“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your latest piece?” Raquel asked.
Andrea sucked in a sharp breath, but her expression remained neutral. “I’m Andrea,” she said.
“Ah, great meeting you, sweetie. I’m sure he’s been wining and dining you. Maybe even sixty-nining you, but let me give you a word of warning.” Raquel approached them, her stride quick, her expression one of gleeful malice. “He may be sweetly attentive right now, but he’ll dump you so fast, your head will spin. He wasn’t made for serious. Luke enjoys being free and easy.”
Anger coursed through him, and he flexed his jaw. Andrea disentangled her hand from his and he felt bereft. Empty.
“Shut up, Raquel,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Ooh, the truth hurts? I’m sure,” she mock cooed. “Wait until the media gets word that you found a new pretty young thing to keep on your arm. I’m sure you’d love that sort of attention, huh, Andrea? You seem like a real simple girl, though, from the way you look and all.”
“Quit insulting her and get the hell out of here,” he growled, taking a step forward, but Andrea put her hand on his arm to stop him.
“Big man all ragey and angry? Does she know about your steroid problem?” Raquel blinked up at him. “How violent you can get?”
Ah, Jesus, now she was just flat-out making up lies about him. Fuck this. They needed to get the hell out of here.
“Hope you’ve had your fun spewing nothing but lies,” he muttered as he took Andrea’s hand once more and started heading for the front entrance, reaching out an arm to push open the door and hold it for Andrea. “Stay away from us,” he told Raquel.
“With pleasure,” Raquel called after them, the door shutting and silencing her continued shouts.
Luke escorted Andrea into the elevator and she didn’t say a word. Still didn’t say a word the entire ride up to his floor either. It was when they were walking toward his front door that he couldn’t take her silence any longer.
“I’m sorry,” he said, stopping at his door so he could unlock it. “I had no idea she’d show up.”
“Does that happen often? Ex-girlfriends randomly stopping by and trying to sabotage your date?’
“No, it’s never happened before.” And that was the damn truth. He just had some sucky bad luck.
“But it did just now, while I’m here.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest, her behavior defensive. “How long did you two go out?”
He opened the door and she walked inside. He followed af
ter her, shutting and locking the door. “A couple of months, if that? It was meaningless. I met her at a bar.”
“Sounds familiar. Random meeting, instant relationship, ugly split a few months later.” Andrea shook her head, disappointment etched all over her pretty face. “Is this a pattern you have?”
“I don’t have any type of pattern.” He was angry. Frustrated. How the hell was he going to explain himself out of this one? “In all the time I was with Raquel, I never felt even an ounce of what I feel when I’m with you.”
Andrea studied him silently, looking like she wanted to believe him. God, did he want her to believe him. “Do you really use steroids?”
“Jesus.” He ran his hands over his hair, wishing he could punch something. “No. I don’t. I can’t believe you’d ask me that.”
“I don’t know anything about you! We only just met. All we’ve done is have lots and lots of sex. What are we trying to do here, huh? Pretend we have something serious?”
Her words were sending him reeling. Damn it, did she say pretend? There was nothing pretend about what he felt for Andrea. Nothing. “I’m not pretending,” he said, his voice low. “Are you?”
“I don’t know.” She lifted her chin, her gaze meeting his for a brief moment before she dipped her head. His heart literally ached at the fact that she couldn’t seem to stomach looking at him. “I’m confused. This is all…too much for me to process.”
And just like that, he saw all of his hope for a future…dashed. By one pissed-off ex.
Chapter Nine
“You shouldn’t have let that stupid jealous cow make you doubt him,” Natalie said. “He’s famous. He’s gorgeous. He dates women. A lot of them, I’m sure. So of course angry ones are going to come out of the woodwork on occasion and try to tear him down. Especially when he has a new woman by his side.”
Andrea clutched the phone to her ear as she curled up on her couch, leaning heavily against the soft brown fabric, desperate to seek comfort from it. Best purchase from Pier 1 she ever made, but the kind of comfort she was looking for couldn’t be delivered by a freaking couch. “I know. You’re right. I blew it with him.”
“I’m sure you didn’t blow it,” Natalie said, trying to turn it around, but too late.