25. Chapter Twenty-Four
Bri held it together for the planned appearance and her studio session, but when she got back to the hotel, she broke down sobbing. Seeing Kace hit like he was, and then not getting up off the ice, scared her more than she expected. The relief that washed over her when she saw him with his eyes open in that hospital bed made her feel both instantly better and brokenhearted all over again.
She”d told Nia she couldn’t leave until he woke up and was okay. Nia didn”t like it, but Bri didn”t care. After everything, she still loves him and wants nothing but the best for him.
Now, two months later, the album is mostly done, with only a few final touches left, and she can finally hide away in her New York apartment. She continues to go back and forth between stepping back and out of the spotlight and continuing to write and perform. It feels weird not being on the go yet, but after a decade of never stopping, she thinks it might be time to calm down a little.
Just as she steps in the door, her phone rings, and she”s so surprised to see Easton”s name, she answers it.
”Hello?”
”Hey, Bri. How are you?”
”Oh, you know, hiding from the public after being devastated and publicly humiliated. How about you?”
”Are you free for lunch today, by chance?”
Her eyes glance at her reflection in the mirror by the door, and she can”t believe she left the house like this. ”Are you in New York?”
”I am. I know how much you love that Italian place around the corner from your apartment. Can I buy you lunch?”
She knows she shouldn”t, but part of her wants answers. Everything feels like it started because of him, and she would like to know why. ”Give me an hour.”
”No problem. See you soon.”
Making a beeline for her bedroom and into the shower, she hopes Tessa doesn”t realize she”s home. The tour is over, but Tessa has stuck around. Not that Bri minds, but it feels like there”s something more going on. She just doesn”t have the energy to pry lately to find out what’s going on.
”Where are you going?” Tessa calls as Bri stands in the shower.
Shit. ”Out to lunch.”
”Alone?”
Rinsing the soap off her skin, she opens the frosted glass door just enough to stick her head out. ”No.”
”With who? Because I have to wash my hair before I can leave the house.”
”Not with you. You”d probably throw fists if you came with.”
She gasps. ”You”re meeting Kace?”
Bri wishes. More than anything, but she also knows she”d give in if she sits down to talk to him. ”No, I haven”t seen him since the hospital visit two months ago. Easton called.”
”Easton who?”
Bri grabs the towel, dries herself off, and wraps it around herself before stepping out of the shower. ”The only Easton you know. Well, I know. You might know more.”
”Why?” Tessa asks and follows her into the walk-in closet. ”You”re not thinking of getting back together with him, are you? You aren”t desperate, Bri. No matter how low you may feel, getting back with Erectile Dysfunction, especially in bed with him, is not the solution.”
Laughing, she turns her back and slips on panties and her bra before removing the towel. ”It”s not like that, Tee.”
”Then what is it like? Huh?”
”He called to meet for lunch. I don”t know what he wants, but I know what I want.”
”And what”s that?”
She grabs a black, off the shoulder sweater and slips it over her head before stepping into a pair of well-fitted jeans. ”Answers.”
”Answers to what?”
”Why he did what he did. I”m also really curious if he really had no idea the kid wasn”t his. Despite what everyone thinks, he”s not that stupid. He just does really stupid things,” Bri says and slips on a pair of black booties.
Tessa follows her back into the bathroom where she puts on just enough makeup to not get completely annihilated by the paparazzi when she”s inevitably photographed.
”And you can”t do this over the phone?”
”He”s buying me pasta.”
”Well, that explains everything then,” she snaps. ”Think about what you”re doing, Bri.”
Turning to face her, Bri stares up into her eyes. ”Tee, I know what I”m doing. I don”t have any feelings for Easton, and I just think this could give me the closure I”m looking for with this whole situation. What he did put everything into motion, and I just need something concrete. And pasta. I need pasta.”
”You always need pasta,” she jokes. ”Okay, but just be careful. Promise?”
She slips on her jacket and walks outside into the brisk air after nodding to Tessa. April has been colder than she”s used to for New York, but she finds it calming. Rounding the corner to the restaurant, she steps inside and smiles. It”s a very comforting place.
Easton gives a little wave, and she walks over to the booth he sits in. ”Hey.”
”Hey,” Bri says and slips off her jacket before sliding into the opposite booth.
He stares at the menu, but she”s eaten here enough to know everything by heart. And she knows exactly what she wants to order.
”What is it you always get here again?”
”The tagliatelle with Bolognese sauce. It”s the best I”ve found outside of Italy.”
Smirking, he looks up and sets the menu down. ”I know. I already ordered for us. Just testing to make sure you haven”t changed that much.”
”What do you mean?”
”A hockey player, Bri? And a fake relationship?”
”A B-list actress, Easton? And a baby that wasn”t yours?” she counters.
Easton chuckles. ”Touché.”
The server stops by and brings them water, and she shakes her head. ”It”s not what it sounds like. At least, not for me.”
”What happened? How did it all start?”
”You happened, Easton. Two weeks before my tour starts, and you get caught with your pants down in a pool while you were literally inside Johanna McDaniels.”
He tenses and looks down at the table. ”Oh, yeah.”
”Oh, yeah,” she says and takes a drink of her water. ”It was an idea that came about because Kace and Brett were spotted at my opening concert, and after getting asked for the fourth time in a week how I felt about you and your soon-to-be bundle of joy, I figured what the hell? But it wasn”t fake for me, Easton. Not even a little bit.”
”You started to fall for him?”
”I”m in love with him,” she says and looks into his eyes. Even after everything he put her through, he only ever used her name when it directly related to him. Like being his ex. She knows he”ll never share this information no matter how much everyone assumes she should be leery. ”That”s why it”s hard to figure out what the hell I do next.”
Reaching out, he takes her hand in his. ”I feel like this is my fault.”
Bri laughs. ”Because it is, Easton.”
”I know,” he sighs. ”I”m sorry, Bri. I don”t think I”ve actually said it to you.”
”Sorry for what, exactly? The cheating or the getting caught?”
”All of it?”
Squeezing his hand, she gives him a little smile. ”Why couldn”t you just break up with me? We both know we were never destined for a happily ever after. Were you thinking at all, or were you trying to humiliate me?”
His other hand moves on top of the table and takes her other hand. ”I never meant to do that. It never crossed my mind how it would all affect you, and then I let my team use you to boost this whole stupid relationship I had going. I never should have allowed that, either.”
”Was that the first time you were with her, or had you been seeing her for a while at that point?”
”Maybe a couple of weeks,” he says and licks his lips. It”s his nervous habit. His tell that she figured out early on in their relationship. ”She seemed impressed with my music, and you know I”m a sucker for that.”
Pulling her hands from his, she lets out a breath. ”I have to ask. It”s been driving me a little insane because you”re not as stupid as the media portrays you-”
”I knew the baby wasn’t mine. There was no way it could be, but I”d gotten so deep into the situation that I didn”t really have a way out.”
”How long were you going to play along? Eighteen-years-of-child-support long?”
”I never planned to stick out the entire pregnancy. It was intentional when I shared the ultrasound. It had the estimated conception date and baby measurements. They knew when I started messing around with her, mostly because they all said I was a stupid prick for it, and I knew they”d do what was needed to move the speculation along.”
Bri shakes her head as the food comes. She smiles at the server who sets the plate down in front of her, and she takes a deep breath, inhaling the wonderful scents of the delicious plate in front of her. ”Why not just tell the truth?”
He sighs and takes a bite of his chicken parmesan. ”Because I”d already been caught cheating. And then she told everyone she was pregnant. If I walked away, I would be seen as the asshole abandoning his pregnant mistress. There”s no way I could get away with claiming it wasn”t mine and have anyone believe me. My reputation was already damaged, but that would have completely destroyed it. I had to wait until it was irrefutable. Even now, there are some people out there who think my team fabricated the results.”
”To be fair, you never really had the greatest reputation to begin with.”
Laughing, Easton shakes his head. ”And why”s that?”
Twirling a few noodles onto her fork, Bri savors the taste on her tongue. Not much entices her lately, but this, right here, feels like water after being stuck out in the desert for a few days. ”I don”t want you to take this the wrong way because you know I support all creative outlets, but your songs... they kind of suck.”
”I know.”
”Your voice isn”t that bad, but you need to work on the lyrics and music. You know, the major foundations of a song.”
He sets his fork and knife down before looking into her eyes. ”That”s why I was so attracted to you, Bri. You have this incredible skill to take what you feel and put it on paper. You learned guitar and piano, and you found a way to make melody magic. I guess part of me hoped some of it would rub off on me.”
”You didn”t have to pretend to date me for that. You could have just asked me.”
”Have you met me? Up until recently, my pride was impossible to get over to allow me to do that. Instead, I did everything I could to hurt you. I really am sorry, Bri.”
”I have one last question.”
Taking a deep breath, he leans back. ”Okay, I”m ready. Hit me.”
Part of what she liked about spending time with Easton was how easily he could defuse intensely serious moments with sarcasm and jokes. ”The whole situation of getting caught was made to look accidental, but it really seemed like it was staged.”
”Yeah, it was. Johanna planned it, and I didn”t have solid proof until towards the end. I never would have done that on purpose, but she would.”
”She sounds like a peach.”
”She has her moments. When she”s not being the wannabe star, she”s not a bad person. There were times I thought I could actually love her, but then her secondary personality would come out and take over. It got to the point where she was the fake version of herself more than the real one. I just couldn”t do it anymore.”
Taking another bite of her pasta, she thinks back to Kace. At least he felt real. That she was seeing the real version of him instead of some made-up and fake side. No one can pull off a fake version of themselves around parents who know them well. The situation was the fake part, but not him.
”I have to ask,” Easton says as he finishes up his meal. ”Is there any chance for us?”
Bri chokes on a noodle. ”Chance for what?”
”To get back together.”
She laughs. Really laughs. ”Wait, you”re serious?”
”Apparently not.”
”Easton, we both know we weren”t good together. It was more of a companionship than anything else.”
”At least the sex was good.”
Shaking her head, she takes another bite of food. ”No, it really wasn”t.”
”Well, shit.”
”If you want to get together after you write a few songs, I”d be happy to give you feedback and pointers.”
His eyes widen. ”Really?”
”Really.”
”Thanks, Bri.”