Natalie pointed me to the closet and passed me a few boxes. “Label it Closet, and I’ll figure it out from there. I don’t have much stuff. Should be quick with three of us.”
“I remember the two suitcases you carried your whole life in.”
“I’m kind of regretting having more than that right now. It’d be a lot easier to load those suitcases up and go.”
“I like that you’re putting down some roots though.”
“Something like that,” she muttered. Then she was about to walk away but stopped. “Hey, thanks for your help. I feel…a lot safer with you here.”
My hand came up to cup her cheek on reflex. “That’s all I want for you.”
Amy noisily cleared her throat. “Let’s get to work, people. Lots to do here.”
We broke apart sheepishly and returned to the large project in front of us. I got to work. I had no experience in packing, but how hard could it be?
After an hour of stuffing shit into boxes, I was wishing that I’d played a little bit more Tetris, growing up. Nothing fit how it was supposed to, but at least I was trying. Together, we were making it work.
I closed up one more box and then stood and stretched my arms overhead. My back ached a little from being hunched over the boxes. Who knew packing boxes could make a person feel so out of shape?
There was a knock on the door, and Amy groaned from the other room. “Finally! I never thought the pizza would get here.”
“I’ll get it,” I said, reaching for my wallet. I opened the door and simultaneously pulled out a twenty. “How much do I owe you?”
“A lot more than twenty, Kensington,” Lewis said crisply from the doorway.
Chapter 7
Natalie
That voice.
Oh god. I knew that voice.
I dashed out of the bedroom, dropping the shirt I’d been about to fold. Lewis was here. He was here. My mouth dried up, and my stomach clenched.
I was shocked to find that my anger didn’t surface at the first glimpse of his beautiful face. The perfect brown skin, high cheekbones, and molten dark eyes that I’d grown to adore over the time we were together. I’d always admired his good looks, but it was his easy smile, his quickness to laugh and joke, the poise of his powerful body that knew himself so completely, and the way he could draw me out of my protective shell that had won me over.
There had been something so good about Lewis. But it was a mask. An Upper East Side mask that I’d let myself be glamoured by. If he had ever been that carefree boy who loved to read and play baseball, then I had never met him.
My heart ached, cracked as his eyes slid to my features. As the mask tilted, I saw the truth of his own pain from our breakup. Or maybe I was just seeing what he wanted me to see. It was so complicated. He had ruined my life out of spite. Pure spite. I didn’t want to be conflicted. We would never be together again. Never. And I wanted to destroy the sympathetic side of my personality that said he was hurting and I should care.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded.
Lewis’s gaze swept from mine back to Penn, who looked ready to punch him again. “Checking in.”
“You’re not wanted here,” Penn said.
Lewis just smirked. “Never stopped you.”
“Cut it out,” I snapped. “Both of you. I am not going to deal with this right now.” I stepped around Penn and glared at Lewis. “How did you even know I was home?”
“Checking your security footage again?” Penn taunted at my side.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lewis said smoothly. “And I guessed you’d be here because of this.”
He produced his phone and passed it to me. I warily took it in my hands and saw he had it open to Page Six. He scrolled about a quarter of the way down the page, and there, in a small photo amid other celebrities, was me. I read the caption in shock and excitement. This was…exactly what I’d wanted.
Sightings: Inside New York City Elite’s Decadent New Year’s Eve Celebrations
I read through the list of names that I recognized and many more that I didn’t. But there, at the bottom, near my picture, was my name.
Natalie Bishop wearing a stunning Cunningham Couture original at the Trinity club event.
My heart skipped a beat in wonder. I forgot for a second that Lewis was standing in front of me. That I was holding his phone.
I had come to be noticed at that event. I had known that my picture would be taken. That I might end up being circulated for the dress even if they never used my name. But this was more than I could have wanted. They had listed me as a part of the New York elite. Me…without a Warren or Kensington in sight.
My insides coiled in joy. I sure hoped Katherine saw this. It would be pretty fucking brilliant. Though only a start.
“Convenient,” Penn muttered under his breath. “Natalie, give him the phone back, so he can leave.”
I pushed it back into his hands, careful not to touch him. “You should go.”
“Listening to everything he says again I see,” Lewis said. He sighed. “I just wanted to talk.”
“That’s not happening,” I said at the same time Penn barked, “No.”
“I can handle this,” I told Penn. I wanted him at my side, not answering for me.
“Give me five minutes to explain,” Lewis said. “Please.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Explain. Explain? You want to explain why you blacklisted me? Why you made it so that I couldn’t get another book deal? Why you ruined my career? Sure, go ahead. But don’t think that I’m going to believe a word of your bullshit anymore. And I sure as hell am not going to be alone with you again.”
“That was a mistake,” he said with earnest. He glanced between me and Penn as if he really hadn’t known that he’d be there. As if he’d thought all along that he could corner me.
“A mistake,” I said in a huff of disbelief.
“Yes. I can fix it.”
I looked at him in disgust. Of course. Just fix it. A snap of his fingers, and he could be Mary Poppins and set everything to right, too. That was how it worked on the Upper East Side.
“Don’t insult her,” Penn growled.
“I’ve texted you about a hundred times since you left. Surely, you got at least one of them to read what I’d sent you. How sorry I was about how I’d reacted. That I wanted you back.” Lewis took a step forward into the apartment, and Penn straightened at my side. “Please, we can fix this.”
“You know, I didn’t get any texts actually,” I told him, standing my ground, even as my heartbeat pulsed wildly against my throat. “I blocked your number after what you put me through. We can’t fix this. And you can’t fix my career and think that we’re going to suddenly be okay again. Believe it or not, Lewis, there are consequences to your actions. You’ve never had one before, I know. This is one. Me. So, fucking get used to it.”
I grabbed the door and went to slam it in his face. But Lewis slapped his hand on it before it could even get close. His mask had completely fallen. All of a sudden, he looked like he might attack us at the provocation.