I brought my beer to my lips. “With Santiago?”
He bumped my shoulder with his. “Oh, I have an idea what’s happening with my man, Santi. I mean the pretty-boy actor. Seems like there’s history.”
I huffed. “Do you see everything? Jeez, Murray.”
“I mean, yeah…” he shoved a hand through his overgrown hair, “I kinda do, with people I care about. I noticed you were all kinds of uncomfortable when Drew Rossi appeared earlier.”
“He’s my ex.”
Murray’s eyes widened. “For real?”
“Yeah.” I waved my bottle in front of my face. “It was sordid and not pretty. I’ll tell you one day, when he’s not about to come walkin’ into the room again.”
Speaking of the devil, Drew and company came strolling into the dressing room, looking sweatier, a little more glassy-eyed, and smiley. They must’ve taken some good shit during the show. Drew was the only one with clear eyes, and those eyes landed on me.
He made a beeline for me, and I inched toward Murray, who laid a protective arm on my back.
“Hey.” He sounded breathless and shaky.
“Hey,” I replied, not giving him an inch.
“You were amazing out there. Jesus, Maeve, just incredible.”
He reached for my hand and grabbed it before I could react. I hadlovedthis man for three-hundred-sixty-five days. I’d loved him, and he’d let outside forces dictate how he could love me. To me, he represented nothing but disloyalty and betrayal. Looking back, I didn’t like who I became when we were together. I’d settled for scraps, and I was worth so much more than that.
“Thank you, Drew. Glad you could come out.” I kept my voice friendly, but put an edge of finality to my words as I extricated my hand from his hold.
“Yeah, thanks, Drew. I’m a big fan of the show where you play a lying, woman-hating teenage douchebag,” Murray said, pulling me closer to his side. I loved him in that moment. He didn’t know the details of my relationship with Drew and he didn’t need to. He was the type of friend who would throw down no matter what. I was pretty much that type of friend too, which was probably why we got along so well.
“Uh...think we could have a minute to talk alone?” Drew asked.
“I’m not goin’ anywhere with you. I’m kind of surprised you’d want to, given the public location and press present. That was never our thing.” I leaned into Murray, who kept a tight hold on me.
“We don’t have to go anywhere. I just wanted a minute to talk to you alone.”
Deciding it’d be best to get this over with, I nodded. “All right. But I only have a minute, truly.”
Santiago had been watching from across the room, and when he started back over, I gave a subtle shake of my head. He stayed put, nodding at a reporter, his eyes never leaving me. I could feel the waves of frustration coming off him. It had to be killing him not being able to be with me, protecting me. But there were some things I needed to do myself.
Murray moved maybe ten feet away, and that was after I pushed him. We didn’t have much privacy, but I didn’t really want it. Not with Drew.
He stood closer to me than I liked, but I let it slide for the moment.
“You look incredible, Peach,” he rasped. His hand came up to touch me, but he must’ve thought better of it because it lowered just as fast.
“Thanks. Did you arrange this? When I said I never wanted to see you again, I meant it.”
His exhale was heavy, curling his shoulders inward. “You never text back. You never answer my calls. You fucking moved across the country before I ever got a say in the matter. I’ve beenbeggingto see you for two years. So yeah, I arranged this.”
“You cheated on me and kept me as your dirty little secret. I think I had a damn good reason for bein’ done with you.”
He threw his hands out. “One kiss for the paparazzi doesn’t count as cheating.”
“It does in my book. And according to Miss Kelsey, you used to make out all the time.”
When I raised my eyebrow, he had the decency to look away, shame written all over him. No surprise there. Drew Rossi was a weak man. He didn’t have the strength to keep me as his, it just took me getting away from the bright lights that surrounded him to come to terms with that.
“I’m sorry. I just...I was messed up. I never wanted to lose you.” He sounded sincere, and I believed him. It didn’t change what he’d done, and I really had no interest in dredging up the past.