Page 58

NOAH

The best thing to happen to her

My heart sinks at the sight of the almost empty lot when the car pulls up in front of Beans.

The downpour meant traffic was slow and even with the driver hurtling to get here, it took too long.

I chuck an extra fifty dollars at him and ask him to take Callum to my house, so he doesn’t wake up in his own home without a phone, and likely, without a memory of tonight.

I stumble on the slippery surface beneath me as I hurtle up the ramp and yank the door handle. The door opens and I run inside to an empty room, dimmed lights and Ellis standing behind the far counter, glaring at me with the wrath of a woman who wants to tear my dick off.

“Fuck!” I run my hand through my soaked hair.

“That’s one word for it.” Her gaze darts to the water I’ve left on the floor. “I just cleaned that. Is your goal today to piss off as many people as possible?”

“I’m sorry,” I pant, looking around the room. “Is Millie here?”

Ellis reaches for a champagne flute, polishing it with a cloth. “Why do you want to know? So, you can break her heart in person? Try to justify how much you suck?”

Double fuck.

“Is she here? ” I press.

Ellis finishes polishing the glass and places it inside a box. “No.”

“Shit.” I march to where Ellis stands and walk behind the counter to the phone charger plugged into the wall. I whip my phone out of my dampened pocket and plug it in. “How mad is she?”

“On a scale from one to you being absolutely fucked?” Ellis throws an insincere smile over her shoulder at me, before it transforms into a look of disgust.

“I forgot about daylight savings,” I hiss, my foot bouncing as I wait for my phone to come to life.

“I messed up the times and . . .” I want to explain, but it’s not Ellis I need to explain to.

The thought of Millie waiting for me to arrive and not receiving even a phone call from me to explain makes me sick.

“Daylight savings?” Ellis drawls, her mouth forming into a snarl. “That’s what you’re going with?”

“I know it’s not an excuse.”

“Sounds like it,” Ellis quips.

“I need to talk to Millie.” I try to stay calm, ignoring the heat creeping up my neck, threatening to engulf my body. “I need to explain why I couldn’t get here.”

Ellis drops her polishing cloth and turns to face me front-on. “Oh, we know why you couldn’t get here. The whole goddamned world knows why you couldn’t get here.”

My heart hammers. “I don’t . . . wait . . . what?”

My phone comes to life and buzzes uncontrollably in my hand. At first, I think it’s glitching, but full-blown panic sets in at the number of messages and missed call notifications flying in.

“What the hell . . . ?”

“You think Millie’s pissed at you because you missed her show?” Her voice is laced with an edge that makes my stomach drop. “It might have something to do with why. ”

Ignoring Ellis, I swipe through to see the missed messages from Millie during her show, asking how far away I am and if I’m okay, and the group chat blowing up.

When my eye catches the images Mack sent with a big ‘CODE RED! CODE FUCKING RED!’ underneath them, my stomach rolls.

Someone at that party captured photos of Sofia’s fleeting kiss to my mouth, and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t look like we’re both lust-filled lovers, reuniting in a cosy nook of a room.

“Fuck me. ” I snap my gaze back to Ellis who’s watching me fall apart, her arms crossed. “Is she at home? I need to speak to her.”

“I vouched for you.” Ellis shakes her head, disappointed. “I told her to talk to you. That you seemed to make her happy. That your fake-dating schtick was more than that. I told her to take a risk and give you a shot and enjoy herself. But you had to go and fuck it all up!”

I’m not surprised Ellis knows about the contract.

I swipe for Millie’s number and call, listening with despair as the phone rings out until it reaches Millie’s chirpy voicemail message.

I call again, and again, but she doesn’t answer, and I bark out a howl of frustration, dropping my phone onto the bench.

Running my hands across my face, I realise my palms are clammy and my heart is beating out of my chest. It’s taking everything I’ve learned about controlling my temper not to lash out and destroy everything in my reach.

“These photos are not what they look like,” I say quietly, meeting Ellis’ gaze. “The photos of me and Millie a few months ago looked legit when we were arguing on the beach. This is the same thing.”

“Hey, boy genius,” she snaps. “I’m not the one you need to convince.

You missed Millie’s event you encouraged her to do, and swore you’d be at, and ended up kissing your ex-girlfriend.

Whatever really happened, it doesn’t change the fact you have shit the bed with this one.

” She huffs in annoyance, blowing a lock of her blonde fringe out of her face.

I deserve this tongue-lashing from the person who knows Millie best, and I sigh as the shame washes over me.

I’ve messed up again, in every way. Mixing up the times, letting my phone die, and ruining my reputation again doesn’t matter.

I betrayed Millie by not showing up. I let her down.

She’s hurt because of my actions and that’s the worst part.

“I care about her, Ellis,” I croak. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“Yet here we are,” she replies, leaning back against the counter.

Ellis’ grey eyes are lit with an intense, protective fury.

“I don’t know you, but I do know Millie, and she’s been through hell the past few years.

Unless you’re going to put in the effort and make it worth her while, leave her the hell alone. ”

“She’s the best thing to ever happen to me,” I say firmly, honestly.

“But are you the best thing to happen to her?” Ellis counters. She crosses her arms, quirking an eyebrow.

“I can be.” I straighten to face Ellis. “You said it yourself; she’s happy.

She’s come out of her shell. She’s taking risks and being bold and I helped her do that.

She always had it in her, she just needed a push in the right direction.

Look at what she did tonight. I might’ve given her the nudge, but she did all of this.

“She’s shown me what it means to step out of your comfort zone.

We make each other laugh, we encourage each other to pursue our dreams and that was real, not because of some stupid fucking contract.

I was going to ask her to come with me on the tour tonight.

So, yeah, I can be the best thing that happens to her if I don’t lose her. ”

As I stop talking, I’m almost out of breath, my chest heaving. I rip my phone out of the charger, noticing Ellis’ gaze has softened with surprise.

“I can’t lose her.” I jog towards the door, not looking back at Ellis, as anxiety settles into my limbs. “I can’t lose her.”