Everyone ate their meal, and Grace said she was going to go to bed. Jay decided to do some writing and went into the music room while I chatted with the other guys.
After it got dark, it was just Rae and me.
“Would you lie to me?” Rae asked once we were alone. “To protect someone?”
I frowned. “I guess it depends on the lie and the person.”
“Hmmm.” Rae stood and moved to the fridge where I was standing. “How important is this group to you?”
I laughed. “Rae, it’s my life. You know that.”
“Things change, though, right?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked. “Are you okay?”
“Are you?” He seethed.
“Rae, this isn’t like you…”
“Wow!” He laughed. “I’m the one acting different? All right, sure, how was it, Lucas?”
My stomach dropped. “What?”
“When the intern got on her knees in front of you. When she saved your life. When she gave you everything. How was it? Addicting? Nice? How does she taste?”
My fist went flying across his jaw before I could stop myself.
He stumbled back, wiping blood from his chin.
“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“Oh…” He laughed to himself, putting his hands on his hips. “I don’t? All right.” He tapped the fridge with a finger and walked off.
I frowned, staring at the reflection.
Mine.
And then Jay’s near the piano.
No.
No.
He had watched, just as I’d wondered about.
He knew.
He’d known this whole time.
And we’d kept it from him.
I’d kept it from him.
“Make your choice,” Rae said from the other side of the room. “Before you nearly destroy this group again with another scandal.”
“That’s not fair!” I shouted.
“Neither is this!” He threw his arms wide. “You’re lying to yourself if you think this can be anything more than a summer fling. We can’t let people down. And you owe us. You owe it to all of us after everything—not to fuck up!”
“And you? What if it would have been you?” I asked in a small voice. “Would you have walked away?”
“Yes,” Rae said. “For the betterment of the group, yes, but my ass isn’t the one that’s always in trouble. Imagine what this will do to her. Her reputation? The fans will destroy her after everything that happened, and that’s on you, not me. That’s all you. So, if you can still look yourself in the mirror after taking everything from her and abandoning us, sure go for it. If not…” He jerked open his bedroom door, stepped inside, and slammed it.
I jumped.
My stomach rolled.
Was he right?
The fans wouldn’t be happy.
Would it destroy our group?
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Could we survive another scandal so close to the last one, even if in the last one I was proved innocent?
It didn’t matter, did it?
It wouldn’t.
She would be crucified.
She would never forgive me.
With shaking hands, I grabbed my cell and made the call I knew I would regret for days, months, years from now.
But one that would fix it all.
Leaving me with a broken heart.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Goodbyes are hard to do…
Grace
A knock sounded at my door. One knock, two. I’d just gone to bed and was starting to fall asleep, but I figured it could be Solia or someone else that needed me, so I grumbled to myself and went over to the door and jerked it open.
Lucas was standing there, his face pale, his eyes haunted.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, pulling him in.
He stumbled into my room, the door closed behind him, he lifted his phone and stared at it then very slowly put it on the table near the door. “I like you.”
Warmth spread through my body. “I like you too.”
“No, I really like you.” His eyes darted to my mouth. “I think—” He hesitated. “I think I love you.”
“You… think,” I repeated, a bit embarrassed.
“I do,” he said quickly. “God…” He closed his eyes and opened them again. “I love you. I love you, Grace.”
I stood up on tiptoes and kissed his mouth softly, then whispered, “I love you too.”
It was as if I’d stabbed him.
The pain on his face.
The way he clung to me like he was afraid of letting me go.
“You’ll never forget me, right?” He gripped my wrists.
I frowned. “Okay, now you’re scaring me.”
“Promise?”
“I’ll never forget you, but, Lucas, I have a few weeks left, and I was thinking of asking my uncle if I could intern longer or maybe even make it permanent and—”
He silenced me with a kiss, deep, demanding, and… desperate.
And I forgot everything I was about to say.
Every confession that was about to fall from my lips as he claimed them as his. His tongue flicked against mine as his fingers dipped into my hair, dragging against my skull pulling my head closer to his.
He was too good at kissing.
Too good at making me forget everything I should remember.
“Love me,” he whispered against my mouth, tasting like sin. I wasn’t just falling.