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"And I—-"
But it was all Addison managed to get out, with another voice abruptly cutting her off.
"What the hell'sthat?"
Jared Westland stopped by their booth, his near-black eyes narrowed at Addison's packed meal. The billionaire had moved to San Antonio two years ago, and aside from being the tall, dark, and handsome type, Miami's gossip sites were also full of news of his sexual conquests. These had Charlotte and Addison feeling rather iffy with him at the start, and it was only when they had gotten to know him better, and Jared had made absolutely zero attempts at flirting with either of them, that the two women had eventually relaxed and gotten used to his company.
"Diet food," Addison said yet again, but this time in a growl that made Charlotte quickly hide a smile. Addison was usually sweet-tempered, but there had always been something about Jared that often set her off.
"What for?" Jared asked, and Charlotte couldn't help nodding. Before today, Addison had always told them she was too busy and stressed to care about losing weight.
"Kendrick—-"
Charlotte and the billionaire exchanged looks, both of them being aware of their secret and mutual dislike for Addison's plus one.
"—-and I broke up."
Or make that minus one,a stunned Charlotte found herself thinking.
"Move," Jared commanded, and after a moment's hesitation, Addison scooted inside to make space for the billionaire.
"Tell us what happened," Jared went on ordering, "and don't leave anything out."
The nerve of that guy, Charlotte silently fumed as she listened to her friend talk about her breakup. Kendrick had leeched off Addison for years, and now that he finally had his first taste of commercial success as an artist, how big of a jerk could he be that the first thing he'd do was dump his girlfriend for someone he barely knew?
"I took a good look at myself in the mirror after he left," Addison said with a scowl, "and I hated what I saw. I've completely let myself go, and that's totally on me. I made work my priority since I was the only one earning for both of us. I stopped caring about myself, and all I could think about was giving him what he needed. I wanted to do everything I could so he'd be successful, and well..." Addison took a stick of carrot from her paper plate and started munching on it. "Lesson learned, obviously. From now on, it's all about me, myself, and I."
"I'm so sorry, Addie." It was all Charlotte could say after everything her friend had shared. "I want to say I wish this had never happened, but..." Charlotte took a deep breath before admitting the truth. "I've never really liked him, you know? I've always thought you deserved better than him."
Addison was shaking her head. "Do you know? My parents said the same thing, too. It seems like everyone—-"
Charlotte saw her friend's eyes widen upon seeing the way Jared's lip curled.
"Don't tell me you also—-"
"I've always thought he was a pretentious little prick," Jared said grimly.
Addison shook her head again. "I can't believe I was the only one who didn't see the changes in him."
"You had a lucky escape," Charlotte said firmly.
"I guess..." Addison forced a smile. "Anyway, enough about me. I almost forgot to tell you that I bumped into Lukas yesterday."
Charlotte frowned. "Lukas as in...Lukas Tsaldaris?"
"None other," Addison confirmed with a noticeably sly smile. "He asked for your number, and I gave it."
Charlotte rolled her eyes. "I strongly doubt it's what you think."
"Oh, soitdid occur to you then."
"Becauseitis written all over your face," Charlotte retorted. "And I'm telling you, it's not what you think. He probably just wants my help via Heart's Match. That's the only reason people are asking for my number these days."
"If he does, maybe it's because he wants to marry...you."
Charlotte groaned, but this only made her friend laugh.
"Oh, c'mon. Char. Everyone in school knew he had the hots for you. The only reason he never made a move was because everyone also knew you were head over heels for Landon."
