Breaking Stars

Ryson leaned down and planted a kiss on Qui

I tried to force a fake smile, but failed, so I shrugged my shoulders instead.

“I’ll kick his ass. He better not come anywhere near me, Paige, I swear. I’ll break his perfect little smug face.” He smirked as he said it and my mood lightened. The idea of Ryson beating Colin to a pulp was definitely enticing.

“I appreciate the offer.” I hesitated, knowing he most likely meant every single word he said and that I really shouldn’t encourage him. “But he’s not worth it.”

“Let me know if you change your mind. It would be my pleasure to teach Colin a lesson.” Ryson punched his left hand against his right palm. “Or twelve. Seriously. Just say the word.”

“Oh Lord, Ryson. Stop. She’s had enough for one day.” Qui

“Say you love me,” he teased, his fingers still prancing along her arch.

Qui

I rolled my eyes behind my sunglasses and lay back against my chair, all too familiar with their antics.

“Say it, Qui

“You’re not the boss of me,” she huffed out between fits of laughter.

“I beg to differ,” Ryson said, moving his hands up her sides.

“You’re so stubborn, Qui

For as long as I could remember, Qui

She bolted upright in an attempt to stop his fingers from moving and squealed to Ryson, “Okay, okay. I love you. Please stop.” Then she turned to me and said incredulously, “AmberLy

I shrugged as Ryson planted a soft kiss on top of her nose and asked, “Was that really so difficult, AmberLy

Qui

“Obviously,” he mimicked, and he wandered back inside just as my phone blared out the ringtone for Colin.

“Ooh, give me the phone!” Qui

“You’re not talking to him. Stop acting crazy,” I said, slapping her hands away as I pressed Ignore and breathed out in relief.

“This isn’t acting, honey,” she drawled, waggling her eyebrows.

I almost laughed. I’d done a lot of that today. Almost smiling. Almost laughing. Almost forgetting that my screwed-up love life was currently splashed across every tabloid and entertainment cha

Qui

“I don’t want to talk to him. And as angry as I am at him right now, I’m also hurt. Is that stupid?”

“He cheated on you, Paige. He took whatever trust you had for him and broke it. I think you’re entitled to feel hurt.”

“I do. My heart hurts. As much as I don’t want it to because I feel so stupid about the whole thing, my heart is hurting. Every breath hurts,” I reluctantly admitted before allowing myself to let the pain flow.

“Breakups suck.”

“They do. Especially when you’re in the public eye like we are. Then they’re even suckier.”

I leaned my head back against the lounge chair and let tears slide down my face as the sun continued to warm my body. The sound of water trickling in the gorgeous water feature tucked in the landscaping next to the pool soothed me, and the ocean waves crashing on the beach on the other side of the privacy wall helped me to relax.

I had trusted Colin. Truly and completely. It made me sick to think about how wrong I’d been and how naive. My phone blared out Colin’s ringtone again, and I covered my eyes with a forearm and groaned.

Qui

She rolled her eyes, and her hand opened and closed in my direction as she mimicked a mouth talking. “I swear to God, Colin, if you show up here I won’t let you in. I’ll feed you to the vultures outside just dying for a piece of meat. You’ll be the meat and I’ll help them devour you whole.”

She shook her head as his voice blasted in her ear. “Are you joking? God, you’re so pathetic. She doesn’t want to hear your half-ass apology. Honestly, Colin, what could you possibly say to her that could fix what you’ve done? She saw the video. The whole damn world saw the video.” She stayed quiet as she listened. “Exactly. There’s nothing to say, so just leave her alone and let her get the hell over you. I already have.” She pulled the phone away from her face and stuck her tongue out at it as she ended the call.

My mouth hung open. “Holy crap.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” she said as she placed my phone back on the table.

“Don’t be sorry. That was sort of amazing,” I admitted.

“Well, I am awesome.”

“You kind of are.”

“Kind of? Clearly this breakup has broken your awesomeness meter.”

“You’re so weird.”

“I know. Hey, not to change the subject or anything, but have you talked to your mom yet? I’m only asking because she sent me a text earlier.”

Grateful for the subject change, I said, “Not yet. I should probably call her.”

“You should. She’ll make you feel better,” Qui

“She’ll try.” I pushed up from the chair to go inside. “I’ll be right back.”

Walking into the privacy of the goddess quarters, I dialed my mom’s number and relaxed on the huge pile of pillows that surrounded me. My eyes focused on the rivets in the bed’s canopy, and I stared at them while the phone rang in my ear.

“Hey, honey. How’re you doing?”

My mom’s voice instantly made me want to curl up into a ball and cry. There was just something ultra comforting about mothers and the way they allowed you to drop your guard with just one word.

I sniffed and wiped the tears off my face. “Hi, Mom.”

“You okay, sweetheart? You need me to come over?”

I smiled, even though she couldn’t see it. “No. I’m at Qui

“Okay.” She sighed. “How are you holding up? Is there anything I can do for you?”

“I’ll be okay. I just need to pretend Colin’s dead and get on with my life,” I said bravely, then started to cry.

“I could have your father break his kneecaps.” She chuckled over the line. “Sorry, bad joke. But I’m so disappointed. I’ve had that young man over for di

Wanting to laugh, but not quite there yet, I sniffed. “Get in line.”

“I wish I had something better to say to you, honey. I’m just so sorry for what you’re going through, and I wish I could take the pain away,” she offered, her voice breaking.

“Thanks, Mom.” I breathed in a couple of shaky breaths. “Let’s talk about something else. What’s going on with you? How’s work? How’s Dad? How’s Stacey?”

“Everything’s fine here. Work is the same. Never changes unless something goes on with you, then my phone starts ringing off the hook and I come home to people camped in our bushes and jumping out at me every time I pull in or out of the garage.”

Guilt pinched at my heart. “I’m sorry.”