“Oh, you know.” Luci nudges me playfully in the side. “Tim’s mate. The blond guy. Really tall. Nice green eyes. He was gorgeous actually, if I hadn’t been kissing Tim then I would have thought about it.”
“Oh yeah.” I nod slowly. “Yeah I remember. He just… isn’t my type, that’s all.”
“Oh right, sure. Because he doesn’t have dark hair and dark eyes.”
I clap my hand in front of my mouth to stop the sickness from flowing. How can Luci see into my mind? It’s like she can see my thoughts and I haven’t even vocalized them yet. Or ever. I won’t ever tell Luci that I’ve been dreaming about Jace, she will absolutely kick my ass.
“You have got that funny look on your face again,” she tells me wryly. “You’re thinking about him. You need to stop. He’s gone now, you shouldn’t think about him again. You need to move on.”
I turn away from her so she can’t see the heat in my cheeks. “I don’t have time to move on.”
“Oh right, because you’re so busy with work.” I don’t need to see the eye roll; I know it’s there. “I have heard it all before. But that isn’t the real reason, is it? It’s because that bastard broke your heart and you’re scared to move on.” I hand Luci the mug and move over to the table, barely meeting her eyes. “But it’s time, it’s been six years.” Luci takes the seat opposite me and glares. “I know it isn’t easy. I do get it, trust me. The idiot had to get famous after college so now it’s hard to escape him, but you shouldn’t put your life on hold.”
I hate how accurate she is, it stings to listen to this, but I know what my best friend is like. She won’t let me ignore things just because it’s difficult for me. She’s much more of a ‘take the bull by the horns’ sort of person. And since she was there for me during the time I was with Jace and when he destroyed me as well. If anyone understands this situation, it’s her, so I really do need to listen to her advice.
“I haven’t been putting my life on hold, I have just been busy, that’s all.”
“Plenty of women have high powered careers like yours and love as well.”
“I will have love, when the time is right.” I offer a one-shouldered shrug. “I’m just waiting…”
Luci shakes her head at me, the disappointment evident in her expression. “Addison, I have been patient with you and sympathetic as well, but now it’s time for some tough love.”
“You mean everything that’s come before this moment wasn’t tough love?”
Luci completely ignores me. “So, I’m going to help you along with your journey and I’m signing you up to a dating agency.”
My head throbs harder. “What the fuck are you talking about, Luci? I’m too hungover for that.”
“A dating agency! It’ll be fun.” She beams at me like she’s come up with the answer to world peace or something. “I know you don’t want to do all the apps, I get that. Online dating isn’t for you, that’s fine. But this… well it’s different. It’s more personal. You will meet the woman doing the matching and she’ll find the right match for you. Or a selection of matches, they might even let you choose.”
“No, no, no.” I shake my head hard. “I don’t want any of that, I just want to…”
“Focus on your career until you get to the top. I know, Addison, I hear it all the time. Thing is, you’re managing editor now. How much higher can you go? The time is now.”
I part my lips, wanting a million reasons to come out of my mouth to stop her from doing this, but Luci is relentless, and I know that eventually, somehow, she’ll get me to agree. Best to just say yes now and to get out of it later. I’ll find an excuse somehow. There is always an excuse somewhere.
“Okay, fine, whatever, but I don’t see how some woman I don’t know can pick out the love of my life.”
Luci snorts. “It doesn’t always have to be about the love of your life, you know. You can just have fun. Treat it like an experiment. Just try and move on from fucking Jace Fairs already.”
I nod determinedly. I guess that is that then. I’m going to a dating agency to meet men. I doubt it’ll do much use but if it can get Jace out of my mind even a little bit then it’ll be a good thing because that future is well and truly over.
2
JACE
“F uck.” The first word that comes out of my cotton dry, raw as hell, mouth seems to be the same every single morning. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
I stare up at the crack in the ceiling through bleary eyes, wondering where it came from. This is supposed to be a posh hotel, a five star one, they all are, but there is always an imperfection somewhere, I just need to find it. This one is easier because it’s right above my head, so I guess I don’t need to bother searching.
“Fucking ceiling.”
I inhaled deeply, trying to ignore the strong scent of booze that seems to be stuck inside my nostrils, and I turn on to my side. But the image there doesn’t fill me with anymore glee than the crack. It makes me feel sick and reminds me that I’m in for a very awkward morning. After all, that curtain of red hair must be attached to someone, mustn’t it? Even if I can’t remember who the hell she is.
At least she isn’t a blonde, I remind myself. It’s always worse when they are blonde.
Hooking up with random women used to be amazing, a real perk to the rock star profession. Women threw themselves at me wherever I was and I freaking loved it. I relished it, being in The Puppeteers, burying myself in a different person every single night, all the while forgetting about the blonde I left behind, the woman who shattered my heart and left me with nothing but a numb empty chest. That’s why blondes are an issue, they remind me of the sweet, delicious Addie Laing, and that’s someone I cannot think about ever again.