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St. Gerard’s corporate rooms are exquisite; it’s obvious they spared no expense. From the beveled glass, mirrored pendant chandelier in the center of the room, to the coffered ceiling with disguised recess lights, everything reeks of wealth. The combination of the lighting creates reflections across the slick, dark mahogany table that takes up the entirety of the expansive room.

It’s gorgeous and meant to aid in getting deals done.

But with only four people in the sweeping space, it feels cold. Especially so as I stare across the dark table at Hally, who’s struggling to look me in the eye.

I crack my knuckles one at a time, listening to Nancy talk as she sifts through a stack of printed papers in front of her. Each an article or mention in a gossip column. Mixed in are photos of us that were leaked online from back in high school. Those are the only ones I even bother to look at.

“As I discussed with my client, her interview is causing a little speculation,” Nancy’s voice changes, strengthening and ringing clear in the large room. My eyes shift from Hally’s to hers.

I shrug my right shoulder and rest my forearm on the table. “I’m sure it’ll blow over.”

I give my response at the same time Hally says, “I’m sorry.” Her eyes dart everywhere like she’s in trouble. Her hands are beneath the table, and I can only imagine she’s toying with the hem of the shirt she’s wearing. It’s black with a deep V but more importantly, it’s almost sheer and in this lighting, I can make out the lace of her bra.

I imagine it was for the set because it’s not a shirt I could see Hally wearing. But then again, I haven’t seen Hally in her own clothes, or have I?

The inner thought makes my brow furrow and right then she glances at me.

“This is on the cusp of very good or very bad,” Nancy says but I refuse to break Hally’s gaze. She’s scared and that fact is terrifying me.

All she has to do is forget. For the love of God, if she could just forget what happened, everything would be perfect.

“I don’t want to hurt his career,” Hally says hesitantly, breaking eye contact with me, her voice lowering toward the end.

“Relax,” I tell her at the same time that Mark starts to talk. He stops when he hears me, waiting to see if I have more, but I don’t. I just listen to what they say and abide by it.

I motion for him to go on and he says, “I know you’re new to this Miss May, but everything’s going to be just fine. We’re here for precautionary reasons.”

Nancy nods her head and adds, “We’re paid to prevent the bad times from ever happening.”

“What’s the story between you two? You need to tell us if anything could be revealed that would cause … issues,” she says, making small circles with her hand in the air.

Hally’s quiet, so I answer for her.

“We had a rough breakup.” That’s as simple as it gets.

The room is quiet for a second too long, the tension growing.

“So, it was rough seeing him again,” Mark prompts Hally, but then Nancy cuts him off.

“You could quit right now on this set and there’s so much buzz around this that I could get you another gig like that,” Nancy says to Hally and snaps her fingers, although I’m sure it’s solely for my benefit, since it’s obvious the two of them have already talked.

“How are we spinning this?” Mark asks and it pisses me off. They’re blowing everything out of proportion.

“It was just one shaky interview,” I say and I don’t hide the irritation in my voice.

Nancy tosses a stack of pictures down in front of me, several taken throughout the last two weeks. She straightens one in front of me so I can see it clearly. It’s at eye level, obviously taken with a cell phone.

“And it’s just a picture, right?” she asks rhetorically as I take in a long breath. My fingers itch to touch the edge of the picture. Hally’s eyes stare at my back in the photo, every emotion on her face visible. I scan the rest of the photo, but it wasn’t taken on set. That’s more than obvious and my blood freezes as the easiness of my posture hardens.

She’s terrified.

“Pictures say a thousand words, and this one says that he broke your heart … for a reason,” Nancy says.

“And that reason doesn’t matter,” Mark says and sits straighter in his seat. “Everyone loves a second chance.”

Nancy’s smile turns coy and then she looks at Hally, who’s focusing on the picture that’s sitting in front of me.

She’s been telling me she wants to talk. I know she has, and yet, I’ve put it off.

Why can’t she just forget? Why can’t she pretend it didn’t happen?

I nod my head at Mark’s suggestion, waiting for Hally’s reaction. She’s quiet and unresponsive.

I sit up in my seat as Mark and Nancy talk about how the two of us dating is the gossip that everyone will want. They go on about planning dates and discussing where exactly we should be seen. They’ll plan it all out and give us the script.

We can handle that much. But the longer I sit here, willing Hally to look at me, the worse and worse the sickness in my stomach gets.

“So, what happened in high school that made you break up?” Mark asks and the question rouses Hally, but she doesn’t answer. Instead, she looks back at him with something that shatters my heart. Guilt.

I’m a dick for doing it, but I give her an out. I hand it over to her, ready to let her be free of all of this shit. “Why don’t I let Hally tell you?”

Hally’s lips turn up into a small smile as she wipes tears from the corners of her eyes. Nancy pulls on the crook of her elbow and whispers in her ear, but Hally shakes her head. I watch it all like a bystander, as if I can’t help what’s about to happen.

“Did you know Nathan’s the only person to ever call me Hally?” she says softly as Nancy lets go of her. She looks at her fingers as she wipes a bit of black from them, I’m guessing from her mascara.

“I’ve noticed,” Nancy says, eyeing Hally and waiting for more.

“I made him,” she says and then lets out a sad laugh. “I didn’t want him to call me the same name everyone else did.” She forces her tears back and takes in a steadying breath. “I knew there was something between us instantly.”

“Love at first sight?” Nancy says as she jots something down on the back of one of the papers.

“Some would call it that,” Hally says.

“Would you?” Mark asks and Hally nods her head.

My heart hammers in my chest, too hot and too full of raw emotion to settle into place.

“But we were like oil and water; that’s the saying, right?” she asks and then looks up at me. “We picked fights for no reason, both of us hotheaded and unwilling to be wrong.”

“Young love,” Mark says beneath his breath and Nancy nods, jotting that down too.

“Young and stupid,” Hally says and I hate it. We may have been, but that night is what she’s thinking of. I can see it in her eyes.

“I was stupid,” I interrupt her and Hally finally looks up at me, shaking her head slightly.

She swallows and almost says something. She almost contradicts me, but then bites down on her words. She doesn’t want to fight me, and I hate it. My hand clenches into a fist on the table, feeling like I’m losing her.

“And you broke up, over the fighting, we’ll say,” Nancy says as the silence stretches for too long. “Now what was on your mind when you saw him, Hally?” Nancy asks and my body stills, my lungs refusing to fill.

How could I not have noticed? I glance back down at her picture. How was I so blind to her pain? I put my elbow on the table and my chin in my hand. Covering my mouth with my fingers I keep my emotions in check, waiting for Hally to answer.

“I was scared,” she says with a nod and then another, the second one more confident. I can see it in her eyes that she wants to tell them the truth.

She’s sweet and naïve, so it’s only a matter of time before she slips. In this industry, they never let up.

Before they can ask her why, she gives a small smile and says, “I thought he wouldn’t want me the way I wanted him.” Her voice is hopeful and filled with nostalgia.

Even I would believe her, if I didn’t know it was a lie.

She was scared of our past, of that night. The reminder and the pain it carries.

“Now, Nate, you need to remember these details,” Nancy says and it pisses me off.

“Easy enough since it’s all true,” I snap back at her. They think it’s a lie? A charade? I don’t care.

The only thing I care about is the fact that she’s hurting and I’ve been ignoring it.

There’s one person who could destroy me and she’s the one I’m giving everything to.