One Last Time(79)

The tears I thought were dried return again. Hurt isn’t a strong enough word. Pain, agony, wretchedness, torment . . . those come a little closer, but they still fall short.

“It would be one thing if any of it were true, you know? If I did it, I could accept him leaving and us being over. I have no answers as to how that email was sent. It’s there! Sitting in my sent box.” I grip my hair with both hands. “How? How did I send something I never wrote?”

“I don’t know. None of it makes sense. Whoever did this, clearly doesn’t want you to be with Noah. Does he have any crazy exes or anything you can think of? Anyone in his past who would want to hurt him?”

There are so many things about this that don’t add up. He told me that he didn’t really date and that her family was taken care of, but maybe they changed their minds. Noah and I haven’t been photographed together, so it isn’t like they would even know we were a thing. Unless he still speaks to them?

“Not that I know of.”

“What about Scott?” she asks.

I huff and look out the window as the sun starts to rise. “I would love to make him the villain, Lord knows he plays it well, but how could he? He doesn’t know anything about Noah’s past. Plus, we’ve been getting along for the most part. Scott has a new baby on the way and future wife, why would he give a shit about me?”

“Yeah, and he’s not that smart,” Nicole smirks.

“There’s that, too. I wish I could make sense of any of it.” I look at her through blurry vision. “As much as I want to think about it, I can’t. I want to see him, touch him, hear his voice, but he doesn’t want me anymore.”

If I had known this was all the time I’d have with him, I would’ve done everything differently. Looking at it now, I was stupid. Noah was never going to stick around, and I should’ve seen that. We live in different worlds, and believing this could’ve worked was reckless.

My phone rings, and I rush to find it. Maybe it’s Noah. I hope with all that’s inside me that it’s him.

However, the name flashing throws me for another loop. Why would my cousin’s wife be calling?

“Catherine? Is everything okay?”

“We should talk, babe. I just got off the phone with one of my publicists, and I read the article.”

My breath hitches. “The article?”

She clears her throat. “Noah Frazier is represented—”

“By you.”

“Yes, my firm handles his PR, and I’m on my way to meet with him, but I have to know . . .”

“I didn’t do this, Cat,” I say quickly.

“Okay.” She hesitates for a second. “When I saw your name, and Noah filled me in, I was shocked to hear you were behind it. Especially when they said you were his girlfriend.” Catherine muffles the phone and says something that I can’t make out.

I pinch the bridge of my nose, wondering how much worse this can be. My family is involved, my kids are going to have to hear that Noah is gone, and I’m broken.

“I’m sorry,” I say as my stomach rolls. There’s nothing I hate more than disappointing people. “I made my editor take it down.”

She sighs. “I know, but it was already out there, and nothing is ever really gone. I’m doing the best—” She stops, covers the phone, and then comes back. “Sorry, Jackson is flipping out. I’m having to stop him from losing his shit. He’s not happy that you’re involved.”

I wish I weren’t. “Tell him I’m sorry, too.”

“Let me rephrase that,” Catherine says. “He’s not happy someone is doing this to you. Listen, we’re in Tampa. He’s going to drop me off and then come to you. Okay?”

“You don’t have to.”

“I know, but we’re going to.”

“I’m at Nicole’s. I’ll text you the address.”

We hang up, and Nicole looks at me with her brow raised.

“Jackson is coming here.”

“Your cousin?” she asks, her eyes going wide.

I nod.

“The ridiculously hot one that has abs on his abs?”

“Nicole,” I warn.

“Yeah, yeah, he’s married . . . I know. Doesn’t mean a girl can’t drool.”

Great. Now my best friend is going to hit on my cousin, and I’m too fucked in the head to care. As if this day couldn’t get any worse before nine AM.





Chapter Thirty-Two





Kristin





“Hey, Kris.”

“Hi,” I say, and once again, the tears come when I see the pity in Jackson’s gaze. I’m like a damn leaky faucet. But Jackson is like a brother to me, and I don’t want him to ever see me this way.

His big arms wrap around my shoulders, and he holds me tight. “Don’t cry. Don’t you know men are stupid when they see tears? We can’t seem to say the right things.”

I sniff against his chest. “Even big bad Navy SEALs?”

He laughs. “Especially us. Just ask Catherine, it’s her best weapon.”

“Good to know. I’m assuming you’re not here for moral support?”