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Ava’s stopped and is staring at me, a hopeless look in her eyes, like I’m a dog that’s been hit by a car and can’t be helped.
“I know this was just sex. You don’t have to be such an ass about it. And please, don’t ever drop to one knee for me. There isn’t a chance in hell I’d marry someone like you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She shakes her head. “You’re intelligent when you’re not being a complete jerk. Work it out.”
The she turns the corner and is gone.
Chapter 27
Ava
“Mum?” I rush intothe house.Please be home.
My chest feels like it’s on fire. This thing with Jet is physical attraction. I’ve never thought it was anything more. Even that night in Thailand when he was there when I needed someone to talk to, I knew it didn’t change anything. I knew the moment he put his suit back on and that side of him disappeared again.
He has so much to give but refuses to allow himself the chance of feeling something. He’s hiding behind grief, using it as an excuse. And I’m so mad at him for it. So mad and… so fucking miserable.
I can’t watch him hurt himself anymore, even if he doesn’t realize that’s what he’s doing.
“Mum?” I stride into the kitchen. Everything is as it was this morning, except for an empty bottle of wine on the counter.
A crash upstairs makes my heart pound, and I rush toward where it came from, taking the stairs two at a time.
“Mum?”
I run into her room just as she launches something through the air. It crashes into the wall, then falls onto the carpet.
“Useless,” she sobs. “All useless.”
“What’s wrong?”
She falls to her knees, tears streaming down her face. Crouching, I put my arm around her.
“What’s happened?”
“Too old.” Her voice wavers, and she blinks at me with bleary eyes. Her face has been scrubbed free of makeup, and her hair is flat, stuck in wet clumps to her cheeks. “They said I was too old.”
She picks up a jar, labeled anti-aging, and hurls it.
“Useless. All completely useless. I’ll need more surgery. Then maybe they’ll cast me instead of an ex-model in her twenties who hasn’t worked her ass off for a whole damn decade!”
Another jar follows the previous one.
“You didn’t get the role.”
“No.” Mum’s voice wavers before she takes a deep breath.
“I’m so sorry. You were too good for them, anyway. They probably hired someone cheaper to save money.”
She leans into my embrace and sniffs. “Thank you, darling.”
“Why don’t I run you a bath? Make you a coffee, too,” I add, breathing in the scent of wine on her.
“You’re an angel.”
My fight with Jet is pushed to the back of my mind as I tend to her. She doesn’t drink the coffee I make. Instead, she has a bath and then announces she needs a nap. I check on her, but the wine knocks her out and she’s still sleeping hours later.
