“He’s not interested,” Cara said flatly. “We’re roommates.”
“So? Get a new place. You don’t even know Melody. You don’t owe her anything. This doesn’t seem like a difficult problem to solve.”
A tiny spurt of hope flared before reality quickly extinguished it. “I don’t owe her anything. However, Wes and I have become close. I can’t do that to him.”
Even if Cara managed to seduce him into a one-night stand, it would ruin everything between them. She knew he believed he was in love—he’d told her his plan, what he wanted for his future. Now, knowing the truth about how chaotic his childhood had been, Cara understood his obsessive need for a secure home life. She had her doubts Melody felt the same way, but Wes knew the woman better than Cara.
His body might be willing, but she knew Wes would regret it.
Amara watched her carefully, and Cara lifted her coffee to block the perusal. They had shared a room for too many years. Amara knew her better than anyone. She knew her friend would see the truth, maybe more than Cara was willing to admit to herself.
Amara’s lips parted, and her face became sympathetic. Cara blinked away the tears that suddenly sprang to her eyes and bit the inside of her cheek to stop them in their tracks.
“Plenty of hot men out there. It would be convenient to have him in the same house, but not if you’d have to move.” Amara’s teasing smile dissolved, her face morphing into anger.
“Hello, ladies.” Erik and Colin approached their table from the doorway. Cara's stomach fell. She didn’t want to do this again.
Amara glared at Erik. “What are you doing here?”
Erik held his hands up. “I wanted a coffee.”
“There wasn’t a single coffee place closer to the hotel? Bullshit!”
Cara pushed her chair back. She had to get out of there.
“You owe me an apology.” Erik’s eyes were cold. He stepped closer to Cara’s chair, preventing her from getting up without bumping into him.
“You are deranged.” Cara refused to let him intimidate her.
“You blamed me for leaking your disgusting pictures, and I had nothing to do with it.” He sneered. “I put up with your body because it kept my parents' happy, but do you think I wanted the rest of the world to think you were all I could get?”
Fury surged through Cara, and she stood abruptly, knocking the chair backwards. Colin caught it before it hit the people behind them. Evidently, Erik wasn’t done.
“Did you never wonder where they came from? How the person who gave them to the tabloid got them in the first place? Or are you so desperate and send out so many nudes you don’t remember all of them?”
His voice was intentionally loud, and Cara saw that several people around them had stopped what they were doing to watch the argument. One person was even pointing a phone at them, obviously hoping for a viral video.
“You are such a piece of shit, Erik. Leave her alone.” Amara had never shied away from an audience.
Cara stepped around Erik and headed for the door, leaving Erik and Amara to trade increasingly vulgar insults behind her. She was light-headed, and her fingers tingled.
The café was located on the corner of two busy streets, so Cara was forced to take several steps around the corner before she was out of sight of the café’s plate-glass windows. She leaned back against the rough brick wall, trying to catch her breath.
“Sorry about that.” Colin’s voice made her jump. “I should have known you’d be here. Erik insisted we come, even though it’s twenty minutes away.”
Cara tried to make sense of what he was saying. Not a coincidence? Only one other person knew where they were meeting. Betrayal slid over her in icy waves.
“Amara invited him?”
“What? No! Erik said he wanted local coffee and called the car.”
“You just happened to end up here?”
Her sarcasm wasn’t lost on Colin. He grimaced. “Erik kept checking social media. Amara always has her locations on.” He shrugged. “Not difficult to guess who she is with, this far from the hotel. She doesn’t have any other friends in Atlanta.”
“Why can’t he just leave me alone?” Cara cried. “Hasn’t he done enough?” She didn’t expect an answer. Colin had been Erik’s sidekick for as long as she’d known him.
“You embarrassed him in front of his friends.” Colin shrugged. “It’s that simple. He has to win.”
