A few tense beats roll by. The limo jolts us, sending a spasm to my chest, to my already teetering heart.
Lex swallows, his Adam’s apple rolling as he finds my eyes and says softly, “I already did.”
I blink at him, confused.
And then it hits me.
The show. He’s referring to the show.
I think his response is supposed to enlighten me somehow, fill my soul with answers and warm relief. But it does the opposite. Lightning zaps through me in fiery veins, and I curl my hands in my lap and hold back tears.
That was fiction. Make-believe.
Our story could have had a happy ending.
If he’d stayed.
If he’d tried.
If he’d done anything but walk away.
Chapter 23
Stevie
My stomach lurches with a swell of anxiety when the limo rolls to an abrupt stop. We only had a few minutes. A few minutes to be real in the back of this limo, and now it’s time to put on our acting hats. It wasn’t enough; I want more. But something tells me all the time in the world wouldn’t give me the answers I crave.
I watch as Lex straightens beside me, fiddling with his cuff links and smoothing out his silver tie. He shakes out his arms, the kink in his neck. He’s preparing. Readying himself for the character he will become.
“Ready?” He pauses to glance at me as Adrian exits the limo, a shadow moving around to Lex’s side of the vehicle. “This will be another testament to your acting chops. Think you can sway our audience into believing you’re hopelessly smitten with me?”
He said that to me once before, the day he showed up on my property unannounced. I wasn’t worried then, and I’m not worried now. I inch closer to him, preparing for that door to open.
Our eyes lock together. “Yes.”
We stare at each other. His lips twitch.
An uproar follows. Adrian opens the door, revealing a sea of people, whistling, cheering, clapping, shouting Lex’s name into the swirling lights and camera flashes. Rudy and Castle are nearby, already here, waiting to guide usthrough the main doors. Lex jumps out, a new person. The title role. He turns to me as I’m sliding my way out of the limo on my butt, offering me a hand. I take it, let him pull me out, and a new round of cheering assaults me.
“Lex!”
“Stevie!”
“Mr. Hall, over here!”
Rudy ushers us forward, taking the lead, as the bodyguard trails behind us, eyes on the scene. A flock of jumping people, mostly women, are sealed off behind a velvet rope as we make our way to the entrance of the iconic ballroom after Lex takes thirty seconds to sign a handful of autographs. Then his hand returns to mine. He links our fingers together until our palms are fully clasped, and I hold tight, plastering a smile on my face. He’s smiling too. It looks so genuine, so effortless. The light catches his hair just right, and that halo returns. Crooked and misplaced but celestial nonetheless.
He doesn’t lose the mask as we enter the building and step into a whole new world. The ballroom is breathtaking—gleaming marble floors and towering ceilings adorned with crystal chandeliers that cast a muted glow over the room.
Round tables, covered in pristine white linens, are arranged throughout the space, each topped with towering floral centerpieces and flickering candlelight. The soft hum of conversation blends with the melodic chords of a live string quartet playing in the corner.
“Wow.” My palm is slick with sweat, still tucked inside his. There’s a gap between us, slight to some but evident to me. “This is incredible.”
“Mmm. It’s for a good cause at least.”
“What’s the charity?”
He sweeps his eyes around the room, nodding and grinning, lifting his free hand in a series of waves. “It’s mine.”
