Trey buried his face in his hands, tears close to the surface.
Kris saw him get into a cab with Connie…a woman who had her arms around him…a woman Kris thought he'd slept with on the same day he refused to see her. Oh, God.
And then she gave up her dream job.
"How could she throw away the role Blake gave her?" he asked in anguish. "She was so excited about that job. She really, really wanted it."
Even though it was like a knife in his heart, he truly wanted that stint for Kris. It would do wonders for her career.
"Because of you, you dummy," Dylan said gently.
Trey squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn't let Kris give up her future just like that. He wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing she was still slaving in her office job when she could be getting paid to teach dance and interact with high-profile people.
He sat up straight and looked beseechingly at his best friends. "Guys, I'm afraid I won't be able to do any work today. I have to find a way to get Kris her dream job back. But, please, let me deal with this alone. Don't tell her anything until I've spoken to her."
He didn't want to disappoint her any further if he couldn't pull it off.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Kris plastered a smile on her face as she helped Sam and Ari prepare food in the kitchen for their mini-party while Dylan and Adam looked after barbecuing some meat and sausages outside. She couldn't believe her Sydney break was almost over, and by tomorrow, she'd be back in Melbourne.
It was funny. Just a few days ago, she was desperate for a way to stay there a while longer. Now she couldn't wait to leave. She should have listened to Sam and Ari when they said it was a bad idea to get involved with Trey. God, she missed him so damned much. But at the same time, she didn't want to see him ever again for hurting her so badly.
Not only did he not trust her, not only did he not give her a chance to explain, but he quickly went back to his playboy ways as if they never happened.
She did try to understand him, knowing of his issues with his mother. But if his reaction to every fight or misunderstanding was to shut her out and have sex with some random woman, then she simply couldn't be with him.
That fact hurt like hell.
The doorbell rang and she frowned. As far as she knew, they weren't expecting anyone else.
She went to answer the door and froze as she stared at the man who rang the bell.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed.
"I want to talk to you," Trey said softly.
She gaped at him—she couldn't help herself—and noticed the dark bags under his eyes and the sadness in their depths. Sadness mixed with…fear?
It tugged at her heartstrings, but she refused to succumb. He'd slept with another woman, damn it!
"What do you want to talk about?" she asked coldly.
"Us."
"There is no 'us', Trey."
Trey swallowed visibly and rapidly blinked, as if he was trying to maintain composure.
"I didn't sleep with that woman," he whispered, his eyes pleading.
"Oh? So by that I presume you mean you didn't stay overnight? So what did you do then? Screwed her for a couple of hours then left before midnight?"
He winced. "No! I did get in the taxi with her. I did go to her place, but her front porch was as far as I went. I did plan to have sex with her. But I couldn't, Kris. I felt like I was cheating on you, and I couldn't go through with it."
Her mind was in a whirl. "Why did you plan to sleep with her in the first place?"
"I was hurting and I wanted to forget. I thought you wanted Blake instead of me."
"How could you think that after the time we spent together? Did you think that was all a lie?" she half-shouted.
"Well, Blake owns a dance studio, he introduces you to celebrities—"
"You thought I'd cast you aside for that?"
"I thought you already had when—"
"Shut up. Just shut up," she said angrily. "You didn't even bother to talk to me, Trey. You don't trust me. And you know what the worst part is?" Her eyes flooded and she bit her lip to stop it from trembling. "The worst part is you were willing to just walk away without a fight."
She looked down as tears cascaded down her cheeks. Impatiently, she brushed them away.
"I'm sorry, baby. I just didn't know how to handle—"
"Please, Trey. I don't want to talk about it. I'm leaving tomorrow and I don't see how we could possibly salvage this relationship after everything that happened. If you don't mind, I'd like you to leave. The guys were so good at organising this day for Sam and me. I don't want to ruin it for them."
"Kris," Trey whispered in a plea.
"Please, Trey. I can't deal with this now."
"Now? Okay. I'll come back later."