Diamonds, стр. 10

She shook her head in frustration. The nerve of this guy. She didn’t care what kind of connection she had thought they had. No one treated Bryna Turner like this.

“Please. Don’t insult me. I’m not interested in another one-night stand.”

“No one said anything about a one-night stand.”

“Forgive me if I don’t believe you.”

Five weeks had been long enough to realize he wasn’t going to call. Now that he had, he was only interested in a booty call. She didn’t know why this upset her so much. When she’d left the club with him, she had known that they were going to have sex, but she had fooled herself into believing there was more between them when there was nothing. She had thought that when she left her number, he would call, like every other guy she had ever been interested in had done. She didn’t like making herself vulnerable to people who would later throw it back in her face with their silence.

And now this call…

“No, Jude, I can’t think of a single reason to come see you tonight. Find someone else.”

She ended the call before he could respond. She was finally getting back to her life and trying to forget the man who had made her feel different…the man who had seen the truth about her. She had lied on the phone when she said she hadn’t been thinking about him. It was even making her doubt Gates.

Fucking idiot.

Walking back to the room where she had left Gates, she found it empty. She scrunched her brows together. Where did he go?

She asked the closest person if he had seen him and followed his directions up the stairs. Voices traveled down to her as she neared the landing.

“But I hate lying,” Chloe said.

“You’re not lying. You’re not saying anything. It’s just like we discussed.” Gates’s voice carried.

Bryna crossed her arms. Lying about what?

“Am I just supposed to be friends with her? When she’s being all friendly to me, I look at her and just burst at the seams, wanting to tell her,” Chloe admitted.

“Chloe, you know we can’t tell anyone what happened.”

Bryna couldn’t stand there and listen to this any longer. She’d heard enough. “Well, if you didn’t want anyone to hear, then you probably shouldn’t be having this conversation in a nightclub,” she said, walking up the last remaining stairs.

Chloe covered her mouth. She looked frightened and pitifully young. “Bri, I am so sorry.”

Gates frowned. “I don’t know what you think you heard, but—”

“But what, Gates?” she asked. She didn’t want to hear any of his excuses or lies. She just wanted to have everything out in the open. “I’m assuming that the girl you slept with is Chloe—the one you swore to me meant nothing and just reminded you of how much you missed me.”

“You said that?” Chloe whispered. She sounded horrified.

“I couldn’t tell you who it was,” Gates said. He looked like a mouse caught in a trap.

“Right. Because I’d rush to the media?” Bryna asked, rolling her eyes. “So, who should I call first? TMZ or People magazine?”

Gates cringed. “You wouldn’t.”

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

Chloe reached out and grasped Bryna’s hand. “Bri, you have to know how sorry I am. I never would have come between you. Gates said that you broke up.”

Bryna shook her hand off. She stared down at Chloe with the detached cold anger that always bubbled just under the surface, and Chloe shrank away. The girl didn’t know what Bryna was capable of. She wasn’t queen bee for nothing. She hadn’t survived in Hollywood for nothing either.

She turned her focus back on Gates, and he levelly met her gaze.

“We were broken up even though he tried to convince me that we weren’t. He’s been trying to convince me ever since he got home. Who knew it was just a guilty conscience?” She tapped her lips twice in disgust.

He tilted his head down and looked at her in exasperation. “You slept with someone else, too,” Gates reminded her.

“Don’t get me started,” Bryna snapped at him. “I called you in the middle of the night and told you the truth. I was going home with him. It was over. You were the one who came home, told me the girl meant nothing, and were doing everything to make us work. What were you so afraid of that you couldn’t tell me it was Chloe?”

He glanced toward Chloe and then back to Bryna. “Please don’t do this.”

“I’ll let you figure it out for yourself, Gates. We’re through.”

Bryna rushed back down the stairs in a hurry. She had said everything she wanted to say to them. There was a difference between what she had done and what Gates had done. Why was it so difficult to be honest with her? Gates clearly had feelings for Chloe or he wouldn’t have hid the fact.

Once she reached the exit to the club, she realized to her surprise that Gates hadn’t followed after her. She ground her teeth together in anger.

She fished out her phone and dialed Jude’s number. “Where am I meeting you?”

BRYNA HAD BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS MOMENT for weeks.

Jude opened the door to his apartment with a smile that took her breath away. Shit. He is gorgeous.

“Bri.” His eyes traveled over her stunning evening gown, and he raised his eyebrows. “I feel a tad underdressed.”

She surveyed him with approval trying to not showcase her eagerness. He was in nice slacks, a button-up, and a silk tie.

“Just a tad.”

“Come in.” He stepped back and let her walk past him into the apartment.

She held her head high, holding on to her illusion of control. She needed to keep her wits about her and not fall for his game. This time it was going to be different. Their relationship and everything that consisted of would be on her terms, and she wasn’t going to be the one left waiting again.

“Where did you come from, wearing a dress like that?”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Are we answering questions now? I thought you liked the mystery.”

“Let me guess,” he said, walking toward her until only inches separated them. “A Black-tie formal event. Your boyfriend took you as arm candy.”

“Close,” she purred.

“On what part?”

“Ex-boyfriend.” She pursed her lips and shook her head. “Is this really what you want to be talking about?”

“Just attempting to figure out why you called me back.”

Jude ran his hand down her arm and stared at her questioningly. All she wanted to do was keep her guard up, but with one look, he was shattering her resolve. How does he do that?

“And I’m trying to figure out why you called at all,” she managed to get out. Despite her best efforts, her voice was breathy.

“I called because I’ve been thinking about you. Simple as that.”

She scoffed and stepped away from him. Spell broken. Does he think I’m an idiot? If he’s been thinking about me, then why didn’t he call five weeks ago?

She stalked across the room to his wet bar and began to pour herself a glass of scotch.

“By all means, treat yourself.”

“Thank you. I will,” she said with a cheeky smile. She deliberately took a long gulp before turning back to face him. “Now, you were saying something?”

“Bri, get your ass over here.” He pointed at the spot in front of him.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Get your ass over here now.”

“Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?” she asked, not moving an inch.

“This is my booty call, right?” Jude raised his eyebrows at her.

Bryna set the glass down and crossed her arms. “I think you have things all wrong.”

“Do I?”

“I’m no one’s booty call. When I called you back, you became mine,” she told him with a devilish smile.