“I hope you’ll be comfortable in here. Paxton shouldn’t be too awfully long.” Kenneth hovered at the green room door, as if he were torn between staying there to watch over me and stepping back out with Paxton where he really belonged.

I threaded my fingers together. “I’ll be fine, thank you.”

He gestured with his chin toward the elaborate wooden buffet that was set up against the far wall. “Help yourself to whatever you need. And if you need anything else, call.”

Warmth spread through my chest, and I nodded back as a small smile touched the corner of my mouth. “Thank you for watching out for me. I truly appreciate it.”

With a curt nod, he exited the room and let the door fall shut behind him. It muted the bustle of voices and laughter that filtered in through the main room. Voices and laughter that vied for the attention of the man who had somehow managed to steal all of mine.

All of my focus.

All of my sanity.

Honestly, I was grateful to step away so I could get a breath. Grateful to have the time to process what I’d just experienced. Watching the movie at Paxton’s side had been a jarring, stark reminder of who this man was. A reminder of his talent and fame. A reminder of the demands of his life and the brilliance he brought to the screen.

I was still having a hard time processing that I was here at the premiere in London.

At his side.

By tomorrow morning, I would be plastered all over the tabloids again. This time by choice.

I kept scrambling around inside myself, searching for reservations. I kept waiting for reason and logic to finally set in and remind me of who I was and who I’d always wanted to be.

I was a kindergarten teacher.

A girl who’d always wanted a modest and simple life.

A roar of laughter echoed from the walls.

And this?

This didn’t even come close to a semblance of simple.

God…I couldn’t even bring myself to call it normal.

It was a fantasy.

Impossible.

And here it was…right in front of me.

Moving toward the sidebar to pour a drink, I dropped my head and fought an affected smile when I was struck with the realization.

This was exactly where I wanted to be.

Here.

With him.

Despite the cameras and intrusion. Regardless of the gossip and the speculation.

I didn’t care.

I reached for the bottle of champagne that was chilling in a silver bucket on the table, then stilled when I felt the air rustle from behind.

A cold, unwelcome chill.

It slithered across my skin like an omen.

I allowed myself to close my eyes for one second, before I gathered all the courage and resolve I had and slowly turned around to face the fierce presence that had appeared at the door.

“Kendall.” It was barely a whisper.

She smiled a vicious, red-lipped smile, her bob brushing her thin, bare shoulders, the woman a knockout in her cobalt blue strapless dress.

If I didn’t know better, I would have guessed her to have been one of the stars on the screen.

“I do hope you enjoyed the show.” Her voice was all feigned interest and concern. “Although, I suppose you already slithered your way in to see it once. It doesn’t have quite the same impact the second time around, does it?”

I stood my ground, refusing to let this woman belittle me just by her condescending tone.

“Actually, I think I appreciated it more the second time around…anticipating what was next. Knowing it would steal my breath and then being floored by it all over again.”

She laughed. “Kudos to you, Kaylee. You do always seem to know the right thing to say.” She wandered deeper into the room. “Though that doesn’t change the situation, does it?”

Unease fluttered through my senses.

The last thing I wanted was another confrontation with this woman.

I respected her simply for the fact Paxton employed her, and he trusted her to look out for his best interest.

But she needed to understand I was there because of Paxton.

Because he wanted me there and I wanted to be there with him.

Because I cared about him and he cared about me.

My chin lifted a fraction. “I don’t know what situation you’re talking about.”

She scoffed. “There’s no need to play coy, Kaylee. You’ve known what this was right from the very start. You served your purpose and Paxton served his.”

My head shook, and I took a step back as she came closer. “What are you talking about?”

Her voice dropped into something wicked. “You think you’re really different, don’t you? Did you actually come here thinking you were going to make the Paxton Myles fall for you? Did you really think you were going to manage to sink your claws into him so deeply they would actually stick?”

She edged in closer, so close to my face I could almost taste the venom when a condescending tsk jetted from between her lips. “You don’t mean anything. You aren’t any different than any of the thousands of other girls he’s taken to his bed. He used you…fucked you…took you…and you let him. But don’t worry, he’s more than willing to compensate you for your time and effort.”

Dread pushed at my chest. Heavy and dense. I took another floundering step backward, desperate to put space between us. “You’re wrong. Paxton…he…he cares about me.”

I needed to get out of there. I kept moving back. Needing air so I could think.

She took another step toward me. When she did, my back hit the wall.

She pulled an envelope from her black velvet clutch. “Paxton wanted me to make sure you had this.”

Tears pricked at my eyes. “You’re lying.”

She tore the small slip of paper free from the envelope.

A check.

A check for One-hundred Thousand Dollars.

Nausea spun, and I choked back a sob. “No…Pax…he wouldn’t…” The refusal stammered from my tongue.

Images flashed.

Ones of us from earlier in the hotel room.

The shower.

More slammed me. Picture after picture of the gorgeous women who’d been on his arm—gone the next day.

“No.” It was a whimper.

Her head angled to the side. “Then why do you think you’re in here and Paxton is out there? Why do you think he removed you from his side and left you in this room all by yourself? He’s had his fun and now he’s bored with you, Kaylee. Now it’s time for you to go home.”

I fought it. God, I fought it, but a single tear slipped free. I gritted my teeth against it, just as hard as I tightened my hands into fists. “No.”

She lifted the check. “He signed it, Kaylee. This is his goodbye. Now…we have a driver waiting for you out back to take you to pick up your things at the hotel. You need to be at the airport in ninety minutes to catch your flight.”

Anger burned.

So hot.

So unlike me.

But it was there, this ripping ache that felt too much like heartbreak.

She shoved the check at my chest.

I tore it out of her hand.

She stepped back, her grin nothing but a cruel I told you so.

I gripped it in a ball. “You think I want this?”

“Isn’t that what everyone wants? Money? Fame? The chance to step out of their pathetic lives just for a second, to glean a taste of what it might feel like to live on the other side? You got your fifteen seconds, Kaylee. It’s over. And I promise you, if I ever see you anywhere next Paxton Myles again, I will personally see to it that you regret it for the rest of your life.”

There was nothing I could do to stop them.

Tears flooded free, hot streaks that undoubtedly left rivers of black down my face.

Marks of shame and heartbreak and anger.

My laughter was grim and hurt when I looked at her, the check like a white flag of surrender waved between us. But I wasn’t going down without this bitch knowing exactly where I stood.

I tore it into a hundred tiny pieces and tossed them into the air.

For the first time, it was shock that widened her eyes.

“Maybe Paxton chose to use me. But when I told you I didn’t want anything from him other than to be with him, I meant it. Maybe I saw something in him I shouldn’t have seen. Maybe I am naïve and simple and gullible.”

Maybe my one wild night had truly turned into a nightmare. Maybe it would cause me the greatest pain that I’d ever experienced after all.

I swallowed around the grief that threatened to spill out. I looked to where the pieces of the check were scattered around our feet on the plush carpeted floor.

“But I will never be this person.”

I started for the door, before I turned and looked at her from over my shoulder.

“And I am not for sale.”

Then I turned and fled.