It took me twenty minutes to wash that shit off in the shower.”
I started laughing again, and I fell into him. “Oh my God, I’m so relieved.”
He put his arm around me. “So relieved? About what?”
I buried my nose in his neck. “You didn’t call me back on Friday night, and then, when I read the messages between you and Nina the next morning, all I could think was that something had happened between the two of you. But, instead, you’d told everyone you loved me.” I kissed his neck, oblivious to the fact that Travis had gone as stiff as a statue. “I love you, too.”
He didn’t respond, and so I backed away to look at him.
“What’s wrong?”
Travis swallowed. “What do you mean, you read the messages between me and Nina?”
Oh shit.
I had never meant to keep it a secret that I’d seen the messages, but I sure as hell hadn’t meant to blurt it out either. I’d known that I would have to explain it after what he’d gone through with Christy.
“About that.” I chuckled, but Travis didn’t crack a smile. “Remember how you borrowed my phone last weekend?”
“Yeah?”
“You kind of forgot to sign out of your account, and I happened to read Nina’s message to you.”
“You happened to read her message to me?” His voice was full of doubt.
“Yes. When I got the notification, I thought it was for me. I didn’t look at whose account it was.”
“But you said messages.”
“What?” I was confused.
“You said messages between me and Nina. So, not only did you read the one message, but then you also went and read what I had written her, too.”
He was clearly upset, and I didn’t blame him. He had every right to be very sensitive to this sort of thing after his ex had invaded his privacy.
“Yes, but then I signed out.”
He threw his hands up. “Oh, so that makes it okay. You only read two messages before you signed out.” He stood. “And you were worried this whole weekend that I’d cheated on you, but you didn’t talk to me about it.”
I got up from the couch, too. “I was going to. But not over the phone. Harper and I both agreed it would be better to discuss it in person.”
“Harper?” Travis clenched his jaw shut and sucked in a deep breath. “You shared my messages with Harper?”
I didn’t want to answer. “Yes.” I stepped toward him. “You have to understand; I was freaking out. You were half a country away, and I didn’t know what to do.”
He backed up. “You should have talked to me. You shouldn’t have gone behind my back and read my messages. You shouldn’t have gone behind my back and talked to your friend instead of me.”
“Travis, wait. You’re making it sound worse than it is.”
He looked away from me. “I think it’s time for you to go, Sydney.”
“What? No. We can’t end the conversation like this.”
He slowly met my eyes. “Yes, we can. It’s over.” He pointed to the door. “Now, please leave.”
Travis was clearly too upset to talk, so I picked up my purse and left.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t get his words out of my head.
Is the conversation over, or is the relationship over?
Forty-Eight
Sydney
TWO WEEKS LATER
“Who’s going to the book signing in Iowa next month?” Derek asked the monthly writer group.
My head whipped up from where I had been taking notes. “Oh crap.”
Derek laughed. “Did you forget about it?”
I had completely forgotten about it. Since my breakup with Travis, I hadn’t thought much about anything. I was behind on my next book’s schedule due to barely writing, and I couldn’t seem to find my concentration. I was a mess. I’d missed two takeovers and neglected my reader group.
I was trying, but it was like someone had taken over my brain and put it on the Travis channel twenty-four/seven. Every time I tried to change it, it went back to him.
“Are you still going to go?” another author asked me.
“I don’t know.”
It was the same author event I had met Travis at, and I knew he was going to be there with Angela. Angela and I had decided to split Travis’s expenses and have him split up the time between our tables. But, in light of our breakup, I didn’t think Travis wanted to be anywhere near me. And I honestly didn’t know if I could go there and see him in person.
I hadn’t even opened my Instagram in the last thirteen days because I was afraid I