I prop my shoulder against the wall so I’m facing her, folding my arms while I stare at her because I can’t seem to help myself. “Why is it stupid?”
“You really want to know?”
“I really want to know.”
Those big eyes slay through me, slightly glassy with emotion. “Because no one in there wants me there. You heard Christa. I was fooling myself into think that I could waltz in here ten years later and everyone who treated me like garbage growing up would finally see me for me. That they’d finally realize we’re all on an even playing field now that high school is over. It was going to be like putting all my old bully nightmares to rest once and for all. Only, nothing has changed. I’m still the girl wearing thrift store digs who couldn’t even afford to pay the entrance fee.”
Wow. That’s...
“Can I tell you something?” I ask.
Her hands meet her hips. “You mean something to rival the way too personal verbal diarrhea I just spouted at a man I haven’t seen in a decade?” She’s trying for brave and strong, and even sarcastic. But she’s sad. I can see it in her eyes that bounce around my face, almost as if she’s not sure she wants to know what I’m about to say. No one wants to be slammed back into their high school nightmare. She wanted to walk in there and make all those assholes eat their words.
I want that for her too.
I like Amelia. I always have. There was something about her that just got to me on a weird level I never quite understood. She was sweet and nerdy and quiet and reserved. So understatedly beautiful. Her hair was all wild with red curls. Her glasses a touch too big for her face. Her body small with her ample curves hidden beneath her ill-fitting prep school uniform.
And looking at her now, after hearing what Christa was saying to her…
In truth, I do remember people being that nasty. Though now I’m positive it was a lot worse than I knew about if Christa’s reaction to her tonight is anything to go by. I only heard comments here and there that I didn’t pay much attention to nor did anything to stop. Even if I never directly contributed to it, by not stopping it, I was part of the problem.
That’s on me. And it’s not okay. I should have done more to protect her. I should have said something.
“Something like that. You told me yours. Now I’ll tell you mine.”
“Alright.”
I step in closer to her, bending down like I’m about to tell her a secret when really, I just want to be closer to her. Smell her shampoo that makes my cock jump in my slacks. Feel the heat of her body as she starts to blush from my proximity. “I don’t want to be here either. I got talked into it by my friend, Grace, and now here I am.”
Her eyebrows knit together. “Why wouldn’t you want to be here? You’re a successful doctor. You were the most popular guy in our class. Captain of the football team. Everyone loved you. Still do if the tabloids are anything to go by.”
I suck in a deep breath, ready to tell her something only my family and Grace know. “My ex is not only in there with her husband, my former friend, but she’s pregnant. Likely going to be delivered by either my brother or my best friend since she sought them out to be her OB. How’s that for irony?” I roll my eyes. “The only saving grace I have when it comes to Nora is that she never knew I was about to propose. I had the ring in my pocket, ready to drop down onto one knee, but before I could do anything, she told me she was in love with Rob and that we were over.”
Amelia sucks in a rush of air, her eyes flashing. Her hand shoots up, covering her parted lips as she stares at me with a combination of shocks and sympathy. “God. That’s awful.”
“The real kicker of all that is I had made a lot of sacrifices for her. A lot. Nearly everything I wanted I had given up for her with the exception of medicine. But I chose NYU to be with her instead of playing ball at Michigan. I finished college in three years instead of four because she said the sooner I can complete med school and residency, the better. Then, on the fucking day I got into Columbia for med school and was set to propose, she informed me she had been cheating on me for the better half of six months.”
Six. Fucking. Months!
“Jesus, Oliver. I’m so sorry. I never heard anything about that.”
“That’s because no one knows, so if you wouldn’t mind keeping that to yourself, I’d appreciate it. The last thing I want is for that to hit the press next.”
She reaches out her hand, touching my arm and giving me a squeeze. “Of course. I’ll never tell anyone. I don’t blame you for not wanting to go in there. It seems we both felt like we had something to prove by showing up tonight”
That’s not the reason I came tonight. But Nora is the main reason I didn’t want to go in. I’ve successfully avoided seeing her ten years. In truth, I’ve been over her for a long time, just not over what she did to me. Most of my bitterness and resentment is on me. I should never have made those sacrifices for her.
I gave up pieces of myself I can never get back.
But Amelia deserves more. She always has and she never got it. She deserves to have people look at her and treat her with the respect they never did. They owe it to her. Hell, I owe it to her. I don’t want her to leave tonight the way she is now.
“I only wish it had turned out better for us,” she continues. “But I think my carriage has officially turned back into a pumpkin and I should just cut my losses and head home. Tonight can’t possibly end the way I had envisioned it.”
Like a bolt of electricity flowing through me, suddenly I’m giddy with an idea that is quite possibly the most ridiculous idea in the history of ideas. Christa nearly swallowed her tongue when she thought Amelia was my date. So maybe everyone else will react the same way if that’s what they see. Bonus for me—I’ll have a hot as hell woman on my arm and maybe Nora will leave me alone.
More than that, I want to go in there with Amelia. I want to spend more time with her tonight. And if they don’t like it or think less of me for it, well, I don’t think I give a shit.
But Amelia being my date isn’t enough. Not with my reputation. They’ll just assume I’m using her, because ever since Nora and I split up… I’ve been somewhat of a player. A fact the media loves to report on. Hell, my face is splashed across the internet every other week, showing me with a different woman each time. Not in the last few months or so, but it’s been the standard of my life since Nora. It’s the way I keep from getting hurt again.
And the media reporting on it all? Well, that’s the standard of all my brothers’ lives. It comes with being a Fritz and living in Boston. We own this city. We’re royalty. For better or worse, that’s how it is.
But if Amelia and I really want to make an impact tonight… if I really want to make all those assholes who hurt Amelia choke, and Nora—who still calls me to tell me all her ‘happy’ news—realize that I’ve finally and officially moved on from her… it needs to be more than just people thinking I’m dating Amelia.
They need to know she’s something special. Believe she’s something special to me.
My fingers dig back into my pocket, locating that ring. Looking at her… plotting this insane idea… I’m hit with the fact that I know it will change everything. Both for her and for me.