Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 85135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
“Vivvy,” he says and bounds toward me like I’m his favorite person in the world. I used to love it when he greeted me like this, used to love feeling so loved by him. Now I see it for what it is—an act.
I don’t say anything and I do my best not to flinch when he presses a kiss to my cheek.
He turns and sees Tommy and Betty. “Hey guys,” he says with a wave.
It will irritate Matt that I haven’t asked Tommy and Betty to leave us in private. He always used to complain that we never had any private space. Had he meant it or was he just playing a part? Looking back, it’s difficult to know what was authentically Matt. Maybe Matt was just authentically a dick.
“It’s so good to see you, Vivvy. Your hair got long.” His gaze snags on the ring on my left ring finger but he doesn’t say anything. “You look good though. I always liked you without makeup.”
“What is it that you want, Matt?”
His face turns serious and he pulls out a chair and takes a seat. “I came to apologize.” He reaches for my hand and I pull it away, folding my hands on my lap. “I was getting hounded by this tabloid and I just thought I’d control the narrative better if I gave them something.”
It takes all my willpower not to laugh. Control the narrative? What’s he talking about? “That’s something Felicity deals with,” I say, trying to sound as emotionless as possible.
“You’re right,” he says, and if I didn’t know him, I’d say he sounded contrite.
“Why have you left it so long before saying this?”
“I didn’t know where you’d gone,” he says.
“I was at the apartment for months after I found out what had been happening. You lived there for three years, Matt. Did you forget the address or something?”
“I was trying to give you your space. That’s all. I didn’t expect you to change your cell number and just disappear. I thought…we’d take a little time apart and you’d…we’d come around.”
“You mean you thought I’d change my mind about wanting you gone? I still haven’t, for the record.”
Betty titters in the background and Matt’s jaw twitches.
“I thought we both needed time to cool off.”
“Why would you need time to cool off? It wasn’t me who sold stories about you to the press.”
“No, Vivian, but you did put me in the position where I could.”
I let out a half-laugh. “Oh, so it’s my fault because I became famous.”
He lifts up his shoulders as if to say, well, yeah.
“How’s Amanda?” I ask.
He waves his hand in the air. “That was nothing. I just needed the tabloids to realize I’d moved on so they could stop following me.”
“So you weren’t sleeping with her?” I ask.
“Were you sleeping with this British guy the tabloids were full of?”
“The guy I met after I split up with you? You worked with Amanda for months before. I always suspected you were cheating on me with her.”
He wrinkles his nose. “There wasn’t really a crossover.”
“Matt, seriously, what do you want? Betty and Tommy and I are due to go through some things for tomorrow. I’m keeping them waiting.”
“They’re on your payroll. They’ll cope.” Then he raises his voice. “Love you, Tommy.”
Was he always this much of an asshole?
“I just want you to know I’m sorry. And I know this British guy is just a fling or a publicity stunt or something. Nothing can compare to the twelve years we had together. Nothing. I don’t want to walk away from that and I don’t think you do either.”
“You want me back?” I sound incredulous, so I soften it. “I just want to be clear that that’s what you’re saying.”
“Yes, of course I want you back. I want our life together back. We were good together, Vivvy. You know it. Yes, we had a little bump in the road back there, but that’s life. We’re over that now. We just need to get back on track. If you like, I’ll quit the office job and come out on the road with you while you do the tour.”
He’d been adamant about wanting to leave my payroll and go back to working in a firm. I guess the grass wasn’t necessarily greener, and collecting a salary while contributing absolutely nothing was a better life.
“You just want to turn the clock back?” I ask. “Pretend you didn’t betray me, leak personal messages from me, sell private photographs of me and give interview after interview? And then there’s the cheating…”
“Vivvy, we both cheated. Come on now.”
“No, I never cheated on you. I started dating Beau after we broke up.”
He rolls his eyes. “Seems like you moved on pretty quick. You think you’d give it a while. We were together a long time. A little respect would have been nice.”