LITMIR.BIZ

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was a strange reaction on her part—evidence of the state of her self-esteem. Now that she was losing her grip on everything she’d once had, she wanted to be reassured that she still had the ability to attract a handsome man—especially one who didn’t care about her fame. There was something stimulating about that alone.

      Or maybe she just didn’t want to admit that she was attracted to Kyle. She wasn’t sure how that could be possible when she was in love with someone else...

      “Brought you some breakfast.” He held up a sack with a logo that said Black Gold Coffee. “I’ll put it on the counter for when you’re dressed.”

      “That was nice of you.” Her eyes were red and swollen again. But she made no excuses, and he pretended not to notice. He understood what she was going through. He hadn’t told her much about his life when they were talking last night, but he had said he was in love with a woman he’d dated for two years—who was now married to his stepbrother. That had to involve some pain.

      “No problem,” he said. “I have some bad news, though. So...when you’re ready, why don’t you come out and we can talk about it.”

      “Just a sec.” She hurried into her room and pulled on the sweats she’d been wearing yesterday. She would’ve liked to dry her hair; it was dripping down her back. But she was too eager to hear Kyle’s bad news so that she could determine if she had a new crisis to worry about. These days she wouldn’t be surprised if someone had gone to repair the HVAC in her rental and discovered black mold, which would mean she’d have to find some other safe haven—without Derrick’s help.

      She would’ve had time to make herself presentable, however. When she found Kyle in the kitchen, he was on a business call.

      Instead of going back to dry her hair, she sat down. Besides coping with a great deal of anger, she was so busy vacillating between determination to overcome Derrick’s defection and the most debilitating discouragement she’d ever experienced that she didn’t have enough energy to obsess over her hair and clothes.

      “What’s going on?” she asked as soon as he hung up.

      He pushed the sack he’d brought home closer to her. “I bought the HVAC unit for the farmhouse from Owen’s Heating & Air. I called them not long after they opened this morning, but Owen was already on a big job in Stockton.”

      “Stockton’s what...an hour away?”

      “That’s about right. But he doubts he’ll get back before late this evening, and he’s taking his wife to Lake Tahoe for the weekend to celebrate her birthday.”

      Relieved that this was only about getting the furnace fixed and not the house itself, she removed a cardboard cup of coffee from the bag, along with a cheese Danish, a bagel and a blueberry muffin. “Is this all for me?”

      “Yeah. I wasn’t sure which one you’d like.”

      “Unfortunately, I like them all.” She was sad enough to eat them all, too. If she wasn’t careful, she’d gain so much weight while she was here that she wouldn’t fit into any of the clothes she wore when she performed.

      A little something extra to worry about...

      “Did you hear what I said about Owen’s Heating & Air?” he asked.

      “I did. You’re telling me I won’t have heat until Monday.”

      “I’m sorry. I could call a few other companies, but even those places will probably tell me it’ll be the first of the week before they can get a tech out here. I figure if that’s the case, we might as well wait for Owen. He should guarantee his work.” He bent his head to peer into her face. “I hope you’re not too upset...”

      She’d probably lost the man she’d expected to spend the rest of her life with and, unless she could come up with a Hail Mary pass, she was looking at the demise of her career. Waiting a couple of days to have heat in her rental seemed like a fairly minor problem by comparison. “I’m not.” She felt him watching her while she tried the coffee. “This is good.”

      “Glad you like it. No one has better coffee than Black Gold. So...what do you want to do? Again, I’m happy to pay for a bed-and-breakfast. But you’re perfectly welcome to stay here until I get the furnace working.”

      She didn’t care to go anywhere else, wasn’t convinced—in her current state—that she’d be able to summon a brave smile for the strangers she might encounter. Besides, the prospect of hanging out at Kyle’s place a bit longer didn’t sound unpleasant. He had a clean, comfortable house with plenty of room. And, considering her situation with Derrick, it might actually be helpful to have the right kind of company. She didn’t want to break down and call Derrick. Last night, during their final conversation, she’d told him not to contact her again unless he passed Crystal on to some other manager. She was afraid she’d be more prone to give in if she was staying on her own. “It’s only for the weekend,” she said. “As long as you can put up with me, I should be fine.”

      He seemed surprised. “You’d rather stay here?”

      She nodded. “Having someone to talk to last night... That helped,” she said. “But don’t worry. I won’t keep crying on your shoulder.”

      “Did you have the chance to work things out with Derrick?”

      “No. But I did what I felt I had to do.”

      He didn’t ask, although she could tell he was wondering, so she said, “I’ve put everything on hold for now, until he decides how he feels about Crystal.”

      “He admitted being involved with her?”

      “No. He’d never admit that. I didn’t want to tell you earlier, but...he cheated on his wife when he was married. With an intern who works at one of the major record labels.”

      “He was married?”

      “Yes, but it didn’t last long.” She’d believed him when he’d told her how demanding his wife had been, how he’d been so frustrated and unhappy and how things had unintentionally gotten out of control when that intern had started flirting with him. Now she felt like an idiot. Was it a onetime mistake, as he’d said? Or was he a serial cheater, more to blame for his divorce than he’d ever taken responsibility for?

      Kyle had indicated that his marriage hadn’t lasted long, either, but he made no mention of that now. “Was it the cheating that broke them up?”

      “Who can really say what goes on in a marriage? I only have his side. I can tell you that his ex is still bitter about it, though.”

      “So you know he’s had at least one extramarital affair.”

      “Yes, and I don’t care how many times he swears he’s a changed man, something is going on. I can feel the difference in him. So unless he’s willing to let go of Crystal completely, I can’t stay with him.”

      “I admire you for taking a stand.”

      “If I was the one he wanted, he’d make it plain. There wouldn’t be all this suspicion and angst and heartbreak, right?”

      Obviously recognizing the doubt that had crept into her voice, he gave her a kind smile. “I’m sorry.”

      She felt a familiar lump rise in her throat but fought the tears that went with it. “You understand how it feels, don’t you? That it hurts like hell?”

      “I do.”

      “Great. We have heartbreak in common.” She laughed humorlessly. “Any chance you could bring home another bottle of wine when you get off work tonight?”

      “I can manage that. But will you be okay here alone?”

      Did he think she might hurt herself? She hoped not, but she could see why he’d wonder. He didn’t know her well enough to determine how she might react to what she was going through. “Of course. I’ve never been suicidal, if that’s

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