Reign A Romance Anthology - Nina Levine Page 0,323

messages can be read the wrong way. Just as I’m about to turn and head back in the same direction I’ve been walking for the past hour, I feel my phone ping, alerting me to a message.

Dylan: Hey, Cole, I just want to say sorry for how I’ve acted. Yes, after seeing the photo, I became a stupid, jealous woman—which isn’t me at all. I had no right to act how I did because we aren’t really anything. You were my rent-a-boyfriend. LOL. I hope you can forgive me. Don’t worry about tonight. I have organized for my friend, Vivian, to come with me, so you’re off the hook. Again, I’m sorry. Maybe we can catch up this weekend and talk about it.

A surge of annoyance pounds in my veins. My hand clenches around my cell, and I simply stare at the words. What the hell? I stare down at my attire. I am dressed and ready to pick Dylan up to take her. I can’t deal with this emotional yo-yoing. I’m not taking no for an answer, so I grab my keys off the table, then I walk out the door.

Thankfully, I’d perused the invitation while she slept the following morning after our night together. I park in the school parking area and wait. I haven’t seen her pull in, but she could easily already be inside. I watch everyone walk in. Their happy greetings of laughter and high-pitched voices reach me even in the car.

Will she be angry that I’m here?

Maybe I should leave.

Urgh, this woman infuriates and brings out a side of me I’ve not seen since my ex, and look at how that turned out. Dylan is the opposite of her, though. Dylan is honest, ruthless, and has a career of her own. She has self-made success. She thinks she’s the only one who has done some Googling? Think again. She is one of the top doctors in her profession, which is a massive achievement, even if I say so myself.

I have to admit, I’ve missed her the last couple of days. I wanted to go around to her place again and beg her to talk to me, but I doubt that would have been the smartest thing to do.

I shouldn’t have left the other night. Things might have turned out differently if I’d kept my mouth shut about my suspension until after escorting her to the reunion.

Taking my cell from my pants pocket, I type Dylan another message.

Cole: There’s nothing to be forgiven. I should have come to you when you didn’t respond after that first day. I still want to be your rent-a-boyfriend. Can I meet you at the reunion? I want to be there for you. I can tell that this Luke character is someone who causes you discomfort, and I want to be your support. Someone to lean on.

Her response is instant.

Dylan: He’s not here. Those I’ve spoken to have said that he didn’t RSVP, so maybe you’re all good. Thanks for the offer, though. You have no idea how much it means to me.

A breath rushes from me when I read her words. At least the prick isn’t there.

As I glance up, a bright-red sports car pulls in and parks, and with it, a prickling sensation crawls up my spine. A well-kept man in a crisp black suit and light-blue shirt climbs from the low car.

His walk tells me absolutely everything I need to know.

This is Luke.

21

Dylan

“He’s so sweet,” Vivian says as we stand to the side of the hall that brings all my anxieties right back to the surface. I swallow in an attempt to coat my dry throat.

“He is.” I smile. “A part of me wishes he were here, though. I know you’ve got my back, but honestly, right now, I want to run from the room and never return. All these familiar faces, especially the ones that brought me so much pain, don’t fill me with confidence. I wasn’t the girl who had a heap of friends. I was lucky for the two I had. Even though I was dating Luke, I know it kept all those cool kids at bay. I knew them for what they were, and if Luke wasn’t around, they would have been into me in two seconds.”

Vivian bumps my shoulder. “Hey, not all cool kids turn out bad.” I turn to face her and raise an eyebrow.

“You were one of them?”

She gives a little curtsy, and I laugh.

“Yeah, I was a mean girl.