to…; there are other things I can’t say – yes, I believe him; better that all this happened now instead of having Ryan leave you after you’re…; if
you only knew…; get used to spending your husband’s…
“Ryan was going to propose to me,” I whispered out, finally realizing what everyone had been keeping secret. “You found out he was going to
propose, didn’t you?” My eyes locked on Kyle’s, watching his reaction. Kyle’s lips pursed together. I obviously hit a nerve.
“Ryan told Lauren, thinking it was safe to tell her about his plans since she was already in a committed relationship… and Lauren told you!
That’s why Ryan wants proof that Lauren lied about still being with Lucas!”
It was all making sense now.
Kyle frowned. I could see the expression change on his face as he switched tactics.
“I don’t give a shit about them! I only care about you. There is something here, Taryn!” He gestured between us. “It’s powerful, and I know that
you feel it too. Just give me a chance to take care of you… to love you like you deserve to be loved and have a normal life without all the public
scrutiny, maybe even raise a family. You’re kind and caring, smart and strong…”
“Oh, cut the bullshit, Kyle. You knew! Didn’t you? Just fucking admit it!” I yelled at him.
“Admit that I knew what? That Christensen is all wrong for you? How being involved with someone in a different league unnecessarily risks your
life every fucking day? Do you know how much it pains me to see the woman I love wasting her efforts on some sleazy, two-bit actor?”
My mouth dropped open from his admission.
“There, I said it. Now you know,” he uttered in defeat. “I’m in love with you, Taryn.”
Kyle took one step forward, but I held my hands up to stop him before he got any closer.
I was shocked. How could Kyle possibly be so in love me? We never spent any quality time together, getting to know one another on any
deeper levels. Our relationship was so superficial, we were barely even friends.
There was an attraction, but it was purely physical – at least it was for me anyway – and we never acted on it. “They scream that they love
me… how could they even say that?” I heard Ryan’s voice say. Kyle was just as pathetic as some of Ryan’s fans.
“You don’t love me, Kyle,” I said softly.
“Don’t tell me how I feel!” he shouted angrily.
“You don’t really want the shiny toy – you just don’t want the other boy to have the shiny toy,” I concluded. “You’re jealous and angry that someone
like Ryan would fish in the same pond as you.”
“You don’t belong in that world, Taryn! If you truly believed you did, you would have never left Florida! But you walked away, devastated,
because deep down inside you know how easily you can be replaced!” he said irately, pointing his index finger at me.
“I’ve had unemployed losers easily replace me with strippers, Kyle! Ryan’s career choice has nothing to do with this! Besides, whether Ryan is
still in the picture or not, it wouldn’t matter.”
Kyle’s eyes narrowed, confused by my direction.
“I’ve submitted the driving directions you wrote for me and the letter I found in Ryan’s hotel room to a handwriting expert,” I informed. “That along
with the threat letters I got in the mail were all express-mailed this morning.” I was getting better at this “acting” thing. I almost believed myself!
“You still think I wrote them? Doesn’t matter; they won’t match up,” Kyle snidely remarked. His reply was too confident. It was as though he was
prepared to have to answer this accusation eventually. “You can dust them for prints too. You won’t find mine.”
“Why? Is it because you charmed some unwitting girls to do your dirty work?” I probed.
“I had nothing to do with that love note or any letters for that matter!” he barked.
I had never told Kyle about the letter I found in Ryan’s hotel room until now. How did he know it was a love note?
I smiled. “You couldn’t find any dirt on him, could you? That week you were there poking your nose around – you came up empty-handed! Ryan
has been completely faithful to me, and when you couldn’t find any evidence, you fabricated your own.”
Kyle scoffed. “Maybe if you’d bother to open your eyes for two seconds and look at reality, you’d see that actors never stay in relationships for
very long. They trade up every chance they get. The way I see it, things couldn’t have happened at a better time. You needed a wake-up call to see
how things really are.”
“You’re incorrigible!” I bellowed.
“You think that someone like Christensen is going to stay with you for the next forty years? I highly doubt it. There were so many hot women
walking around down there on his movie set… he may be strong enough to resist now early on in this thing, but give it time and he’ll cave. You
should be happy that you didn’t waste a lot of time on him - save yourself from further humiliation when he dumps you for one of his own kind.”
I stared blankly at him for a few minutes while I concocted my next plan.
“You’re right, Kyle. You’re absolutely right,” I sniffed, pretending to finally give up hope and faking sudden extreme sadness. I leaned up on the
wall. “I’ve been deluding myself to think that I could have a future with Ryan. How could I be so naïve? Lauren is gorgeous. I can’t compete with her.”
I wiped my eyes, hoping my acting was Oscar-worthy. “I’m going to end it,” I murmured, nodding to confirm my decision. “Then I won’t be in
Lauren’s way anymore and I won’t get my heart broken again.”
I took an embellished, stuttering breath. “I’m not even close to being in the same league. Lauren is so much more sophisticated and cultured
than I am. She’s a famous celebrity and I’m… nothing,” I said sadly, playing up my self-deprecation. “A nobody from Seaport.”
I inconspicuously placed myself next to the security keypad as I continued my dramatic performance.
“I can’t blame any man for not being able to resist her. You’re right… Ryan will be better off with her. I realize that now. Lauren knows what it
takes to have a high-profile relationship. She’s probably a much better lover than I am too,” I said, acting completely dejected.
Kyle scoffed. “I’ve had better,” he muttered.
As soon as the words slipped from his mouth, he realized he had made a fatal mistake. “Babe, you are so much more desirable than she is!
Don’t ever put yourself down like that,” he encouraged, approaching me slowly.
“Stop,” I breathed out, ordering him to stay where he was. “I know I’m better than she is, after all, you just confirmed that she’s nothing more than
a manipulative whore. I’m surprised you two aren’t madly in love with each other, considering that you are so much alike!”
“Taryn!” he bellowed, taking another step.
“Don’t come any closer! All I have to do is tap it and the police will come immediately,” I informed confidently, my index finger hovered over the
illuminated button on the security keypad.
“Forced entry, the bruise on my forehead from when you hit me with the door, a few tears and you’ll be handcuffed in no time. Can you still be a
bodyguard with a police record?”
“Taryn, please, don’t! It was an accident! I’ll lose my job!” he pleaded.
“That didn’t seem to concern you while you were fucking Lauren in her trailer or conveniently waiting to rescue me in Miami!”
“Just hold on, all right?” Kyle requested urgently.
“I’m done holding on! Start talking or so help me I’m going to press it!” I threatened.
“She came on to me – not the other way around,” he informed, holding out a cautioning hand to keep me from being hasty and pressing the