Page 50 of False Promises

It is what it is. Mine replied. Let’s not talk about it tonight.

She nodded.

Nick spoke next. “What do I always feel like I’m missing something when I’m with you two?” He shook his head and grinned. “Riley wanted to talk to me about a construction project. I’ll be right back.” He kissed Dahlia’s temple and left, still shaking his head.

Dahlia tapped my forearm, and we watched each other for a few seconds.

“It’ll be all right, Cart. I can tell.”

“Maybe.”

An over-enthusiastic June interrupted us when she hugged me. “Sorry. I was on the phone with the babysitter. My munchkin was down with a fever when I left.”

“Go if you need to,” I said.

She flicked her wrist. “Nah. All fine now. Munchkin is sleeping, and the fever has broken. The babysitter will keep me updated if it changes.” She looked around. “It turned out pretty great.”

“You’re kidding, right? I love it. It’s very much me.”

She pumped her fist before fixing her composure. “Knew it. It was so much fun working on it as a side project. It’s your friend Addison who was hired to set it all up. She’s talented. I focused more on the guest list. We made a great team.”

“I agree,” Dahlia chimed in from my left. “If you two could excuse me, I have a few people, I haven’t seen in ages, whom I wanna catch up with.” She motioned to leave but spun back to face me. “Oh, Cart, Stud and Belle were supposed to be here tonight, but Tristan had a stomach bug, and they canceled their flight.”

“Shit. I’ll call them later.”

“How are you doing?” June asked once Dahlia left us.

“Good.”

“You’re Mr. Invisible nowadays. That relationship… Is it going like you want?”

I shoved my hands in my pockets and balanced on my heels. “Yeah. I’m determined to make it work. We—” I cleared my throat. “We moved in together last weekend.”

I averted my eyes, not sure I was ready to assess the worry I knew I’d find in her gaze.

June coughed and gripped my chin, forcing me to swivel back toward her. “Are you serious?”

I swallowed. “Yep. It was easier this way. Savannah got evicted. They’re renovating her old place. I needed a place to set up a studio and leave my stuff in. It’s the best decision for both of us.”

Why was I feeling awkward when I said those words out loud? As if something was wrong but I couldn’t exactly pinpoint the source.

“That’s wonderful news. If you’re happy, then I’m glad for you. I’m just sad you’ll be spending all your free time down in LA now.” She hugged me again, appearing genuinely happy for me. “Wow, you must really love her.”

“I-I’m not…”

June stepped back to study me. “You’re not what?”

I waved her off. “Nothing. Doesn’t matter. I could—”

The vice-president of my record label came to me, and I silently thanked him for the interruption.

“We’ll continue this conversation later,” June said before walking away.

Love. No, I definitely didn’t feel love toward Savannah Prince. Attachment maybe. Or perhaps something a bit more, but love, nah. I wasn’t there yet. And I wondered if I would ever be.

My heart had been broken in the past, stomped over, and I was being careful.

In my short existence, I had gone through too many heartbreaks. No way would I submit myself to one more if I could prevent it.