Chapter Twenty-Two
Sloan
It was the second day that I’d woken up in New York. The second day that I’d slept in my king-sized bed. And still, I wasn’t used to it. For a full month, I’d been living in a tiny hotel room, and I thought I’d be excited finally have my space back again. But as I lay there, looking around at the big loft, I couldn’t help but wonder what the point of it all was. I was just one person. Why did I need so much space? Sure, the bed was comfortable. The shower was great. But it all had felt a little fake.
Both nights I’d gone to sleep with Brady’s shirt on. I wasn’t even sure how it had ended up in my suitcase, but when I’d gotten home to unpack, I’d found it in between my clothes. I’d lifted it up to my nose and breathed in his scent. I wondered what he’d think about me sleeping in it now. I pulled it off and threw it over to the side. I needed to get a grip. Nothing was ever going to happen between myself and Brady. We were too different. And he clearly didn’t want a future with someone like me. It had been fun while it lasted, but it wasn’t meant to be. And the shirt was not helping me get over it. But then, as I saw the shirt lying crumpled in the corner, I realized that I wasn’t ready to let go of it just yet. I got up and put it back on.
I was just about to climb back into bed when someone knocked on the door. My immediate thought was that it was Brady, but then I realized where I was and shook my head. I opened the door and smiled at Victoria.
“Vic, it’s so good to see you,” I gushed.
Her eyes widened at the sight of me, and she quickly walked in and closed the door behind her. “Oh my goodness! Look at you. I cannot believe you just opened the door looking like that.”
“Looking like what?”
“Look at you! You have no makeup on. You haven’t brushed your hair. And what on earth are you wearing? A man’s t-shirt?”
I tugged at the shirt. “Ah, sorry, I just woke up.”
“That could’ve been a reporter at the door.”
“No, the security guy knows only to send up people I’ve approved.”
She laughed. “And you believe him? You know the media will go to great lengths to find their way up here.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I said. What was wrong with me? I would never have opened the door looking like this a month ago. I really needed to clear my head and remember where I was.
“Anyway, forget that. It’s so good to see you.”
I grinned at her. “It’s good to see you too.”
“Come on, get in the shower and put some clothes on. How about I get us some coffee in the meantime? Did you see there’s a new café downstairs?”
“I saw that. Okay, sounds good. Give me ten minutes.”
“Since when do you take ten minutes to shower?”
“Since you mentioned the word coffee,” I said.
I pulled some clothes out of the closet, grabbed a towel and made my way to the bathroom. I showered quickly, not bothering to wash my hair, climbed out and got changed. I tied my hair up into a high ponytail so that Victoria wouldn’t comment on the fact that it wasn’t clean, and put a touch of makeup on. I wondered if Victoria would notice that I hadn’t put as much on as usual. Of course she would. I sighed and quickly put on a bit more.
When I stepped out of the shower, she was sitting on the bed with two takeout cups on a tray.
“Whoa. That was quick,” I told her.
She chuckled. “I just called them and got them to deliver. Oh, and by the way, they came right up to your door to deliver the coffee. Your so-called security guard didn’t think twice about letting them up.”
I groaned. “Really? I’d better have a word with him.”
“Yeah, I told you. Anyone could get up. Anyway, here’s your coffee.”
“Thank you,” I said.
I took a sip and grimaced. I’d gotten used to drinking strong coffee at the ranch. Every now and again Brady would add some cream to it, and the texture and flavor had been incredible.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like it? I think it’s amazing. It’s a skinny latte.”
“Oh, no, it’s lovely,” I said. “I was just making a face because it’s hot.”
She laughed. “Well, it is coffee, what were you expecting? Now, sit down, I want to know everything.”
I sat down and smiled at my friend. It was good to see her again. And hopefully being around her would snap me right back into reality again.
“Everything went so well. I have a feeling this movie is going to be amazing. I mean, the setting was absolutely perfect for it. You’ve never seen anything like it really. Wide open spaces, horses trotting around, and quite possibly the most glorious sunsets and sunrises you’ve ever seen.”
“Wow, sounds like you actually enjoyed it.”
“I did. It was quite an experience.”
“An experience. I’m sure. It must’ve been so different from New York. I guess it was good to be there to really feel like a cowgirl. But can you imagine actually living like that? I mean, how many times did you wear your dresses? Did you even get a chance to go out and dress up?”
I laughed at the thought of me dressing up in my New York clothes ready to go horse riding. “Not really,” I said. “Maybe once or twice. I did go to a very nice restaurant, and I got a chance to dress up. But on most days, I was wearing what everyone else in the town was wearing.”
Victoria pulled a face. “Which was what exactly?”
“Well, just jeans and t-shirts mostly. Shorts on the really hot days. And a lot of the time I was in riding gear.”
“Riding gear?”
“Yeah, I got to ride the horses. There was one sweet horse called Betty. You would’ve liked her.”
She looked at me as if I had spoken in a foreign language. “I’m not a fan of horses, to be honest. Did you actually have to ride one?”
“Yeah. I was petrified at first. But after a few lessons, I got the hang of it. Soon I was riding even when they weren’t filming.”
She groaned. “Oh no. Look what that place did to you! Although, I suppose you had nothing much else to do during the day when you weren’t filming. Argh, but Wyoming must’ve been such a drag. Where exactly were you?”
“Yeah, it was in a small farming community, a town called Buffalo.”
“A small farming community? Sounds awful. And how about the people? They must’ve been all gaga over you. I mean, I doubt any of them have ever even met someone famous before.”
I thought of how Brady hadn’t even cared about my celebrity status. I thought of the wonderful Harold, who had gone out of his way to be nice to me. I thought of the staff at the hotel, who had been kind and friendly every day. But I didn’t feel like telling her about any of that. If I spoke about Brady, I’d only miss him more. And anyway, Victoria wouldn’t understand.
“Yeah, they were interesting,” I said.
“Okay, well, enough about Wyoming. I’m sure you’re sick to death of thinking about that place. How about we go out and do what we do best? I’ve been dying to go shopping with you all month.”
“Sure,” I said with forced enthusiasm. “Let’s do it.”
The entire morning out with Victoria felt awkward. It was good to see her again, but I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy the shopping experience like I used to. Every time we threw money on the counter, I would feel a stab of guilt at how much I was spending on just one outfit. Thankfully, Victoria was having such a fabulous time that she didn’t seem to notice my dismay. I kept thinking about the people that I’d met over the past few months, and how they had accepted me for who I was, and not for what I was wearing.
“Now this is going to look amazing on you,” Victoria said and snapped me out of my reverie. She was holding out a small black dress with a plunge top.
“I don’t know, Vic. It looks like it won’t cover all that much.”
She laughed. “That’s the point! And anyway, you should flaunt what you’ve got.”
I bought the dress and wondered when I would ever wear it. I made a mental note to make a plan to wear it to the next event, and to get over the strange feelings that kept coming over me. My life was here in New York, not in Wyoming. I’d worked hard to become an actress. I’d worked hard to make a life for myself. I deserved this little dress that cost more than a months’ worth of grocery shopping in Wyoming. I deserved it!
Once we’d finished shopping, we decided to go out and have something to eat.
“I think I’ll order the triple cheese sandwich,” I said as I eyed the menu. It came with bacon and tomato and was served with a side order of fries. My mouth was drooling at the thought of it.
Victoria laughed. “You’re so funny. Imagine if you actually ordered something like that? You’d be all over the front pages of the magazine. Oh, that reminds me, I had a little bit too much wine the other night and ended up eating carbs for the first time in like, forever. Let me tell you, it is not worth it, no matter how delicious it was at the time. I was so angry at myself for caving in so easily. Oh, here comes the waiter. I’m going to order the house salad. How about you?”
I forced myself to smile. “The salad sounds great.”
After we finished our salads, we made our way back to the apartment. I saw a car with black tinted windows parked outside, but I didn’t think much of it. Then, just as we were about to walk inside, a man got out and ran toward us.
“Miss Hill, are the rumors true?” he said as he reached me.
I turned around in surprise at the sound of my name. “Sorry?”
“Are the rumors true?” the man said again. I realized that he was a reporter. He was holding out his phone to record me and looking at me with those eager eyes that only a reporter had.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t been here for the last month. I’ve been away, filming. So I haven’t heard any rumors. Would you care to elaborate?”
“Is it true that you lied about your entire past?”
I stared at him.
“Excuse me?”
“Is it true that you lied about your entire past?” the man said again.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Victoria stepped up and pulled me away.
“Sloan, you don’t have to answer their questions. Come on, let’s go inside. And you,” she said to the reporter, “go away and give her some privacy.”
Victoria took my arm and led me inside. I tried to look as if I didn’t know what he was talking about, but my head was swarming with thoughts. How could he know the truth about me? And what exactly did he know? Some of it? All of it? In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to run away.