If that was his ex, it was entirely possible he’d planned this whole thing out. It was unlikely he’d known what their fight would end up being about, since I really didn’t think he knew about my history with Landon, but his ex had seemed like a catty, jealous type when I’d confronted her.
Cyrus showing up with a wife had been enough to set her off as it was before I’d even opened my mouth to her about Landon. The things she’d said to me just because she’d seen me with Cyrus and had obviously noticed a ring on a very specific finger had been unwarranted, to say the least.
She’d snarled at me and very obviously staked a claim on him, making it sound like he was still an option to her and like she’d be his first choice even though she was married to someone else.
It was disgusting actually, considering that she really was married to someone else, but I felt like she deserved to know the truth anyway. It had just made it easier to tell her once I’d learned she wasn’t some sweetheart I’d been a party to hurting.
If Cyrus had known all that about her, which I had to assume he did, given that he’d been married to her, it wasn’t unthinkable that he could have orchestrated all this to trigger her, make her jealous, which was guaranteed to cause a fight between her and Landon, then take her up to his room.
There were a lot of what ifs, but I knew Cyrus, and if anyone could make it happen, it was him. With the way his eyes were tracking her every move, watching the curve of her throat as she swallowed back some shot or another, it really wouldn’t have surprised me if even his ulterior motives had ulterior motives.
Since I’d dealt with my fair share of ulterior motives when it came to relationships, I wasn’t keen on being part of the ulterior part of the motives any longer. Angling myself so my elbow was on my armrest and my body was now smack in the middle of his view of her, I waited for him to look at me.
When he did, there was a slightly hazy look in his eyes that made me feel sick for the second time tonight. Oh, God. He wants her.
“You told me to tell her the truth because you knew they’d fight, didn’t you?” I asked, fighting to keep my voice from cracking.
He cocked his head at me, sitting back with his hands in his lap and one ankle crossed over the opposite knee. Oh, ew. No. He’s definitely trying to hide what going on in his pants.
With the urge to vomit making blood roar in my ears, I barely made out his response. “Well, I knew there was a decent chance they were going to fight after you told her. It was pretty obvious.”
“Pretty obvious, huh?”
He frowned at me but nodded. “Sure. Of course, it was going to happen.”
Well, there you have it, ladies and gents. Confirmation of his intention when he told me to tell her the truth.
I’d inadvertently done the dirty work for him. Tears closed my throat, but I cleared them away. I wouldn’t let him see me cry. I couldn’t.
“You and I are just friends, though, right?” I asked.
When he nodded, I stood up and grabbed my purse. “Well then, you go do what you need to do. I’m tired and I’ve had enough of all of this. Good night, friend.”
Cyrus opened his mouth to say something, but I didn’t stick around to hear what it was. Walking as fast as my insanely high heels would allow without literally needing someone to lean on, not that I’d ever literally or metaphorically lean on Cyrus ever again, I left the bar.
I didn’t know exactly when my feelings toward him had changed, but they had. I’d been feeling the shift for some time now, but things became crystal clear in that moment. The way my heart cracked open as I headed down to my room and let the realities of what was going on here really dawn on me told me that I’d missed my exit point somehow.
I didn’t know how I’d let it happen when my eyes had been wide open all this time, but I’d sure as heck missed the exit and was speeding along the freeway to the majestic yet heartbreaking city of “Fallen for Him.”
Because I had. I didn’t know how I could’ve been so dumb, but somewhere along the line, I’d let him charm me into believing that this could be real. In the meantime, I’d also thrown my last bit of caution to the wind and had decided to trust him with my heart.
To be fair to him, it was a heart he’d always been clear on not wanting. At least now I knew the real reason why. It wasn’t because he was too hurt by his ex. It was because despite everything, he still wanted only her.
It had never been only me he wanted, despite what I’d let myself believe. It had been her all along, and tonight, he was finally going to have her again.
What sucked even more was that he was going to have her in the room right next to mine, while I cried my eyes out over him and hoped to everyone who might be holy that this hotel had thick walls. If it didn’t, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.
But clearing out my bank account and skipping out of Italy in the middle of the night was one option. Even if it meant not fulfilling my end of the bargain by pretending with him for the rest of his trip.
All I knew was that despite our deal, nothing would be the same after tonight. Whatever real friendship might have developed beneath it all was gone. I would never be able to look at him the same way.
I didn’t know if I was going to be able to look at him at all.
Chapter 34
Cyrus
When Luna marched away from me without so much as a backward glance, I was truly baffled. I’d thought we’d definitely been the couple to come out of that gala on top, not that I was really counting on it, but I didn’t get what she was angry about.
I’d just poured us each a glass of some of the finest Italian wine. The moon and the city lights were reflected on the surface of the canals. It was fucking beautiful up here. Why the hell did she leave?
Everything had been okay when we’d left the ballroom, I was pretty sure. When we’d sat down, she’d seemed fine. But then Samantha had walked in and everything had changed.
Just before Luna had stormed off, I was pretty sure I’d even seen tears in her eyes. What the fuck?
As I got up to go after her, a dainty hand planted on a red-clad hip blocked my path. I didn’t need to look up to know who those things belonged to. “Samantha. I saw you hit up the bar.”
She sat down in the chair Luna had just vacated and the thought of her sitting in it instead left me feeling slightly revolted.
I inclined my head at her. “I didn’t say you could sit.”
“I didn’t ask.” She pouted when I looked up at her, blinking her soft green eyes as if she was trying to hold back tears. She wasn’t.
Samantha wasn’t capable of crying. It was a little known secret, but it was also a fact.
“I should never have left you for him, Cy,” she simpered, crossing one knee over the other and leaning forward. She knew what she was doing, all right.
Sitting the way she was, she was offering a fantastic view of her tits. If it was any other man sitting in front of her, he’d undoubtedly have dropped his eyes. Even if just for a second.
Samantha had a fantastic fucking rack on her and she knew it. But it wasn’t any other man sitting in front of her. It was me.
Not only did I know exactly who and what she was, but I also had eyes for only one pair of breasts, and they sure as hell weren’t here. “What do you want, Samantha?”