Chapter Nineteen

Bobby didn’t arrive at the apartment for several hours after Maya got home. By the time he sauntered in, as if nothing had happened, she had moved her things to the guest room. She was curled up on the couch under a throw and wore the robe and slippers Roarke had given her. She could almost pretend she was back on his silk sheets again.

He stopped in the entryway when he saw her on the couch. “You’re still up?”

She shrugged. “We need to talk.”

“I’m tired.” There was a petulant cast to his lips.

“You shouldn’t have stayed out until three in the morning.” Maya resisted the urge to ask where he had been, because she really didn’t care anymore.

“I’m a grownup. I can do what I want.” He tossed the car keys on the table with a thunk.

Maya shrugged again. “What was the dinner with Scarpeti about?”

“Never mind.”

“Tell me.”

Bobby strolled into the living room and propped his hip against the couch. “I told him you would be very nice to him if he gave me a role in his movie.”

Her mouth dropped open. “You were trying to pimp me out?”

He shook his head. “Just furthering my career.”

“At my expense.”

Bobby scowled at her. “You don’t seem to mind trading your body for my benefit.”

If he had been closer, Maya knew she would have slapped him. Instead, she curled her hands around the blanket. “I wouldn’t have done it.”

“Yeah, right.” Bobby sneered at her. “I’m sure Scarpeti’s gifts are even nicer than Thomas’s. Your mercenary little heart would have gone pitter-patter for him.”

“I’m not avaricious.” Maya gained her feet. “And I’m not the one hiding four hundred thousand dollars either.”

He blanched. “So Roarke told you about that?”

She shrugged. A tiny part of her had hoped he would deny the heated accusation, but she had known Roarke hadn’t lied to her. “Where is it? I’m entitled to some of that.”

“You didn’t do shit for it.”

“I put up with you, and I bartered my body for your success.”

Bobby strode toward her and grabbed a handful of her hair. “It wasn’t anything you didn’t enjoy, now was it?”

A cold smile curved across her face. “Absolutely right. I’ve enjoyed every minute with Roarke. He’s fabulous in bed.”

Bobby’s hand curled into a fist, but he slammed it against the couch. “I’m going to bed.”

“We haven’t finished here.”

“Finish yourself, babe.” He strode down the hall and slammed the bedroom door behind him.

“I should be good at that after having fucked you for four years,” she screamed after him. Maya had the urge to follow and tell him that they were through, but her heart still pounded with fear. She had seen the rage in his eyes and knew he had almost hit her. She would let his temper cool, and then confront him when he got home from work tomorrow night.

***

Maya let herself into the apartment after work the next day. It was almost four, and she knew Bobby would be home within a couple of hours. That gave her plenty of time to get everything packed that she hadn’t gotten to last night so she could be ready to leave. Not that she knew where she would go yet.

The money in her purse wouldn’t see her through more than a few days at a hotel, and she had already emptied the joint account she shared with Bobby. It seemed unlikely she would see any of his hidden money. She racked her brain for a solution as she walked down the hallway to the guest room.

She frowned as she passed the partially opened door to the master bedroom. She could hear voices and heavy breathing. Her heart stuttered as she slowly pushed open the door, somehow unsurprised by what she saw.

Bobby was in between the legs of a brassy blonde woman several years older than he was. Her large, round breasts jiggled as she thrust against his face. Moans came from her, punctuated with, “Fuck me, love.”

Tears stung Maya’s eyes at the casual betrayal she saw before her. It didn’t matter that their relationship had died. How could he bring some woman into the bed they had shared together? Her eyes narrowed as the blonde tossed back her hair. Maya gasped when she recognized Roni Sherwood, Bobby’s agent.

They jumped apart at the sound, and Bobby turned to face Maya. “You’re home early.” He sounded defensive, but there was a note of satisfaction in his voice.

Their movements had been stiff and obviously rehearsed. When she looked in his eyes, Maya realized the scene was a setup. She was supposed to walk in and catch them while they fucked. She felt sick. “How long?”

“Three years,” Roni said with a giggle. “I’m the reason Bobby moved you here. We met in Seattle…”

“…she saw potential in me…”

“…and here you are.” Roni shook her head. “How could you not know, Maya?”

She shrugged. “I was an idiot?” Maya turned her head to look at Bobby. “Why keep me around if you want to be with her?”

Bobby, stark naked, stood up. “I brought you along so you could support us while I acted. When I got the role in Wilder Hearts, I thought I could finally get rid of you.”

“He’s going to marry me.” Roni held out her left hand to show off a large diamond.

Maya’s nausea increased. Part of Bobby’s advance had gone to that ring. No wonder Roni had never talked about her fiancé. “So, why didn’t you?”

“Thomas wanted you, so you were useful for a while longer.”

His words hurt, but not as much as she would have expected them to if she had ever imagined he could say something so cruel. She was angrier at her own naïveté than Bobby’s manipulation. “Is the money all gone?”

He nodded. “Most of it, anyway. We bought a condo, and I got Roni the ring. With planning the wedding and settling a few debts, there isn’t much left.”

Maya’s grin was cold. “I hope it lasts awhile longer since I just cleaned out the last couple thousand in the checking account.”

His expression darkened. “You bitch. I want half of that.”

“Most of it came from my hard work.”

He started toward her, but Roni’s voice stopped him. “Let her have it, darling. You’ve got fantastic prospects. We don’t need two Gs. And what else does she have to keep her warm now that she won’t have you?”

“You’re right, babe.” Bobby sneered at Maya. “Get out of my apartment.”

Maya giggled, either because she was hysterical or giddy. “I had already planned to. I packed most of my stuff last night.”

He frowned. “You’re leaving me?”

She nodded. “Yep.”

“Why?”

“It turns out Roarke is better at a lot of things than you are. Foremost, he knows how to love me.”

Bobby’s eyes widened. “You’re in love with him?”

“Oh, yeah. And he’s in love with me.” Maya resisted the urge to cross her fingers. As her pinkie brushed against the tiny diamond on her finger, she was reminded of one more thing she wanted to do. She wrenched the ring off her finger and flung it at Bobby. Her lips twisted into a smile when it nailed him on the cheek. “Maybe you can return that to the crackerjack box where you found it.” Then, head held high, she marched from the room to gather her things.

In the guest room, Maya locked the door and threw the rest of her stuff into a case. Before she left, she picked up the phone to call Carly. When her sister answered, she blurted out, “I’m leaving him.”

“Finally.” Carly seemed unsurprised. “Where are you going?”

“I don’t know. A hotel, I guess.” Maya bit her lip because she knew how expensive apartments—even a shithole like she had shared with Bobby for eighteen months—could be. “I don’t know where I’ll go after that. Wanna move to L.A.?” she asked, half-hopeful that her sister would agree.

“Sorry. I’m moving in with Troy.”

“Wow. Dad must be blowing a gasket.” Frank hadn’t accepted it well when she’d moved in with Bobby, not even when they got engaged. Maya could only imagine his reaction to his baby’s plans to move in with an older man.

“He likes Troy, but he’s not thrilled.” Carly sighed. “Anyway, where will you go? Are you coming home?”

“I can’t yet.”

“Why not?”

“I’m in love with Roarke.”

“I know,” Carly said easily. “It was all over your faces.”

“His too?”

“Uh huh.”

Maya bit her lip, not so certain. “I don’t know.”

“Trust me.”

“Well…” She trailed off so she wouldn’t voice her doubts. She hadn’t thought beyond the end of things with Bobby and had no idea how she would confess her feelings for Roarke. She chuckled suddenly.

“What? What’s so funny?”

“I just realized I have a place to stay.” If she were careful, he would never know she was there. Roarke had said he never used the place—only for their meetings. “You have my cell number, right?”

“Somewhere. Why?”

“The place I’m going doesn’t have a phone.” All it had was a bed and bathroom. When she and Roarke got together, that was all they needed.