Adored by You: A Sweet, Celebrity, Military Romance (San Diego Marines Book 7)

by Jess Mastorakos

  “No thanks,” a few of them replied.

  “Oh, wait,” I said to Noah, hinting at him with my eyes, “would one of them be able to snap a pic for us so I can post it?”

  “Good call,” he said, taking my phone and handing it to Ellie. “Would you mind?”

  “Not at all,” she replied.

  Noah wrapped his arm behind my back, casually resting his hand on my waist. I sidled up close to him and put my head gently on his shoulder, breathing him in and placing my perfectly manicured hand on his chest. The gold buttons were cold against my palm, and I felt his chest rise as he stood straighter for the photo.

  When Ellie handed me my phone, I couldn’t help but be sad that the excuse to be held by Noah was over. “Thank you.”

  I quickly posted the photo on my social media account using the appropriate hashtags and emojis in addition to the short caption that I’d agonized over with Molly for the last week.

  When we took our place at the back of the line for drinks, it wasn’t long before I was recognized. We passed the time taking selfies, answering questions, and joking about how much more exposure the event was going to get now that so many more people were posting on social media about my being there.

  Twenty minutes later, I got a text from Molly to check the comments on my post for one from Sandra McCarthy. I zoomed over to the app and my eyes bulged when I saw her comment.

  sandra_mccarthy: sent you a dm.

  I went to my messages as fast as my thumb could get me there and opened the one from the woman who would hopefully be my future director.

  sandra_mccarthy: hey, paige. cute pic. photo op?

  My eyes flew to Noah. He was busy chatting about Marine stuff with his friends, and I didn’t want to interrupt. But the fact that Sandra had called me out about why I was there had my head spinning. What should I say? Should I just be honest since I was clearly busted? I typed out the response just to see what that would be like.

  therealpaigewalker: I just figured that since your son is a Marine, you’d be more likely to pick me for your movie if you saw me celebrating their birthday with them.

  Nope. My thumb pecked at the delete button until the message was gone. There was no good way to word this.

  And what if it wasn’t just a photo op? I glanced at Noah again and bit my lip.

  therealpaigewalker: Nope. This is my boyfriend.

  6

  Noah

  I already knew Paige looked gorgeous in formal wear. She’d done enough red-carpet events for the image of her in a floor-length gown to be a regular sight in the checkout aisle. But when Molly opened the door, and I saw her standing there in that red dress, I had to actually tell myself to take a breath. Maybe it was because of how timeless and elegant she looked, or maybe it was because I wasn’t used to seeing her in real life anymore. But either way, I’d walked into that room and felt what it was like to have my breath stolen from my lungs. It was surprisingly painful, in fact. I would have signed whatever her assistant wanted me to.

  After we’d arrived at the ball, I was surprised how long it took people to notice she was there. For about fifteen minutes, she’d just felt like the old Paige to me. Even better, we’d felt like the old Paige and Noah. Just a regular couple, like everyone else in the room, looking and feeling good, hanging out with friends. It was like reliving some of my favorite moments spent with her when we were in high school. And if things had gone another way, if she hadn’t gone to that one audition for Young, MD, I wondered if this was what we’d do for the ball every year. Would she be my wife by now, like we’d planned all those years ago?

  The ceremony and dinner went by in a blur. I had been to plenty of Marine Corps Birthday Balls by now, so to me, the night was familiar. But I was reminded how special it was as I watched it through Paige’s eyes. The Marine Corps took their favorite day of the year very seriously.

  When we’d finished eating and Paige was back from the ladies’ room with Ellie, Rachel, and Olivia, I took her hand and tugged her to my side. “Let’s go take our ball photo.”

  She looked around the room. “Ball photo?”

  “Over there,” I said, pointing to a station in the corner where a backdrop was set up with an American flag on one side and a Marine Corps flag on the other. Couples posed between the flags in a nice, traditional prom pose. Or, if you were two single Marines being goofy, you did a silly one. I had several years’ worth of pics at my apartment of the latter situation. A couple of times I’d brought a date, and we’d taken the prom-style picture, but I had no idea where those photos—or the girls in them—were now.

  Her eyes brightened. “Yes, let’s.”

  We took our place in the line for the photos, and while Paige was busy surveying the room, I was looking at her. “You look really beautiful tonight.”

  “Thank you,” she said, blushing.

  “Are you having fun?”

  “I am. This has been really great. Best event I’ve attended all year.”

  “Even better than the Emmys?”

  Considering she’d won again, she made a face. “That was a pretty good night. But yes, this is way more fun. The Hollywood crowd has nothing on this group. But don’t tell anyone.”

  I drew a line over my lips with my fingers as if I were zipping them shut, then threw away the imaginary key. “My lips are sealed. Legally, in fact.”

  “Good point,” she said with a laugh. “So, did you drive your motorcycle here from San Diego?”

  “Did you take a helicopter?”

  She pushed my arm. “Hush. But yes.”

  “Then yes, I did.” I furrowed my brow. “Wait. How do you know I have a motorcycle?”

  “My security team told me you showed up to the hotel with one. I was shocked.”

  “Why’s that?”

  She tilted her head up at me. “I don’t know, it just didn’t strike me as your thing. I always pictured you in some kind of sporty coupe or something. The jock version of a bad-boy car. Not a Harley.”

  I shrugged a shoulder. “I’m not really a jock anymore. I coach youth baseball on base with Rachel, though. O’Malley’s girl. But other than that, I don’t really play.”

  Considering how we’d left things, it was a sticky subject for me. No one else really knew both sides of me like Paige did. There was the old me, with my major league dreams, and the new me, with my head way, way out of the clouds.

  “Right. So, Harley-style bad boy, it is, then?”

  I snorted. “I mean, as bad as I can be while also being squeaky-clean and drama free. Some of my favorite people to ride with are guys I met at church.”

  Her brows lifted. “You go to church now?”

  “It started in boot camp, actually. They let us go to church on Sundays. At first, it was something to do other than sit around the squad bay and wait to get yelled at by a drill instructor. Then, I don’t know. After I got out of boot camp, I just kept going. I made friends at my church, and that just sucks you in completely, you know?”

  She grinned. “I’m really happy for you, Noah.”

  My parents brought me up without any kind of belief in anything, really—well, other than their constant faith in the conviction that they were one casino trip away from hitting the big jackpot. Paige’s parents weren’t much better, her dad especially. When it came to Paige and her career, everything was about the bottom line. That was the case even when she was a teenager and he’d take her to LA for auditions and stuff. So we’d both lacked in the faith-education department during our childhoods.

  It was our turn to take our photo, and I couldn’t help but notice the crowd that gathered around us on the outskirts of the picture area. They were just standing there watching us pose, most of them taking their own pics on their phones, but some just watching.

  I tried to focus on Paige and how I was supposed to stand and where to smile at the actual photographer, but I couldn’t help but be a little distracted. How did she do that all the time? Why was a simple thing like
a couple of people posing for a photo worth watching?

  We finished taking the picture, thanked and paid the photographer, and started walking back toward our friends. I saw a couple of the guys on the dance floor with their wives and turned to Paige, holding out my hand.

  She slipped her hand in mine. “Where are we going?”

  “Does this fake-date include a dance?” I asked, pulling her close so I could keep from being overheard.

  Something like guilt surfaced in her eyes. “Actually … there’s something I need to confess about this date being just for the photo op.”

  I took my hand away and folded my arms over my chest. “What’s up?”

  “I may have talked to that director earlier and told her a little bit of a lie.”

  “What kind of lie?”

  She brought her hands up to cover her cheeks, and even in the dim light of the ballroom, I could tell that she was reddening. “Not my finest moment. It just came out.”

  “Don’t leave me hanging,” I said, waving a hand. “What did you say?”

  “She asked if this whole thing was a photo op. She point-blank called me out.”

  I pursed my lips. “Uh-oh.”

  “Yeah. So I said no,” she continued. “I, um, said you were my boyfriend.”

  My jaw closed with a snap and I swallowed, not sure if I heard her right. “Your what?”

  “My boyfriend,” she repeated in a small voice.

  I looked over her head at my friends hanging out nearby. They were watching us without being too obvious, but as my eyes traveled around the room, I saw they were the only ones making the effort. People openly stared at us while we talked on the side of the dance floor, and I didn’t know what it looked like to them, but I was pretty sure it would seem like a lovers’ quarrel if we didn’t put some smiles on and act natural.

  It took everything I had, but I plastered a smile on my face and acted like she’d said something funny. Ever the professional, she didn’t miss a beat, throwing her head back with laughter. It didn’t reach her eyes, but they couldn’t know that. I was the only one close enough to see behind the mask.

  “Want to go outside and get some air?” I asked, my body language looking much more relaxed and casual than I felt.

  She nodded. “Definitely.”

  When we walked onto the huge balcony on the edge of the ballroom, the lights of the Las Vegas Strip were close enough and bright enough to give the dark space a warm glow. There were a few couples milling around, and my eyes landed on one in particular, standing alone in the corner.

  “Shoot,” I said under my breath.

  Paige followed my gaze and looked at them. “What?”

  I backed up to give them some space and motioned for Paige to do the same. I leaned in and whispered, “O’Malley’s about to propose.”

  She gasped quietly, then covered her mouth with her hand. “No way.”

  I looked toward the door, and sure enough, the rest of my friends had joined us outside to watch it go down. Far enough away to give them their moment, but close enough to be right there to celebrate with them.

  O’Malley and Rachel had only met a few months ago when they’d both moved to San Diego. Even though they’d had some issues over her being his son’s PE teacher, the three of them had morphed into the perfect little family. And now they were going to make it official.

  My excitement for my friend and his kid took precedence over this thing with Paige for a moment. These guys had become part of my family, too. That was the thing I loved most about the Marine Corps. It didn’t matter what kind of crappy family I’d grown up with. I had my brothers at work and their families as my family. And every time I had to move somewhere new, there was always another group to find my place in.

  We watched as O’Malley dropped to one knee, said whatever sweet things he’d likely agonized over, and Rachel nodded her head with tears in her eyes. He stood, and she threw her arms around his neck, having to jump up to close the distance between them and seal it with a kiss.

  Ellie had been taking a video, Olivia had taken pictures, and we all clapped and cheered for them. They turned around with huge smiles on their faces and came over to join us, hugging each of us and showing off her ring.

  “Congrats, man,” I said, clapping O’Malley on the back. “Nice choice with the ring.”

  “Finn helped a lot,” Hawk said.

  Rachel made a pouty face. “Aw, he did? That’s so sweet. I wish he could have been here for this.”

  “Ah, that’s my fault, I’m sorry,” Paige said, her hand over her heart.

  Rachel waved her off. “No, no. It’s not. It’s totally okay. While I wish he was here, I’m also enjoying some time just us, right, babe?”

  O’Malley kissed the top of her head. “Right.”

  We stood around and chatted with them for a few minutes. Everyone’s excitement made me less and less angry about Paige’s lie to her director. The knot in my stomach loosened bit by bit as the minutes went on, so I was grateful for this turn of events. If we’d come out here and immediately started talking about it, I wasn’t sure what I would have said.

  I was mad that she’d put me in the position to lie. I was mad that she was using me to get ahead in her career. Those things were still true, but as I watched her talking to my friends and having a normal night as my date, another idea was taking root. What if her lie wasn’t a lie after all?

  Once it was finally appropriate for us to excuse ourselves from the group, we walked over to the railing and took in the view while the rest of them headed for the dance floor.

  “So,” Paige started, biting her lip, “on a scale of one to ten, how mad are you?”

  I blew out a breath. “Pretty freaking mad.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “Are you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t think it’s right to lie to get ahead in your career.”

  She frowned. “You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking. It was stupid.”

  “But there’s another reason I don’t want to tell this lie, specifically.”

  She blinked up at me, the lights of the Strip giving her skin a warm glow. “What is it?”

  I shrugged. “If I’m going to be your boyfriend, I don’t want it to be fake.”

  I let the sentence hang in the air between us for a moment. Her eyes searched mine, no doubt looking for signs that I was joking. I wasn’t.

  “I’m rarely speechless,” she said finally, taking a step back and laughing.

  “Think about it, PW. Last time we saw each other we said we’d try again if our paths crossed.” I gestured into the air between us. “Our paths have crossed.”

  “Is that why you asked me to the ball last year?”

  I swallowed. “Maybe.”

  When I’d gotten orders to San Diego the summer before last, one of the first things I’d thought about was how close it was to LA, compared to Japan and the East Coast, where I’d previously been stationed. And even though it had been so many years, I figured reaching out was worth a shot. Especially when I’d been given a little extra motivation. But that was a story for another time.

  “I thought so,” she replied.

  “But you were with Chase, you said. Right?”

  She nodded. “We’ve been on and off for a few years.”

  “Are you off, now?”

  Again, her head bobbed up and down cautiously. “Yes.”

  I held out my hands. “We knew when we broke up that we were headed on two very different paths. I didn’t want to stop you from following your dreams just because I’d changed mine. But maybe this movie thing is happening for a reason. If me being your boyfriend could help you get this movie, let’s do it. But let’s do it for real. No lies. Let’s just be together.”

  Paige stepped closer until our bodies were almost touching, and she looked up at me through her long lashes. “This feels very … business-arrangement-like.”

 
I scoffed. “You started it, Ms. Photo Op.”

  “Touché.” She smiled. “So, if this was last year’s ball, would you have asked me to give us a shot in a more, I don’t know, romantic way?”

  “Oh, for sure.”

  “And how would that have gone?”

  “Well, for starters,” I said, bringing my hand up to the side of her face, my thumb lightly brushing her cheekbone, “there definitely would have been dancing already. So that would have added to the romantic vibe of it all.”

  “True,” she said.

  “And then we would have come outside for some fresh air, not to talk about your little lie, but just for some privacy.”

  “Okay.”

  “And finally, I would have told you I’ve been missing you. And even though we’ve both been living separate lives, in the back of my mind, I’ve always hoped we’d cross paths like we said we would.”

  “And then what?” she whispered.

  “And then I would have kissed you.”

  Slowly, I leaned in, pulling her gently toward me as I still held her face in my hand. I wrapped my other arm around her back, and she stepped in, her mouth tilting up toward mine.

  As soon as our lips met, an overwhelming sense of coming home filled me. She tasted and felt so familiar that kissing her was as easy as breathing. Our lips moved together in a slow, steady rhythm, and we took our time, enjoying the feeling of being back in each other’s arms. It was like no time had passed at all, as though nothing had changed between us.

  Except it had. Camera flashes went off all around us, much brighter and faster than your average smartphone. We broke apart and turned toward the bright lights, surprised to find paparazzi had joined us on the balcony.

  “I’m shocked it took them this long to get here,” Paige mumbled in my ear. “Are you sure you’re ready for all of this?”

  I looked down at her, the flashes from the cameras illuminating her face. Her eyes held a nervous edge in them, and I couldn’t help but want to tease her.

  I shook my head. “Never mind. This is too much. I take it all back.”

  She swatted my chest playfully. “Hush.”