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“Yeah, see ya.” I hung up and slipped my phone back into my bag. Walking as quickly as I could without risking a faceplant, I made my way outside, the driver already opening the door for me.
“Good evening, Miss Gray,” he greeted me with a warm smile beneath his bushy white mustache. If there was a celebrity he reminded me of, it would’ve been Sam Elliot. He could’ve been the man’s doppelgänger, complete with the deep voice.
“Thank you,” I said to him as I slid into the empty limo. He shut the door, walking around to climb into the driver’s seat.
“There’re refreshments for you if you’d like them, and just so you know, I’ll be your ride to the after-party as well.”
“Uh, after-party?” I questioned as my eyes flitted to the mini bottles lining the wall. It felt like I was in a party bus for a second. “I didn’t know there was an after-party.”
“Well, I suppose now you do,” he chuckled. “Apparently, Harlee Mendez is throwing one last minute at Club de Rio.”
“Wow, no clue what club that is.”
“Really?” He raised an eyebrow at me in the mirror. “It’s one of the most high-profile VIP clubs here in New York City. Most of Whiss Production’s premieres like this end with after-parties there.”
I grimaced. Great. A place for me to watch Eli be swarmed with hot celebs.
“Do I have to go?”
“Well, I’m not your boss, just your driver. I can’t answer that question for you, but if you get out of the premiere, and you tell me to take you back here, I probably will do as you say.”
“Okay, well, I don’t work for Whiss Productions after this premiere is over, so my guess is that it won’t be an issue for you to bring me back home.”
He gave me a funny look but didn’t say anything more. I leaned back in the seat, gazing out the window at all of the people. Some were in groups, laughing as they walked, and others were in pairs, holding hands.
Ugh.
I didn’t know why the sight was so bothersome. It wasn’t the first time I’d been broken up with—and the last was much more dramatic, being left at the altar in front of a massive group of people. However, there was something more potent about Eli walking out the way he had after making all my wildest dreams come true—and in more ways than just sex, of course.
We’re still going to have to co-parent.
Maybe that’s what it was? However, as I sat there, diverting my gaze to my red fingernails, I realized that wasn’t it at all. It was the fact that no matter how much Eli had fucked up, I still loved him. Like, really loved him.
And my fuckup was enough to make him unlove me.
I swallowed the lump that was growing in my throat, not wanting to ruin my makeup that I had spent a solid hour working to perfect. The car slowed, and I glanced up, seeing the theater coming into view. There were rows of photographers, and I was going to have to walk in front of them all…
Ugh. No.
“Can you take me around the block again?” I asked, scooting toward the opening between the front of the limo and the back. “I’m not ready to get out.”
He met my eyes in the mirror. “Not a fan of crowds?”
“Not really, no. Is there a back way in?” I felt a little hopeful at the idea.
His lips turned downward, extinguishing my hope. “Um, there might be. But I have to take you right to the front.”
“You just said that you could take me home afterward, so why can’t we go to a back exit?”
“Well, Miss Gray, I have very detailed instructions on where to drop you off on the first stop.”
“Okay, so maybe just drop me off a block away?” And then I’ll find a back way in myself.
“I can’t do that.”
“But you’re circling the block for me,” I reasoned.
“Yeah, but you’re still getting dropped off at the front. I’m not going to break orders. I’ve been driving for Mr. Whiss since he was a kid—before he was a Mr. Whiss of some big company. I know better than to go against what he personally tells me to do.”
