“You have that effect on me; what can I say.”
She took a bite of her breadstick and chewed with a smile on her face. “I like knowing that.”
It made me wonder if I gave her a lady boner.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the other actresses on the show, making her way over to us. I knew it was going to be bad, and if I could have dragged Abbi back to my trailer without anyone seeing us or asking questions, I would have.
“Prepare for—”
“Is this the little wife?” Rikki asked with an upturn of her lip. “I thought you’d be . . . prettier, but I guess we can say Jenner has no taste in women.”
Abbi bristled; her hands planted on top of our table about ready to jump up. “Did she really just say that?”
Leaning back, I was ready for Abbi to hand Rikki’s ass to her. “I’m afraid she did. See, Rikki here is jealous because every time she’s tried to hit on me, I’ve turned her down. So, in reality, I actually have very good taste in women, and you, my lovely wife, are the evidence of that.”
Rikki leaned forward, her face scrunched up. “Don’t let his charm fool you. He’s a liar and a huge asshole.”
Abbi did the opposite of what I thought she’d do. Instead of jumping up or yelling at the woman who’d just insulted me, she busted out laughing. “Now, I know you’re lying because there’s not a charming bone in his body.” She could barely get her sentence out between her laughter.
I was a little offended that she thought I couldn’t be charming. I could be if I wanted to, but I didn’t like being fake, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to try for someone like fucking Rikki Blake. She may have been decent to look at, but she was a huge bitch, and I tried to stay away from her as much as possible. I’d heard more stories than I could count about her sleeping with any actor she could, and then immediately afterward, she would be all over the internet telling anyone who’d listen about it. That wasn’t going to be me, no way, no how. Not ever.
“Please tell me you never actually slept with her.” The amusement in her voice had my lips twitching.
Looking over at Rikki, she stood next to our table with her enraged, red face that was almost purple, and her balled up hands on her hips. Everyone in our vicinity was turned toward us in rapt attention. I wasn’t sure what to do about our situation. I didn’t want to draw any undue attention to myself since I knew it would be my word against hers, and after everything, they were less likely to believe me even with Abbi by my side.
My significant other stood abruptly, her eyes on me. “You know what, honey, I’ve suddenly lost my appetite. Would you mind walking me back to your trailer? I think we’ve got enough time to christen at least one area.” She winked at me, and I nearly fainted.
“I’m suddenly hungry for something else entirely.” Grabbing her hand in mine, I pulled her out of the tent and started down the line of trailers toward my own.
“I wonder how many times that will happen?” Abbi murmured from my side.
“What? Rikki?” Abbi looked at me like I wasn’t the smartest tool in the shed. “I don’t think there will be more like her.”
“Why? Because you slept with everyone else who came into contact with you?” The touch of jealousy I heard in her voice made me want to pound my chest and claim her all at the same time, but when she ripped her hand out of mine the moment we were far enough away from everyone and quickened her pace toward my trailer, I was starting to wonder if I’d read the entire situation wrong.
Unsure of what was happening, I slowed my pace, and when I finally reached my trailer, I peered inside, wondering where Abbi might be. I was actually scared of what I might find when I went inside. She was off to the left, sitting on the couch, clicking away on her laptop with a heavy scowl marring her face. I hoped she wasn’t looking up pictures of me with other women so she could question me about whether or not I’d slept with them because if she did, I was sure I’d lose the respect I’d earned in the last couple of days. I wasn’t proud of my past actions. All I wanted was to leave them where they were and for the world to give me a second chance.
Without looking up, Abbi stilled in her seat. “Are you going to stand out there until they ask you back on set?”
With one foot raised to step inside, I asked. “Are you still pissed at me?”
“I’m madder at myself than you,” she grumbled under her breath, but I’d definitely heard her.
Faster than lightning, I was by her side with a tentative hand on her arm. “Why are you mad at yourself?”
“Because it’s stupid for me to be jealous of something you did before I ever even knew you. It would be different if we’d been together, but we weren’t, so it was silly for me to have that kind of reaction.”
Slinging my arm around her shoulders, I kissed her temple. “If I was in your position, I’d be seething inside with jealousy. When I thought Paul was your boyfriend, it ate at me. The thought that you had a man waiting for you when this was all done . . . ” Her body tensed under me, and I knew I fucked up once again. Was trying to be with Abbi worth it? I felt like I was constantly saying the wrong thing, or my past was lurking in the background waiting to pop its head out and fuck everything up.
Pulling my arm out from behind her, I let out a heavy sigh. With my elbows on my knees, I leaned forward and closed my eyes. “Do you remember when I said I was going to fuck you?” I turned my head to the side to look at Abbi.
“Yeah, of course, I do. It was only yesterday.”
“Right, it was yesterday, and when I thought about you and Paul, it was the night you moved in. It’s only been days, but a lot has happened. I’m not thinking of us having a deadline, but I can’t promise that we’ll work out.”
“Right,” she snipped out, her eyes back on her laptop.
“God, Abbi, you can’t get pissed at everything I say.” With each passing moment, I felt the end of us coming to fruition, but I was giving it one last chance. “I’m not trying to be an asshole here. I’m only trying to talk to you and look at what it’s getting me. With every word I say, you only continue to get more pissed at me, so I’m going to say my piece, and then I’m going to go back on-set to get my head in the game because all of this is fucking with me.”
“Go ahead. I won’t interrupt you.”
“Do I want us to work out? Yes, of course, I do. If I thought we were going to split ways at the end of this, I wouldn’t be spilling my heart out to you. None of this is easy for me. I promise you that I never slept with Rikki. Since my divorce, I haven’t been celibate, and I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I swear on my life, I will never cheat on you. I’m being real with you. This is me. The real me and I can’t change that. Now it’s up to you to decide if you can live with me, my words, and my fuck-ups.”
With those final words, I stood and walked out of my trailer without looking back. I didn’t know if there would be an Abbi and me once we left for the day, but I couldn’t think of that now. I had to go prove myself to the rest of the world.
Chapter Seventeen