Chapter 40

I gave a confused shake of my head. "Why? What's going to happen?"

As an answer, he pushed back his chair and stood. In a low voice, he said, "You should go."

I stared up at him. What a total asshole. I tried to laugh, but it came out hard and bitter. "Well, that's nice."

"No. It's not." His jaw tightened. "And I'm sorry."

What was that? Apology number four? That had to be some kind of record, especially for Zane.

I looked down at the table in front of me. On it, I saw silverware for food that hadn't yet arrived, two half-empty wine glasses, and of course, the bottle itself, with plenty of wine remaining.

Bummer for me, huh? Apparently, I was being dismissed.

True, I'd been half-expecting it, but it still bothered me more than it should've – not that I had any intention of showing it.

Instead, I summoned up a stiff smile and got to my feet with as much dignity as I could muster.

The effort was a total waste. He was paying me zero attention. Instead, he was staring past me, toward the restaurant entrance – or, exit as the case might be.

Hint taken.

Jerk.

I turned away, intending to march off with my head held high. Instead, I nearly collided with a tall, elegant blonde in a long, ice-blue dress.

I stepped back and somehow managed to mumble, "Sorry."

Her lips formed a sneer. "You should be."

Well, this wasn't humiliating or anything.

All I wanted to do was leave. But at the moment, I couldn’t, not with the woman blocking my path. Nearly desperate now, I backed closer to the table and waited for her to pass.

But she didn't. Instead, she looked to my chair said, "That's my seat."

I froze. "What?"

Suddenly, a dark wall appeared in front of me. The wall was Zane, who'd stepped between us, with his back to me and his front to her.

In a quiet voice, he said, "I told you, we'd reschedule."

She gave a mean little laugh. "And I told you that no one 'reschedules' Maven."

She leaned around Zane and gave me a quick once-over. "Now, run along, sweetie. The important people are talking."

I felt my gaze narrow. "Important people?"

But already, she'd disappeared behind Zane. In a breezy voice, she said, "Now that we've cleared that away…" She paused. "Oh come on. You can't seriously be angry."

Zane said, "Can't I?"

"No," she said. "And you had plans with me first."

In a tight voice, he said, "Which I canceled."

My stomach twisted. Obviously, she was the person he'd been texting.

I should've known.

I wasn't sure what I found more revolting – that he'd ditch his date last-minute or that he'd ditch me now.

And why on Earth was I still standing here? With a sound of disgust, I pushed my way around Zane and began striding toward the exit.

I'd made it only a few steps when a tug on my wrist made me stop. I looked down to see Zane's hand, encircling my own.

In a low voice, he said, "Jane. Wait."

I glanced around. By now, everyone was staring, not that I could blame them. Near our table, Maven stood, eyeing our exchange with blatant satisfaction.

When she spotted me looking, she smiled and gave me one of those finger waves – the kind you give when you really want to piss someone off.

And I was pissed. No. Not just pissed. Royally pissed. I yanked my hand out of Zane's grip and hissed. "Your date's waiting."

"No," he said. "My date's leaving."

My thoughts were so jumbled, I wasn't even sure who he meant. Me? Because I was heading toward the door? Or her? Because he was planning to ditch her a second time.

Either way, I wanted no part of it. I glared up at him. "Thanks for the wine."

Asshole.

I didn't say it out loud, but from the look on Zane's face, he got the message loud and clear.

He leaned closer, "Jane—"

Behind him, I heard Maven call out in a sing-song voice, "Oh waiter. We'll need a new bottle of wine. And can you clear away this mess?"

Zane and I hadn't even eaten. There was no mess, at least not at the table. But inside, I felt conflicting emotions swirling and twisting into a toxic brew. Adding salt to the wound, I felt stupid and disheveled in comparison to Maven's cool elegance.

The way it looked, she was loving every minute of this – the drama, the spectacle, the fun of humiliating someone who wasn't remotely in her league.

Suddenly, I felt like crying.

I didn't want to cry, not in front of a crowd, and certainly not in front of Zane.

Or Maven, for that matter.

Besides, I told myself, none of this was a big deal. Zane was always a jerk. I was used to it. Or at least, I should be used to it.

And yet, now I wasn't. I looked back to Zane. As our gazes locked and held, I didn't bother hiding my disgust. Whatever he was feeling, I couldn’t be sure.

But it wasn't happiness.

Good.

I lowered my voice to just a whisper, and said, "Zane, there's something you need to hear."

He leaned a fraction closer. "What?"

"Fuck off." And with that, I turned and walked away, pushing my way through the exit. In the distance, I heard Maven laughing as she said, "God, what a drama queen."

Bitch.

Outside the confines of the restaurant, I was walking faster now, heading toward the elevators. But when I arrived, a couple was already standing there, waiting for the next elevator down.

I didn't want to wait. And besides, the thought of breaking down in front of strangers was just too much to bear.

In a moment of blind panic, I ducked into the stairwell and let the door swing shut behind me. And then I stood, for a long moment, catching my breath and trying to figure out what had just happened.

Whatever it was, I never, ever wanted to repeat it.

As I stood there, in the bleak stairwell, I reminded myself that I didn't even like him. In fact, I was pretty sure that I hated him.

I'd hated him almost from the start. So why was it, I wondered, that I felt so awful now?

I didn't bother returning to my room. Instead, I caught a crowded elevator a few floors down and rode it to the lobby with a dozen other hotel guests who looked a lot happier than I was.

Still, I was glad to be lost in a crowd – alone, anonymous, where I could totally forget Zane Bennington, if even only for a few hours.

But in the end, I couldn’t even do that, thanks to more bad timing.