Page 49 of My Sexy Rival (Stars In Their Eyes 2)
I didn’t even try to contain the wild smile curving up my lips.
“I told you so,” Riley said as if she’d just won a bet. “He said it was all a misunderstanding, right?”
“Sort of,” I said, then lifted my face from the phone. The three of them were all grinning knowingly, and even though I rarely let people in, even though I kept a distance most of the time, I was with kindred spirits. Movie lovers. Lovers of a happy ending. I sensed it from spending the tiniest bit of time with Julia and Clay, and I knew it innately from my moments with Riley. Setting my phone aside, I laced my fingers together. “I think I need to do that thing at the end of the movies where they run to the airport, stop the plane, clear up the misunderstanding kind of thing.”
“Yes, you do,” Riley said, and she and her lawyer and his wife waved me off.
19
William
* * *
My phone stared at me from the center of the table as Matthew paid the bill. The screen seemed dreadfully naked without her name popping up in reply to my text. I had a sinking feeling Jess was masterful at the silent treatment. Not because she was cold or cruel, but because she was focused and determined, and if she wanted to keep me out of her life for good, she’d do so. That same steeliness that drove her to excel in school and work surely was going to bite me in the ass, because it would give her the fuel to blow me off. For good.
But she was right—I should have told her Trevor was the client when I saw his face on the flash cards. I simply hadn’t known who Trevor was repping. Perhaps he’d told James, and James knew he was sending me hunting for intel for Avery Brock, but then James had a way of never disclosing the details, so I’d never known I was fishing for Avery.
Matthew pushed back in his chair. “I should hit the road and head over to my interview. Remind me now, I drive on the left side of the road here, correct?” he said, teasing.
“You’ve been in this country for ten years,” I said. “Right side, man. Right side.”
“And I have the pleasure of living in New York City, which means I rarely have to drive.”
“Why don’t you just try the left side then and see how well that works out for you,” I suggested as we weaved through the tables on our way out of the restaurant where coffee had turned into eggs, potatoes, and pancakes. Matthew was a lot like me—we liked our food, and we liked to exercise and work it off.
Outside the restaurant, he dropped his shades over his eyes, and I did the same. It was a typical Los Angeles day, sunny and seventy degrees without a cloud in the sky. A pang of longing scratched through my veins—I would miss this town.
“I really need to find a job,” I said, stating the obvious.
Matthew clapped me on the back. “There’s time, Will. We’ve got two months. Do you have any more interviews lined up?”
“I’m going to reconnect with a few of the employment agencies this week,” I said.
“We’ll keep talking. We’ll keep brainstorming, and we’ll figure something out,” he said, then gave me a brief brotherly hug. “For now, you are a man on a mission. Get your woman back. I expect a full report tonight on how successful our plan was.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Full report? If we’re successful, I’ll be too busy for that.”
He shook his head, laughing. “Let me amend that. All I want is a modified report that you won her heart. The rest of the details, please keep to yourself.”
Then he said goodbye, and I walked the two blocks to my bike, strapped on a helmet, and revved the engine. Just as I was about to take off, I felt a buzzing in my back pocket. A flicker of hope ignited in me. Please let it be her.
When I saw her name flashing on my screen, that flicker turned into a full flame. “Hey,” I said when I answered.
“Hi. Are you at home?”
“No, but I’m on my way. Why?”
“Can I meet you there in an hour and twenty-five minutes?” she asked, but her voice gave nothing away. Even so, the fact that she wanted to meet in person gave me hope that I was out of the doghouse.
“That’s a rather precise time,” I said with a laugh.
Rewarded with a small chuckle in response, my heart lightened more. I’d won her over in the first place with laughter; I wanted to keep her with it, and everything else, too. “Yes. Timing matters,” she said, then added in a softer voice. “I’ll see you soon, William.”
