has been cutting you off from people who care about you. Listen to me. Never again will you settle for something less than you deserve, okay? I won’t let you become the guy finding excuses for a woman who’s pulling all the strings as if you were her own puppet. You’re lucky she hasn’t caused permanent damage to your soul yet. All night, I’ve witnessed her nonsense. It’s not healthy. For anyone involved. This relationship has impacted your career. You don’t write music anymore. You postponed the launch of your next album. You used to complain you were alone, but she has isolated you even more with her stunts.”

I raked my fingers through my hair, averting my eyes for a second. I hated how all his words rang true.