‘I’m sorry if that upsets you,’ I add, baffled by the intensity of his reaction. ‘You know how much I appreciateeverything you’ve done for me. The last thing I want to do is hurt you.’
‘Then why do you keep doing it?’
‘Are youreallythat into Evie?’ I challenge. ‘You hardly know her. And I know I could say the same thing, but—’
‘No, you can’t,’ he snaps. ‘You and she have been hanging out, doing your little dance. Acting like best buds, without including me.’
I roll my eyes. ‘Come on, man, you sound like a three-year-old. Grow up, Austin.’
‘Oh, and you’re the poster boy for maturity, are you?’ His bottom lip quivers. ‘It’s real mature to make out with your best friend’swife. You’re lucky I still speak to you.’
The words shock me into silence. While the disaster with Nadia hangs over me and Austin every day, he hasn’t brought it up like this in a long time.
He huffs out a breath and grips his thighs. ‘Why do you have to go after the women I’m into?’
My face twists. ‘I don’t.’
He stands up so fast that his chair scrapes against the tiles. ‘Yes, you do. It’s like a competition to you or something. You feel like you have to show that you’re every bit as good as me. Maybe it’s because of your screwed-up start in life—I don’t know. All I know is that you don’t need to prove your worth to anyone, Kye. You don’t need to try to copy everything about my life to feel good about yourself.’
‘Christ, Austin, could you be any more vain? This has nothing to do with you.’
‘Bullshit. You’ve been living in my shadow since you were nine years old. Right through to you following me to LA.’
I jump up so that we’re shoulder to shoulder, although I’ve got a couple of inches on him. ‘You wanted me to come and work for you!’ I argue. ‘You basically forced me into it. You said it was the only way you would forgive me for what happened with Nadia; if I moved to LA with you and became your manager.’
He waves a hand. ‘Don’t try to gaslight me, man. It was no skin off my teeth whether or not you joined me; you’re the one who wanted to come. You’re fuckin’ obsessed with me. As a matter of fact, I take back what I said about Evie—it’smeyou’re infatuated with. Everything I have, you want.’ He gestures at the luxury apartment with its multimillion-dollar view. ‘And I get why. You grew up with nothing. But if you keep screwing me over, that’s what you’ll end up with, Kye—nothing. Back to your roots.’
I snatch up my mug, my fingers shaking around the porcelain. Austin calls out after me as I pace inside and dump my cup in the sink before pulling on my bomber jacket.
‘Oh, come on, man, you know I didn’t mean that,’ he mutters from the doorway of the balcony.
My eyes shift up to his for a moment; the distress inhis face is like another knife to my gut, which is already shredded to pieces with anger and shame.
It’s just like Nadia all over again. Except this time, I can’t understand why he’sso damn upset.Yes, Evie is more than special, but the interactions I’ve seen between her and Austin have seemed so surface-level. I can’t help but think that he’s just mad because he’s feeling the betrayal Nadia and I inflicted all over again. Or because he’s never stopped feeling it. Because he’s been pretending to me—and himself—that he’s forgiven me for what happened with her when he hasn’t.
And that’s something I just can’t face. Not head-on like this.
‘I’m taking a few days off,’ I mutter, my voice thick. ‘I’ll be back to pick up some stuff later.’
Austin lurches towards me, but I’m already at the door. From the corridor, I ignore his cries for me not to leave, jabbing my finger into the lift button and jumping between the doors before he can follow me.
CHAPTER 18
Evie
Hiking along a precarious cliffside track, shoulder-to-shoulder instead of in single file, Kye and I are a tragic news story waiting to happen. But he seems as reluctant to separate from me as I am from him. His arm sits locked around my lower back, his fingers cinched tightly around my waist as we negotiate the rocky path, making frequent stops to kiss so uncontrollably that we lose what’s left of our breath.Oops.
I don’t remember ever feeling this giddy and weak in the knees over someone—not even when I was a teenager dreaming about Austin Reynolds. Ever since the night Kye and I spent together at the hotel, my stomach has re-formed into a river of maple syrup, while my heart has become a galloping racehorse. It’s an uncomfortable, frightening and divine feeling, and I can’t remember the last time I felt this happy.
‘Wait, hold up,’ Kye says, tugging me to a stop.He points at a tangle of vines and branches. ‘Do you see it?’
I squint. ‘No, I don’t—oh wait. I do. It’s a tree!’
A chuckle rolls off my tongue, and Kye captures my jaw in his hand and crushes his lips to mine like that’s some kind of punishment. He then guides my face back towards said tree.
‘There. Hanging from that thin branch.’
I peer closer. ‘You mean …leaves?’ I say with a faux squeal.
