Chapter Twenty

"YOU LOOK AMAZING." It was a lie, of course. And while Frankie rarely lied as a rule, right this moment she didn't think she had a choice.

"Really?" Blake worked hard not to sound too desperate and hopeful.

"Really." Another lie, but Frankie was genuinely worried the slightest insult would send her friend reeling into a mental breakdown.

"I didn't really do anything special, though."

"Must be the air then." And apparently, what everyone said was true. A single lie was all it took, and you'd never stop lying.

But still, Frankie didn't regret it. At least now, Blake was more herself, chatting nonstop about her day as they walked the last ten-minute leg to Redwood Cafe, where the movie crew was celebrating the last day of shooting.

Although it was an invitation-only party, Elizabeth had added Blake and Freddie's name to the list. Host perks, the other woman had explained cheerfully when Blake worried about gatecrashing a Hollywood party. They're having the party at the cafe, which means whatever Arden and I say goes.

Frankie caught sight of the pensive look on her friend's face. "Are you thinking of..." Blake shot her a glowering look of warning and she hastily corrected herself. "—-the celebrities? That we're, um, going to see at the party?"

Blake made a face. "That's lame, even for you."

"I'm not used to lying, okay?" Or if she were honest, it was really a hit-or-miss thing with her.

"And no, I wasn't thinking what you're thinking."

"Really."

"Swear to God."

Frankie had no choice to believe her friend with that. "Then what were you thinking about?"

"Rich people."

"O-oh?"

She noticed the way Frankie had tensed and remembered what Curt said.

I think Freddie knows.

Her teeth sank into her lower lip.

Did Frankie know? Was that why she had so been against her friend hooking up with Thornton? But if she knew...then why didn't Frankie warn her? Or maybe...she couldn't. Maybe...she had signed away her rights with some non-disclosure agreements. Rich people loved their NDAs so much they would probably go to bed with it if they could.

"Blake?"

She looked up, startled and feeling just a little bit guilty. "Yup?" She hated the way she had been distrustful of her friend lately, and even though she instinctively knew Frankie would never do a thing to hurt or betray her...it didn't seem to make any difference.

Frankie finally decided to be blunt. "You've been giving me strange looks lately."

Sheep.

"I'm sorry," she heard herself mumble. "But it's really not just you. Sometimes, I don't even notice where or who I'm looking at. I just lose myself in my thoughts so easily these days."

"Because of Thornton."

She nodded. This, at least, was partially the truth.

"It's been two weeks, you know," Frankie said gently. "What really happened?" She genuinely wanted to know, if only so she could better understand how to help her friend.

"It just didn't work out."

Frankie had to work extremely hard not to challenge Blake's words. Just didn't work? It could be true with any other dreaded C-word. But Blake and Thornton? Never. Things couldn't just not work out for people like them.

Blake had fallen so hard for her boss that despite witnessing countless times just how crazy mercurial her so-called beloved could be, she still thought of him as perfect.

And then there was Thornton. The man used to have a batting average of three words per week. For several consecutive years. And yet after Blake, he had undergone a 180-degree change and now had a working vocabulary of about fifty words (and counting).

Frankie might not have been in favor of their relationship at the start, but she wasn't blind either. She had seen the way Blake blossomed under his attention and how much Thornton had loosened up because of her friend. The two of them being together might not have made sense on paper, but they had felt right.So right that Frankie knew things just couldn't stop working out between them.

It had to be something else.

Or...

"There's someone else , isn't there? A third party? Right?"

The words, blurted out just as Frankie and Blake entered the cafe, fell in a chasm of awkward silence. Because apparently, they had arrived a lot earlier, and the only ones inside were Elizabeth, Arden, and the Blackwood brothers.

All three accounted for, Frankie realized with a gulp, and all three also seemed to have heard everything she said.

It took a dreadful amount of time before anyone thought to move, and the first one who was able to do so...had to be Thornton.

Naturally, Blake found herself thinking, even though she wasn't quite sure what was so natural about it. His ability to respond first, wherever she was concerned? But if that were true, then that meant he really did care for her...which was impossible.

Her heart was racing against her will, so, so fast it made everything around her move in seeming slow motion. And that included Thornton, who was heading...straight...for her.

Thornton could feel his entire face harden when Blake suddenly ran past him like he didn't exist.

"Elizabeth, it's been so long!"

Elizabeth suddenly found herself engulfed in a desperately tight hug. "Y-Yeah." Like...fifteen hours too long?

The noise inside the cafe rocketed sky high in the next second. Everyone was talking a little too loudly and laughing a little too much. It was like one big joke, a pointless conspiracy where everyone was keen to have Thornton forget the way Blake had ghosted him.

In person.

Ethan quickly threw an arm around Thornton's shoulder when he saw his brother's face starting to harden.

"What do you want to drink?" Aidan asked while making sure to block Thornton's view of the girls.

"Did you hear her?" Thornton gritted out under his breath.

"Hear what?" Ethan asked cautiously.

"Exactly," Thornton said between clenched teeth as they swung back up on the stools by the counters. "Frankie talked about a third party—-" He grabbed the whiskey bottle and poured himself a shot. "And she..." His fingers reflexively tightened its grip around the shotglass. "Didn't. Fucking. Say. Anything ."

"I'M SO SORRY ABOUT that," Frankie was apologizing under her breath as she and Elizabeth rushed Blake towards one of the corner tables. The further away from Thornton, the better.

"It's fine." Blake's tone was wobbly. She had seen the look on Thornton's face when Frankie uttered those ugly hateful words, and it had nearly killed her. The pain...looked almost real. Almost made her want to forget she knew the truth and just pretend.

Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Arden crank the music up as they took their seats. They might end up deaf in a couple of minutes, but at least she could be sure that whatever was spoken among them...stayed among them.

Tuning back to her friends' conversation, Elizabeth heard Blake asking Frankie if there even was a party to begin with, and she knew it was her turn to confess.

"That's my doing," she admitted apologetically. "I'm sorry, B. There is a party, but it's at six, not five, and I just couldn't say no to Mr. Blackwood. He just looked so..." Miserable, she almost said, but it suddenly didn't feel the right word to say, with Blake looking just as heartbroken.

"Is it true, though?" Frankie couldn't help asking uneasily. "I heard Mr. Blackwood and Mayor O talking, and he says..."

I've tried everything, Oliver. But she doesn't even want to talk, and she can't even seem to bear looking at me. It's almost like she fucking hates the sight of me—-

Blake bit her lip hard at the look on her friend's face. Frankie usually loved anything that had to do with Thornton's suffering, but this time...

"What did he say, Frankie?" she asked tremulously.

Frankie took a deep breath. "He—-"

An explosive sound cut her off, and all three girls jumped in their seats. Elizabeth was the only one of them facing the counter, and Blake couldn't help stiffening when she saw the girl's jaw drop. "What is it?"

"I think...Thornton accidentally crushed a glass into pieces with his hand?"

Blake didn't even realize she had started to stand up until Frankie's fingers wrapped around her wrist, and her friend hissed, "What do you think you're doing?"

Oh.

She fell back into her seat. "I was..."

"Concerned for your boyfriend," Elizabeth said softly.

"Ex." It hurt to say this, but she felt the need to force this word out.

Elizabeth's heart squeezed at the way Blake's lips started trembling in an effort not to cry. "Oh, B."

"Don't you think it's time for you to talk about what happened?" Frankie urged. "You're clearly not doing fine, and he's not doing fine either."

"Are you sure about that?" Blake's smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Why are you acting like this?" Elizabeth asked worriedly.

"I know I've been against him from the start," Frankie said at the same time, "but when you guys are together..."

"He doesn't love me."

Elizabeth bit her lip when she heard the sudden catch in her friend's voice. "Are you really sure about that?"

Blake slowly nodded.

"But when he was drunk..."

"Exactly," Blake said painfully. "He was drunk ."

"Did he cheat on you?" Frankie finally asked. "Is that why you're so sure—-" Her voice trailed off when Blake shook her head. "Then...did you cheat on him?"

"No," Blake whispered. "But it doesn't matter because..." Her voice broke. Oh God. She jumped to her feet. "I...I think I need to go to the toilet." Blake was just seconds away from bursting into tears, and she would really rather not have anyone see her break down.

"B—-" Frankie's voice trailed off as Blake rushed away.

"Oh no."

Elizabeth's dismayed tone had Frankie looking back. "What is it?"

The other girl pointed at the bar. "Thornton's seat is empty, too."

THORNTON STARED AT his reflection in the mirror. What the fuck am I doing? He was falling apart, and it was all because of a girl. A girl, goddammit. He used to laugh every time he heard about men falling to pieces after getting dumped, and now karma was biting him in the ass.

Man up, Blackwood .

Blake had made her choice clear, and she had chosen Teller over him.

He had to fucking accept that and move on.

But the moment he stepped out of the men's toilet, the first thing he saw was her, coming out of the ladies', her eyes red-rimmed and swollen with tears.

Their gazes collided, and God, even that...even that felt like it had been so fucking long, that when she suddenly tried to bolt like he had a contagious disease, Thornton found himself reacting instinctively.

Hard fingers curled around her arm, and then Blake suddenly found herself being spun back to face Thornton.

"Why are you so hell bent on avoiding me?"

Instead of answering, she lowered her gaze to his injured hand. "What happened?"

"Don't change the subject."

Silence.

"Dammit, Blake. Just tell me why."

But it seemed as if their roles had suddenly reversed, and it was Thornton who had all the words to say while Blake could only stare at him.

"I should be the one who's unable to stand the sight of you," he said in a hollow voice, "but it's not working like that for me. If all I can have is see you, then I want it. But you..." He stopped speaking when he heard a strangled sound escape her. " Blake ..." He saw her body start shaking at the strength of her sobs, but when he tried to touch her, she yanked away, and he could feel himself turning cold.

Blake couldn't stand the desolation in Thornton's eyes. "I'm s-sorry."

"Then tell me why you're acting like I fucking killed you."

Because you did.

But she just couldn't make herself say that, and when she heard voices and footsteps, realized that this was the real start of the party and that anyone could just walk in at any moment and see her crying—-

"I need to go," she whispered jerkily.

But when she tried to walk past Thornton, he hauled her into his arms instead.

No!

It felt too good. Too painful. Too much of everything she dreamed and knew she could never have.

"Baby."

The agony in his voice was too much.

"Please."

It threatened to undo her, weaken her, and she just couldn't...

Couldn't.

Just couldn't.

She tore herself out of his hold. "I know the truth," Blake choked out. "And I can't...I can't..."

Thornton whitened. "I...see." His voice was dull. She knew. She knew he was in love with her, and she was just so fucking nice, she was avoiding him in hopes of hurting him less.

He forced himself to look at her. "I'm sorry." It wasn't her fault he loved her and she couldn't love him back.

He was sorry , he said.

But sorry for what?

For hurting her?

For Blake finding out before he was ready for the game to end?

She squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm sorry, too." And she was. Sorry that even now, after everything...she still loved him.