Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 62811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
“Stall her five minutes. I need to have a word with Sasha first.”
The last word they’d have before everything changed.
Chapter Eleven
Sasha closed her eyes, which felt much better than staring at the ceiling, waiting for someone to come in and discuss discharging her. She was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. The fear she’d felt in the trailer had begun to subside, and the reality of her stalker being under arrest was setting in. Thank goodness.
Rebecca had stepped out, but not before insisting Sasha needed to think about her news and the opportunity before making a decision. Sasha was annoyed that her agent thought this was the right time to discuss business. After Sasha had been attacked by her stalker and was in the hospital.
But all Rebecca cared about was the fact that she was negotiating a salary and expected to nail down a multimillion-dollar deal. She’d insisted Sasha would be crazy to walk away from it, but she was crazy. Crazy in love with Xander and the life she could have with him and his big, welcoming family.
She’d been earning substantial money for approximately two years now, and with the endorsements she’d done, she was well set up for a good long while. Her choice to take a step back from acting and try her hand at establishing and running a production company had nothing to do with money, and she knew how fortunate she was to be able to say that.
Now she had to find out just how invested Xander was in a future with her. Footsteps sounded outside the curtain, and the man in question strode into the room.
“Hi,” she said, still needing to keep her voice soft in deference to the pain in her skull.
“Hi.”
“Where is Cassidy?” she asked.
“In the waiting room with Dash and Rebecca.”
She narrowed her gaze. Rebecca hadn’t left? Now that was a shock. Was she going to have to repeat herself again before her agent believed where things stood?
Xander shoved his hands into his front pants pockets and didn’t meet her gaze, and a funny feeling twisted in Sasha’s stomach. “Xander? What’s wrong?”
He cleared his throat. “I heard your conversation with Rebecca about the new movie she’s lined up for you.”
Oh, no. Sasha hadn’t wanted him to find out from anyone but her so she could soften the news with the plan she’d just recently come up with. “Yes but–”
Before she could explain, he rolled his shoulders back and looked her in the eye. “It’s a great opportunity and the timing is perfect. You’ve wrapped this movie and intended to go back to California anyway.”
She shook her head, a huge mistake since the pain was excruciating. “I never said what I intended to do. I was considering my options.”
“And now you have one you can’t turn down.” He shrugged as if it were no big deal. As if her heart or his wasn’t on the line here.
He remained too far from the edge of the bed, and she wished she could reach over and touch him, remind him of their connection, but he clearly didn’t want that.
“Look,” he began. “When we started up again, we said this thing between us was temporary. And I just want you to know I won’t stand in your way. You’re talented and you deserve everything you’ve always wanted for yourself and your career.” He spoke without inflection, his tone hard, similar to the Xander he’d been when she showed up at his house a few weeks ago. The one who believed she’d always choose her career over him.
If she thought her head was hurting before, now that she was holding back tears, the physical pain was infinitely worse.
“What about us?” she asked.
Because if he didn’t love her, if he could let her go so easily, without a fight, her choices had to be about herself. Not about them as a couple. Nothing she did would change. She still didn’t want to go back to full-time travel and acting. A production company would still be in her plans, just in California, not New York. With him. But he’d have to tell her they were over. She needed to hear it from his mouth.
She held her breath, waiting. Praying he’d look into her eyes and understand her feelings. She wasn’t going to lay her emotions bare when his mind was already made up.
“There is no us, Sasha,” he said, breaking her heart. “There never was. Not long-term, anyway.”
Though she’d anticipated the words, she still blinked in disbelief. “Didn’t we say we were going to see what happened when the movie ended? Shouldn’t we talk about possibilities for the future?”
He shook his head. “I’m going back to the beach and my quiet, peaceful life. I wish you all the best with yours.” And on that comment, he turned and walked out, leaving her behind.