Chapter Twenty
The week following the Vegas’s incident was uneventful. Apart from my training at the gym with Anton, nothing had been going on with my life. I became so bored that I began to scavenge the internet for information about River and Hailey. Nothing had been reported. It was unusual since I was almost sure that he was going to run back straight to her the moment he landed back in Los Angeles.
“Hello, hello,” I said, picking up Kyle’s call. He had been in touch almost daily while in London. He hadn’t said much about what was going on with him, but a lot was probably of his mind concerning the woman who got away.
“Just wanted to say hi. Any news?” he asked, sounding down and out.
“Nothing on my front. Boring, same old story; you know the drift.” I was in the kitchen, making myself a light dinner. “Are you okay? When will you be back?”
He sighed heavily. “I’m, you know … Being here … It doesn’t get easier, but it’s for work, so I don’t have much choice.”
Setting the kitchen knife down, I considered his sad irrevocable situation.
“Have you seen her?”
“God no,” he rushed out. “I don’t think … I mean, to see her pregnant … It’s just too much to handle for me. I can’t. It’ll be hard, and I just fucking can’t go there.”
He was tormented himself for not telling her he was in town. If I were in his position, I wouldn’t even know what to do. But Kyle called me for a reason—to give him comfort while being torn into pieces.
“Listen, don’t feel guilty for anything. I’m sure she’ll understand either way … Whatever you decide, that is.”
“Thank you, Cara. You have no idea how much you’ve helped. And I hope you know that I’m here for you, too.”
I smiled, knowing that he meant every word. “Hang in there. Just come back home, and you’ll be just fine.”
“I know. Few more days, then I’ll be okay,” he said, seeming to doubt himself.
After saying our good-byes, I resumed making my dinner, when Anton came knocking on my door.
“Ah, right on time. I’m starving!” he exclaimed, inhaling the smell of the pasta as he openly salivated and strode straight into the kitchen and got himself a plate.
Smiling at my friend, I went to the fridge to pull out a bottle of wine I had previously opened last night. “Well, I’m glad to be of service to you. Why don’t you just help yourself? A glass of wine, too?”
Anton took a mouthful of pasta before pulling up a seat on the table. “Oh, I’d love that.”
Pouring him a glass, I then went to the kitchen to make my own serving before joining him. He hadn’t brought up Vegas, which was his way on waiting for me to open up.
“Kells demanded that I dropped by here to remind you of her birthday party tomorrow.”
Yes, the woman had texted me almost every day. She was ecstatic that Phoenix was throwing her one at his place. She wanted everyone to be there. I found it cute and endearing how those two lovebirds were so keen on each other.
“Kells already texted me, like, five hundred times. I’m bringing the cake. Yada, yada, yada.”
He took another bite before giving me the eye. “Don’t give me that look. I’m just doing what she asked.”
He was right. I was just being cranky.
“Do you think he’ll be there?”
Anton paused and studied me for a moment. “If he is, will that bother you?”
“That depends,” I admitted without looking at him. “If she’s with him …” If that were the case, good luck to me. Hopefully, I wouldn’t have a breakdown.
“You know what I think?”
Toying with my pasta, I absentmindedly asked, “Hmm?”
“It won’t be the end of the world if you did see them together. You’re looking at this all wrong. Just focus on the bright side. You’ll get used to seeing them, and before you know it, you’ll be so immune that you won’t even realize that you don’t give a damn anymore.”