Take Three (The Jilted Bride #2)(67)

“Are you trying to say that I’m a guy?”

“No! Not at all,” I laughed behind my tears. “I always thought you secretly hated me…”

“I’ve never hated you, Selena. I mean, I wasn’t always your biggest fan, but when you’re not whining, attempting to murder birds, or getting on my last nerve, you’re a great person…I think.”

I fell onto the floor laughing. “Movie night sounds awesome, Joan. Let’s get groceries!”

I suggested the Market Grocery where we’d first met up months ago.

I donned a more stylish disguise and when I was ready to checkout, I picked up the latest Us Weekly. My face was on the cover, but this time the headline was “Selena Ross: Left at the Altar, Betrayed by a Married Man, How She’s Plotting her Comeback.”

Chapter 28

Ethan

I put down the latest Us Weekly and sighed. It didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know: Selena was shooting the Sweet Tennessee film (in suburban New York ironically), getting over Phillip Hartford’s smear campaign, and signing holiday endorsement deals with eight different companies.

There was also a rumor about her dating Ryan Gosling and it made me angry—so angry that I threw a chair out my office window once I finished reading about it.

I tried to tell myself that it wasn’t real, that it was just another pseudo-relationship for the press, and that she had to be missing me as much as I was missing her…At least I hoped that was the case.

I re-watched the first season of her breakout television series, Safe Nation, the series that earned her two Emmys. I remembered her smiling as she told me all about it—how it was her first television gig and how she wasn’t sure if she should even take it because the scripts were “so crazy and weird.”

I felt her character’s emotions in every scene and sympathized with her plight. Selena was a good actress, a damn good actress.

I bought all her movies and watched them over and over, pausing on the scenes where she smiled, where she laughed her light and airy laugh. And even though she told me there was no real romance involved on set, I still got jealous whenever she kissed the male lead.

One Saturday morning, I received a Google alert about a meet and greet at Barnes & Noble and I immediately flew to New York. I stood in line for five hours, but I wasn’t able to get far enough ahead to see her.

I only caught a glimpse of her gray coat as she slipped inside a black SUV.

I returned to Boston empty handed, and even more empty-hearted.

I tried to convince myself that it was just a phase, that the only reason I felt the way I did was because I was so used to being around her every day. I thought I could get over her just like I got over Jade if I started dating other women.

I asked Barry to set me up on a dinner date, and hoped it would be all I needed to further assure myself that I would get over Selena.

I arrived at Menton, one of Boston’s premier restaurants, at exactly eight o’ clock. I completely disregarded the women who whispered and winked at me as I walked up to the desk.

“I have a reservation under Lockwood,” I said to the host.

“Of course. Right this way Mr. Lockwood. Your guest has already arrived.”

He led me past the main dining area, into a private room with a candlelit table set for two. He pulled out my chair and handed me a menu.

“I thought you said my guest had already arrived?” I saw that the chair across from me was empty.

“I assume she’s in the powder room, sir. Your personal waiter will be with you shortly.”

I looked over the menu and quickly shut it. The special for tonight was spinach and ricotta gnudi, and the chef’s dessert was “cherry pie mousse with a bourbon inspired twist.”

You can do this…You can do this…Don’t think about Selena…

A woman in a blue sequined dress entered the room and smiled warmly at me. I stood up and pulled out her chair.

“Good evening, Irene. I’m Ethan,” I sat back down.

“Nice to meet you, Ethan,” she blushed.

She was really pretty. Her shiny blonde hair was swept into an elegant side bun and her eyes were bright green.

“So, Barry tells me you’re in business?”

I nodded. “Yes, the beverage business. How about yourself?”

“Well, I write screenplays for indie films here or there. I just graduated from Harvard Law not too long ago so—”

She was also really smart. She had a law degree, read all the American and British classics by the time she was eighteen, had traveled to every continent at least once, and kept up with world events. She had an amazing personality—bubbly, but not too bubbly, and was completely charming and charismatic.

“Have you seen any good movies recently?” she asked.

“Umm…Not really. The last one I saw was a romantic comedy—something about a wedding show and two best friends realizing they were destined to be married and—”

“Oh yes! The Altar Games! I loved that movie! I wished they’d picked a different actress for the female character though,” she frowned. “She wasn’t very convincing.”

Selena said the exact same thing…

“Really? Who would you have picked?”

“Selena Ross!” she smiled. “She’s my favorite! She’s amazing in everything! It’s crazy how talented she is, you know? And she’s so beautiful!”