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

by Jess Mastorakos

  “All of it? All eight seasons?”

  I hadn’t so far admitted this, so I paused, but then hung my head. “Every episode.”

  She clapped her hands and a laugh burst out of her. “I love it. That’s so funny.”

  “Why’s it so funny? It’s been the number one show on TV for years.”

  “It’s funny because I always wondered if you watched it,” she said, her tone taking on a more serious note then. “This might be weird, but I always got nervous before filming a kissing scene for that reason.”

  My eyes widened, but I said nothing. For years, I’d been plagued by the one who got away showing up on posters or magazines every time I thought I was about to get over her. I’d dated other girls, but she had never been far from my mind. I was sure that watching her show didn’t help my cause if I wanted to forget her, but what could I say, I was a masochist.

  Somewhere in my heart, I’d always hoped she was still thinking about me, too, but I never let myself believe it. I told myself she’d moved on with her glamorous life and there’d been no room for me in it. So the idea that she thought about me and how I would feel about watching her kiss someone else shattered the narrative I’d told myself the entire time.

  She wrinkled her nose. “Oh no. I freaked you out. I’m sorry. Is that weird to admit?”

  Still finding myself without words, I put a hand on my chest to steady my breathing before answering. “Why did you get nervous?”

  “I didn’t like the idea of you seeing me kiss someone else. Even though it was only acting.”

  “Except for when it wasn’t,” I said, swallowing back the images of her kissing Chase. I’d known throughout the years that there were times when they’d been dating in real life when their characters had romantic scenes, and those times made me especially grateful for the ability to fast-forward my DVR.

  “Well, yeah, sometimes Chase and I were together when we filmed kissing scenes. But on-screen kisses are actually ridiculously unromantic.”

  “How so?” I asked.

  “Well, for starters, there’s like fifty people staring at you. Silently. Intently.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, that could be awkward.”

  “Plus, there’s a boomer over your head—you know, the mics on the long stick?—to make sure they get the sound right. And then there are the retakes if it doesn’t work for some reason. Fixing hair and makeup between takes, resetting if something in the background changes in the meantime, it’s a whole thing. Half the time I was so sick of kissing him on-screen if we had a big scene, I didn’t even want to see him in real life afterward.”

  I couldn’t muster up some happiness about the last part, considering how much kissing must have happened to lead to that feeling of not wanting to see him. As Paige’s career continued, dealing with kissing scenes was just something I’d need to get used to.

  “Well, then,” I said, drawing her close again, “I’m glad I’ll never be in a movie with you. That way you won’t get sick of kissing me.”

  She brought her arms up around my neck and kissed me lightly on the lips. She smelled like tropical fruit and the sun, and I deepened the kiss as the background faded away.

  “Shoot,” she murmured against my lips, pulling away. She glanced at her smartwatch with its delicate band that looked more like a traditional piece of jewelry than the sporty silicone ones. “My dad is calling. Hang on.”

  She jogged to the bag she’d left a few feet away by her flip flops and retrieved her phone, putting it to her ear. I couldn’t hear what she was saying over the noise of the wind and the waves, but her lips pouted slightly and a small wrinkle appeared between her brow as she frowned.

  Next to my own dad, Rich Walker was one of my least favorite people in the world. He and his wife weren’t far from the money-hungry people my parents were, they just weren’t as obvious or criminal about it. My parents had come from nothing and would stop at nothing to strike it rich. Paige’s parents were upper middle-class and had high-paying jobs before she got famous, then they helped her make decisions with more wealth as the priority.

  Now that I thought about it, that explained why I ran away from a job that could provide me some kind of unstable affluence, and she settled nicely into one that offered more money than she could ever spend. Money wasn’t bad for her. It was just one way of life, a way that she’d grown accustomed to. She shouldn’t have to apologize for it just because of my personal demons. I needed to remember that.

  Paige got off the phone and came back over, her mood considerably darker. “Sorry about that.”

  “No worries. Is everything okay?”

  She bit her lip. “I may have done all of this without even telling him, and he may have found out we were here thanks to the paparazzi.”

  “Oh boy.” I blew out a breath. “I’m sure he was thrilled.”

  “Quite.”

  “You’re an adult, Paige. You don’t need to tell your dad when you want to take a vacation with a bunch of other adults.”

  “True, but I probably should have told my manager. And if my manager weren’t my boyfriend-hating dad, I would have.”

  I snorted. “‘Boyfriend-hating’?”

  “Sorry,” she said with a laugh. “Speaking of which, what’s the deal with you two?”

  “You said it yourself. He hates me. That’s a pretty normal thing for a dad, right?”

  She narrowed her eyes at me. “There’s more. You said something weird the other day in my office. Something about not coming within a mile of me. It sounded … significant. What was that about?”

  Busted, I hung my head and jammed my hands into the pockets of my shorts. “It’s a long story, PW. We should just enjoy our weekend.”

  “It’s a long weekend. Tell me.”

  I considered her for a moment. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest, her jaw set, and her eyes focused. She wasn’t going to drop it now that it had come up so easily, so I figured it was time she knew. But I could have gone the rest of my life without telling her if she’d never asked.

  17

  Paige

  I hadn’t forgotten about the strange moment between my dad and Noah from that day, but there hadn’t been a good time to bring it up since we’d been having so much fun reconnecting. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about some sketchy drama between him and Rich. My dad had been stomping around and acting like a six-foot-tall, middle-aged toddler ever since I’d told him I wanted to leave the show. Hanging out with Noah had been a break from thinking about him and his low opinion of me right now.

  Nevertheless, now that the conversation led right into it, I just had to know. “Seriously, Noah. I know there was more to that conversation than what you said out loud.”

  He swallowed and looked over my head at the ocean behind me. “Yeah, there was. But, Paige, it was so long ago. Are you sure you want to dredge it up now?”

  “I’d say if you’re really coming back into my life, and my dad is a big part of that life, we need to dredge it up if we want to move forward.”

  “Good point,” he allowed. “But let me ask you one thing first. If what I told you about that conversation between me and your dad changed the way you looked at one of us forever, would you still want to know?”

  I frowned, surprised by his question. “Um. I’m not sure.”

  “Then maybe we should table this until you are.”

  I dug my toes into the sand and didn’t meet his eyes for a moment, replaying his question in my mind. If it would change the way I looked at one of them forever, would I want to know? Maybe that depended on another question: Which one of them were we talking about? Since it was Noah standing here acting hesitant to tell me what happened, did that mean I would look at him differently? Had he made some kind of mistake that only he and my dad knew about? And if I found out, would that ruin things between us?

  I looked up at him then, studying him with wary eyes. His posture was tall and straight. He wasn’t fidgeting or shifting h
is weight from side to side. And he looked back at me with no guilt in his expression. He just looked … well, he looked protective. He looked like he was guarding something. Maybe it was me. Maybe he was shielding me from some truth about my dad that could potentially hurt me. And if that were the case, I think he was right. I might not want to know right now on our fun weekend in Hawaii.

  I bit my lip. “I think you’re right. I want to enjoy our weekend. Will you promise to tell me if I ask again? No holding back?”

  “No doubt. Just say the word and I’ll explain everything.”

  “Okay,” I said, giving him a small smile. I trusted my gut on this one, and my gut told me I could trust Noah. For the rest of the weekend, I vowed to put any thoughts about my dad and whatever secret Noah kept out of my mind.

  “Hey, you distracted me before. I wanted to hear more about what you’ve been up to all this time. We already know what I’ve been doing.”

  He raised a brow. “My life is pretty boring in comparison. I just work all week and try to have some fun on the weekends. No biggie.”

  “That’s not so different from me,” I said with a sideways smile.

  “Right, but your version of weekend fun is an award ceremony.”

  “No, that’s a work event. Big difference.”

  “Fine. How about traveling to another state just to go hiking?”

  I poked him in the ribs. “It was worth it.”

  “It was pretty awesome. Right up until we had to charter a helicopter so we could get home in a hurry.”

  “Very true. The helicopter really is the best way to get around, though. I hate getting stuck in traffic.”

  He held up a finger. “Actually, I’m with you there. That’s why I like having a bike in California. You can zoom right between the lanes.”

  I made a face at the way he snaked his hand through the air, illustrating the way he weaved between lanes of traffic. “Ugh, yes. I hate seeing that. Scares the heck out of me every time. Especially the guys who do it when there’s bumper-to-bumper traffic on the freeway. Aren’t you afraid someone is going to change lanes when you’re coming up between the cars?”

  “Sometimes, yeah. But I don’t go as fast when I’m lane-splitting as some other clowns do. I don’t have a death wish.”

  “Could have fooled me,” I said, shuddering at the thought of Noah getting horribly injured in a motorcycle accident. “Just don’t do it when I’m on the bike. I’m happy to wait in traffic if it means staying alive.”

  He chuckled and kissed my cheek. “If there’s traffic, we should take the helicopter.”

  “Deal.”

  The sun had already set over the water, so we cuddled up together on the dark beach, the only light coming from the moon and the glow of the resort lights behind us. The two-hour time difference between California and Hawaii and the long day of travel didn’t matter to us at all. We would happily stay up all night if it meant getting to catch up on the last eight years. In fact, we’d probably need even longer. But we’d start with tonight.

  “How was last night?” Molly asked, handing me a cup of coffee.

  I didn’t mind sharing a cottage with Molly since she wasn’t just my assistant, she was my best friend. And for the first time in a long time, I was excited about a guy and ready to dish about him.

  “Girl, so good.”

  “Did you guys seriously just sit on the beach until the sun came up?”

  “Well, that, and we walked around the hotel grounds a little bit, too. Joe and the team even went to bed and trusted Noah to handle anything that came up.”

  “Wow, that says good things for Noah. Joe doesn’t trust anyone.”

  “Right? I can’t believe how easy it’s been to just fall back in love with Noah after all these years. It’s like even though everything has changed, nothing has. You know?”

  Molly shook her head and laughed. “And I thought you’d find out he was just a regular guy and not the hero you’d dreamed up in your mind. Turned out, he really is that great, isn’t he?”

  “He really is.”

  “I’m happy for you, Paige,” Molly said, taking a seat on the sofa next to me and inhaling the warm scent of her own cup of Hawaiian coffee. “And I’m even more excited that you’re going to get to do the movie with Sandra. It’s pretty perfect that she’s filming in San Diego so she doesn’t have to commute to LA. Now you won’t have to commute to see Noah.”

  I squealed. “I know, it’s perfect. Noah says he thinks it was God’s plan all along.”

  And since I’d already agreed to start going to church with him when we got back to San Diego, I guessed I’d be learning more about God’s plans for my life, too. I just hoped I’d get the same warm and fuzzy feeling he described to me if we had to sit in the back and hide in the shadows. I didn’t want to turn his Sunday morning into a field day for the paparazzi. Could they even go into churches?

  “You are totally obsessed now, I can see it all over your face,” Molly said, shaking her head. “Now that your talk with Sandra and your work with the foundation has brought some life back into Young, MD for you, what does that mean for you and Noah, though? I mean, making movies gives you the flexibility to live in San Diego when you’re not filming. But it takes nine months to film a season of YMD. Are you going to live apart nine months out of the year?”

  Thankfully, Molly had set her coffee on the table in front of her during her long-winded question, so I was able to pick up the throw pillow next to me and chuck it at her with a laugh. “Molly, hush. Those are questions for the future when we are super secure and used to all of this. Right now, I just want to enjoy the fact that I get to call that hot Marine my boyfriend.”

  She took the pillow and pretended to throw it back at me then tucked it onto her lap with a wry smile. “Fine with me. I’ll be here to coordinate all of the hotels for you when you go down there to visit him.”

  “Thank you,” I said, nose in the air. “His friends are amazing, too. I can totally see myself hanging out with them on the weekends. It’s just such a cool vibe.”

  “Well, when you think about it, you haven’t had a ‘normal’ group of friends since you were in high school. Other than me, of course. I’m normal.”

  “Define normal,” I teased, then waved a hand. “I know what you mean. I feel like all of my friendships besides you are based around what it gets us career-wise. No one has real, genuine friendships like this group in Hollywood. Or at least, I haven’t been invited to any of those parties. These guys are like brothers. It’s like a family.”

  “Aw, yes, I could see that and I didn’t even hang out with you guys much.”

  I frowned. “I wanted to ask you about that … is everything okay with you and Jason?”

  “Yeah, we had kind of a weird misunderstanding that took a while to clear up. He’s just so quick to get heated, you know? But once we worked it out and started talking about the wedding and everything, he seemed a lot happier.”

  “That’s good,” I said, meaning it. I just wanted Molly to be happy. If Jason made her happy, I was all for it.

  I chalked up my reservations about him to the fact that we had different tastes. Would I like to be with such a hot-tempered guy? No, not at all. I had a type, and it was Noah. Mild-mannered, smooth, soft-spoken, but could put some serious heat behind a kiss. Chase had one or two of those qualities, but he was also vindictive and manipulative, two things that Noah most certainly was not.

  “Have you guys picked a honeymoon location yet? Because I have to tell you, this place is magical and would probably be amazing.”

  Molly looked around the cottage. “You’re right. It really is.”

  “Wanna book yourself the ultimate honeymoon package on me? I’ve been trying to decide what to get you guys for a wedding present.”

  Her eyes almost bulged out of her head. “No way. We can’t accept that.”

  “Molly, please? Seriously, you go above and beyond for me as my assistant all the time. But more tha
n that, you’re my closest friend. Please let me do this for you guys. I really want to. You know me, I don’t buy stuff, I buy experiences. And I want the best honeymoon ever for you two.”

  She thought about it for a few moments, looking legitimately concerned, then finally sighed. “Okay. But only if you let me book the honeymoon package that comes with a normal room at the hotel. None of this cottage on the beach stuff.”

  “Deal,” I agreed. “Enjoy your normal room.”

  She leaned over and we hugged, squeezing tight. “Thank you, from both of us. Maybe I’ll even surprise Jason with it. The honeymoon isn’t even on his radar since he’s always so busy with work.”

  “That’s a great idea.” I fixed a wide smile on my face as she pulled back and sat beside me. Jason was a total workaholic. One of my complaints about him was that his hours were almost as long as Molly’s when I was in the middle of filming. When they got married and she moved out of my guest house, would she always be alone? Then again, maybe that’s why they worked so well together. They were both busy so he wasn’t mad that she was always busy with me.

  “Anyway,” Molly said, “I’m sorry I didn’t get to come down for dinner. That buffet they brought out looked amazing.”

  “It was, for sure. But all that means is that our turkey dinner tonight is probably going to be fantastic.”

  She grinned. “Yes! And I’m glad you all got to eat some Hawaiian food last night because I chose the more traditional Thanksgiving menu for tonight.”

  “Ah, good. I heard some of the guys talking about their Thanksgiving dinners growing up and it seemed pretty clear to me that their favorite part of this holiday is the food.”

  “Typical men,” she replied, then leaned in closer. “Okay, also, I know I’m happily engaged and they are all taken, but is there a rule with these guys that you need to be ridiculously good looking to join their little friend circle? Because seriously, each one of these guys is hotter than the last.”