Page 35 of Date The Billionaire

I could hear the women in the other part of the house and knew the time had come to do what was right. Even if I wanted to climb the stairs, go through every room until I found Laney, and run out of the house with her, I had to do the right thing right now, and that meant heading in the opposite direction, so that’s what I did.

Cameras were still being set up in the foyer and the set designer was running around in a panic. Somehow the roses that adorned every surface were wrong and she hated them and was on the verge of suicide. “They won’t show up as well on camera! How could you order the wrong color, you idiot?”

She was screeching at some underling and I felt sorrier for them than I did the designer. People only glanced at that stuff, the roses weren’t so important that she should be in such a panic. Was everybody in this business an infantile butthole, or was it just the staff for this show?

I left the woman now in tears and walked to the same area where we’d started from and stood in the spot marked for me. People rushed by, none paying any particular attention to me. Only the set was important at the moment. I watched it all, hating every moment of it, but determined to see this through properly. I had to.

Memories played in my mind as I stood there, waiting for the others to appear in this farce of a show. Only a few weeks ago I’d watched Laney come down those stairs and fell in love for the very first time. Her eyes had sparkled they were so full of laughter and irreverence. I knew then she wasn’t taking any of it seriously, much like me. She’d fascinated me from the start. Sure, she was breathtaking in her gown, and she had the most amazing eyes, and damn! All of that red hair! That wasn’t what caught my eye though, it was how she looked so beguilingly amused that got me.

I knew she wasn’t here for wealth. Tony had signed her up for the show in collusion with my grandmother. What had started out as whim had turned into something far more serious. Now, I had to make a decision that could throw it all away.

Calm, cold, collected, I reminded myself as I waited. Do what’s right, do what you have to do. Get through this. Then pick up the pieces.

I grimaced and clenched my jaw. I could do it. I had to, right?

I felt my knees go weak as a new thought occurred to me. After those pictures, would Laney even bother to show up tonight?

Chapter Seventeen

Laney

How could a hangover last two days? I’d woken up from the Christmas cartoon fest with the idea I might not actually be alive. I might have wondered more if the painful headache and extreme nausea hadn’t convinced me I was alive, if barely. Not doing that again, ever.

I’d slept most of the day, not caring that I should be packing, that I should be working up an extreme case of anxiety, and totally not thinking about Jake kissing Arabella dressed in nothing more than a bathrobe. I slept and woke up for water a few times, before going straight back to sleep.

When I woke up the second day, I didn’t quite feel like I was on the verge of complete organ failure, but the nausea was still there.

When a car showed up in the driveway, I was ready. I had a small case packed, a pair of large sunglasses firmly in place, and the conviction that I could get through this day without tears ensconced in my brain. Mainly, my brain was still too numb to function so I felt like a zombie as I got on the plane and then landed.

The noise inside the house started a low throb just behind my eyes, and even Kelly’s exuberant greeting could do little to bring me back to life.

“I’ve missed you so much!” Kelly cried out as she wrapped me in a bear hug.

I’d only just made it to my room when she’d found me, and now, I wanted nothing more than to get into that bed and sleep the rest of my hangover off. I could see her features droop in disappointment at my muttered ‘hey’, though, so I tried to work up just a little enthusiasm.

“I’ve missed you too, honey, I’m just not feeling well.” It wasn’t a lie, I felt like that stain you find on sidewalks sometimes, the one you avoid because you don’t know what it is or how long it’s been there, but it’s still too gross to contemplate.

“Aw, you’ve picked up a bug! Or is it nerves?” She looked at me with concern, and I envied her how fresh and happy she looked.

I’d showered that morning, but I still felt like I was a walking vector for the plague.

“Hangover. My BFF decided I needed to get drunk two days ago and I agreed with him. Until the next day, that is.” I gave her a weak smile.

“You saw them then?” Anger flashed in her eyes, and I nodded in confirmation.

“Yeah. I saw the pictures if that’s what you mean.” I pushed into my old room and sat on the bed I’d used. “It’ll be alright. Whatever happens, it will be alright. I’m not giving up, I know the whole thing was probably staged, but something tells me Jake wasn’t in on it.”

“I’m sure you’re right. Listen, we’re supposed to be in makeup and hair in twenty minutes. Do you want me to wait for you?” Her voice was gentle and kind, and I loved her for it.

“If you want to. If you want to go spying for glimpses of David, that’s fine too. I can meet you there.”

“I’ll just wait with you. I have a lifetime of seeing him, I hope.” She gave me a wink that said she knew good and well she did and I smiled, I couldn’t help it.

“This is going to be a long day, isn’t it?” I wanted coffee and something to eat, but then felt my stomach roll at the thought of food. Alright, maybe just coffee.

“More than likely.”

“Can you believe it’s Christmas Eve?” I asked, both of us sitting on the bed, staring out of the window.