Chase Me (Broke and Beautiful #1)(58)

She smiled at him over her shoulder, and it pummeled him in the gut. Sunlight lit her eyes up so they were almost translucent . . . made the skin of her bare back glow. He wondered if she had any idea how beautiful she was. Especially this morning, when the barrier he’d always sensed in her seemed to have fallen. She seemed lighter, more open. It made his chest ache. “What are you doing today?”

Was it his imagination, or did her spine stiffen? “I’ve got some practicing to do before my rehearsal tonight. I need to know the lines backwards and forwards.” His lawyer’s sense was dinging, telling him he was missing something. He didn’t have the chance to ask before she continued. “I can come over and watch Arrested Development with you later, though.”

Louis started to respond with hell yes before remembering Lena was cooking tonight. “Shit. I can’t tonight. I have a family dinner thing.” This is where he would invite his girlfriend to join. That realization blinked on in his head like a lightbulb, although he had no idea why, since he’d never dated anyone exclusively. At least not since middle school. His instincts were telling him this is what boyfriends did when they were serious about a girl. They introduced said girl to their family. Even now, he could kind of sense a question in Roxy’s silence. This would be his chance to make her feel secure, to prove he wanted the real thing.

But he couldn’t. Not yet.

He flat out refused to bring her around Fletcher after what he’d said. If that prick looked at her the wrong way, Louis would lose his ever-loving mind. Worse, it would make Roxy uncomfortable, seeing Fletcher again, remembering she’d almost given him a lap dance. He didn’t want to blow his first time bringing her home, and this would only end badly. Lena would know something was up the second Fletcher and Roxy stood in the same room. His sister might have a screw loose, but she sniffed out drama like a bloodhound. No, the first time he introduced Roxy to his family, he didn’t want to leave any room for failure. He wouldn’t fail when it came to her.

“I, uh . . .” He swiped a hand through his hair, knowing he’d let the silence go on too long. How had she gotten dressed so quickly? How long had he just been sitting there? “Maybe you can come next time?”

Her smile looked like it might crack. Dammit, he’d f*cked up. He’d already f*cked up. “We’ll see. Family dinners aren’t really my thing. I’m going to go . . . there’s a crosstown bus leaving in . . .”

She didn’t even bother to finish her sentence before she sailed from the room. Louis sat there stunned for a moment before taking off after her. “Rox.”

“What?”

She paused with her hand on the doorknob. This was it. He needed to tell her the truth, but he dreaded the outcome too much. On their first date, she’d been horrified when he’d told her Fletcher was engaged to his sister. She’d thought seeing Louis past that night was pointless, when his future family member knew her as a stripper. If he told her he didn’t want her around Fletcher, he’d only be justifying her worry. No way would he tell her what Fletcher had said, either. He wouldn’t upset her with that garbage. He had to take care of this situation before he brought her around his family. And he would. It would happen.

“What is it, Louis?”

A knot formed in his throat. “I’ll call you.”

The door clicked shut on his final word.





Chapter 20



ROXY TOOK THE final sip of her coffee and tossed it into the trash can. Five minutes until she was scheduled to meet Johan for rehearsal, and she didn’t want to be a second early. She hated this. Hated the jittery feeling, the pit in her stomach. This was wrong. She shouldn’t feel this way. It would end tonight, one way or the other. That’s what she continued to tell herself, over and over. It was the only thing that had convinced her to put on her high heels and leave the apartment.

She leaned back against the outside of the coffee shop and watched traffic zoom past. Her body felt tired, weighed down. Anxiety was making her muscles sore. There was a buzzing in her head that wouldn’t go away. Yesterday, she’d gone into the rehearsal confident. She’d known what the f*cker was about and she’d still walked in with her shoulders back, her chin up. Today, she didn’t feel that way. It made her beyond pissed off, because she knew what it stemmed from.

Stupid. She’d been so f*cking stupid. For one night she’d let her guard down, and now she’d pay for it. Louis’s behavior had been almost comical this morning. She hadn’t been expecting an invitation to dinner. But a tiny part of her had hoped. He’d still wanted her to stay over that night his sisters had shown up, right? Meeting the rest of his family wasn’t that far-fetched. Even if it scared her. Even if she’d never had the experience of meeting a guy’s parents before, she’d be okay meeting Louis’s family, as long as he was with her.

The way he’d clammed up, stammering his way through some way to avoid seeing her or bringing her around his family . . . it told her everything she needed to know. Either he’d gotten what he wanted and didn’t want to bother with her anymore, or, maybe even worse, he was ashamed to bring a struggling actress who slept on a futon around his wealthy family. Either way hurt. She didn’t need this hurt right now. It dog-piled on top of her Johan-induced nerves and flattened her to the floor. Normally she would get right back up, but today she felt like curling up and staying there.