Page 63

MILLIE

You’re on my shit list

“Hi Millie, I’m Sofia.”

Six million subscribers on YouTube, Sofia.

I close my mouth to stop gaping at the stunningly beautiful woman standing inside my home that desperately needs to be scrubbed.

“I hope you don’t mind me stopping by,” she continues, her gaze darting to Dan. “Dan seemed to think it would be better not to give you any forewarning.”

Ex-girlfriend who kissed my fake ex-boyfriend, Sofia.

I get to my feet, my eyes narrowed in on Dan. “You’re on my shit list.”

Dan nods as if he expected this. “Fair. I’ll give you two a minute to talk.”

He lumbers out the front door, whistling for Winston to follow him, and the two of them disappear, leaving me in the most uncomfortable silence I have ever experienced in my home.

I’m wearing the same pair of pyjamas I put on three days ago. There’s a half empty bowl of cereal on the floor by my feet and three dirty mugs on the coffee table. I desperately need to wash my hair, and Lord knows what my face looks like. Dan kindly pointed out I look like shit, so hooray for me.

“Why are you here?”

I’m genuinely confused at Sofia’s presence here.

I’ve spent the past week mostly focused on my sadness around Noah and embarrassment around myself.

Sofia floated in and out of that, but for some reason, I’m not angry with her.

It could’ve been any woman who kissed Noah, and that’s not where my anger would be directed.

If you can have him, then take him. He’s yours.

“May I?” Sofia gestures to my living room and I nod in agreement.

“I’m sorry to ambush you like this,” she says, offering me a half-smile.

Her designer handbag hangs off her delicate wrist as she floats into the room, taking a seat in the armchair like she’s not revolted by my current living and dress arrangements. “You have a beautiful home.”

“Thanks.” I sit back down on the sofa. “I’m not usually this . . . pathetic.”

Sofia clasps her hands on her lap, her crimson nails a stark contrast to her pale skin. “You’re not pathetic, Millie. You’re going through something. Trust me, I’ve been there.”

I try hard not to ogle at her face as I imagine her lying around in sweats, pimples on her face from eating too much sugar to help fill a void a stupid boy left in her chest. She is strikingly beautiful.

I know she’s a professional makeup artist, but you can’t tell she’s even wearing makeup.

She’s all pale, dewy skin and round, rosy cheekbones.

Her lashes are long, but not heavy. Her lipstick is subtle.

“I’m here to apologise,” Sofia says.

I suspected as much. “For what?”

“For kissing your boyfriend,” she replies sheepishly. “I had a shameful moment of weakness. I’ve been so lonely . . . anyway, that’s not important. It was a terrible move on my part. Definitely not adhering to the girl code.”

It takes me a few seconds to wrap my head around what I’m hearing. “Are you really apologising or did Noah ask you to come here and try to clear his guilty conscience?”

“Noah doesn’t know I’m here.” Sofia holds her palms out and up.

“I’m certainly not here to say he hasn’t done anything wrong.

We both went through our fair share of mishaps when we were together.

Dating’s hard, but in the public eye, it’s a circus.

” She gives me a gentle smile. “Your most intimate, private moments become fodder. You understand.”

“Not really.”

I do, and I don’t. I had a tiny taste of what a public, celebrity relationship was like, and half the time, I was pretending to date. I don’t know what it’s like to lose every lick of privacy, to question the trust of your friends and family, to have to worry about my image or what I say and do.

Sofia raises her eyebrows. “I saw some photos of the two of you. The one where you met on the beach? That was so romantic. To be honest, I was sad someone was spying on you.”

“That wasn’t what it looked like.”

“Dan mentioned something about that.” Sofia’s eyes light up with something I don’t recognise as she digs into her bag and retrieves her phone.

“This wasn’t what it looked like either.

” She hands me her phone where a paused video sits on the screen.

“It should hopefully clear things up a little bit.”

I press play.

It’s CCTV footage of Noah and Sofia talking. They’re close and Sofia’s the one who inches closer. She leans in and kisses Noah—and it lasts all of two seconds before Noah leans back, breaking the kiss and shaking his head. There’s a bit of conversation and the video cuts off.

“That’s the world of celebrity for you,” she says with a shrug. “Things are never quite as they appear.”

I hand her phone back to her, processing the footage in my mind.

The video isn’t salacious or scandalous. Watching what happened in real-time makes the entire situation look insignificant, a small, awkward encounter that was quickly resolved.

I believed Noah when he said he didn’t initiate the kiss, but I thought I was in too deep, and assumed I felt more for Noah than he did for me.

Cutting ties seemed to make the most sense at the time, but after seeing the footage, it only makes me feel foolish for not being more reasonable.

After getting to know Noah for three months, the minute something scandalous happened, I jumped ship.

“How’d you get the footage?” I ask, pushing the thoughts out of my mind.

She gives me an angelic smile. “I pulled some strings with the security company. I’m sending a personalised message and package to the boss’s fifteen-year-old daughter. Seems like an easy trade. I’ve already sent it to a contact to exclusively leak in a couple of hours.”

My back goes rigid. “What? Why would you do that?”

“Call it a guilty conscience. If it’ll help save Noah’s reputation and yours, it’ll help me sleep better at night.”

“Won’t that hurt your reputation?”

Sofia grins. “I might get called a home-wrecker, but I think most people are going to feel sorry for me for being rejected. Plus, I’m leaking it with my narrative.

That is the most valuable thing I have learned in this industry.

You’ve always got to be a step ahead. Maybe I can be the bad guy for once. ”

I can’t help but grin back at her and my hand flies to my face. “Ow. That’s the first time I’ve smiled all week.”

“I’m so pleased.” Sofia tilts her head, her eyes flaring as she recognises something in my expression. “Are you alright?”

“Can I be honest with you?”

She straightens up. “Of course.”

“I take it Dan told you about the contract?” Sofia moves her hand across her mouth, as if she’s zipping her lips closed.

“Right, well . . . the kiss isn’t the reason I called it off.

” I exhale loudly. “Not the only reason, anyway. If it wasn’t that, I would’ve run scared from something else.

Him missing my art show, the photos blowing up .

. . it all seemed too hard. It felt like the universe was trying to tell me something.

What my life might be like dating a sports star who’s very popular outside of the sporting world. ”

She nods. “Life in the spotlight can certainly be chaotic. It’s normal to be cautious or scared. I don’t blame you for that.”

“I could’ve handled it better.” I glance at my hands, now wringing together. “I hate how we left things.”

A waft of delicious perfume reaches my nostrils as Sofia leaves the armchair and joins me on the couch.

“Don’t beat yourself up. It sounds like you’ve had a lot going on the past year or so.

Self-preservation is sometimes a good reason to end something.

” She tentatively reaches for my hand, and I let her hold it.

“If I can speak bluntly though, I think you might’ve ended things with Noah prematurely. ”

“I thought you were trying to stick to the girl code?” I grumble.

She perks an eyebrow, pursing her lips to stifle her grin.

“You were protecting yourself. There’s nothing wrong with that.

But seeing you here now with your . . . amazing hairdo and high-quality diet .

. .” She waves to the dishes, and I bark out a laugh.

“I think you miss him because you love him, and maybe you’re afraid of getting hurt again. ”

My stupid heart starts to pound. My knotted stomach tightens as I clear my throat to find the words to say. To admit out loud what I’ve squashed down to the far recesses of my mind all week.

I love Noah. I tried my best to ignore the feelings, to slow down, to avoid the potential heartbreak. But it was pointless, and instead of trying to work it out with him, I pushed him away the minute things got tough.

“Shit.” I bite my bottom lip to help stem the tears pooling in my eyes. “I messed up.”

“I don’t think so.” Sofia gives me a smug smile. “There might be something we can do here.”

“ We? ”

There’s a sharp rap at the front door and we turn to see Dan re-enter with Winston trotting past him. Dan cautiously approaches us, his eyes crinkled, gaze darting between us with suspicion. “Checking no one’s getting murdered in here.”

Sofia and I both chuckle, and she stands, pulling me with her. “I was about to tell Millie about the plan.”

Dan nods, like this is old news.

“The plan?” I ask. “What plan?”

Sofia smiles. “Dan and I are flying to Hawaii this evening, along with Noah’s parents and sister. There’s an extra seat if you want to join us.”

My mouth makes a strangled sound. “What do you mean?”

“I chartered a private jet for this trip,” Sofia explains, like it’s the most normal thing in the world. “We’re going to watch the last round of the Pipe Pro. If we leave in time.”

Dan tilts his head. “Noah made the finals, Mill.”