Adored by You: A Sweet, Celebrity, Military Romance (San Diego Marines Book 7)
Page 16
“Hi, Noah,” Paige said, slowly coming up beside me, as if she were approaching a wild animal. “Having a good day so far?”
I swallowed, standing up straighter. “Yeah, thanks again for doing all of this for us. I know everyone’s really grateful.”
Her cheeks flamed. “I wasn’t fishing for a thank-you.”
I turned to meet her eyes, then looked away. “Is everything okay? You know, with Molly pulling you aside before.”
“Yeah, it was just a call from my producers. They wanted clarification on what was going on. Trying to control the narrative so it doesn’t mess with the show, you know. I told them the truth, Noah. That there’s nothing going on with me and Chase, and that our relationship has nothing to do with your parents.”
“Right,” I snorted. Nothing to do with my parents. That, I already knew. But the part about being with me to get the movie was pretty hard to deny. It started that way, after all. In fact, I had been the one who’d suggested we make it real or not at all. And if she wanted that movie badly enough, I bet she would have agreed to make it real just so I’d go along with it. Didn’t mean it was true. I shook my head, the knife that twisted in my chest became increasingly painful the longer I stood next to her. “I’m going to head down to the beach with everyone else. I’ll see you later.”
21
Paige
The day at the beach with the Kailua Marines had turned into a pretty good day, all things considered. Was I devastated about what was going on with Noah? Yes. But even stronger than those negative feelings was my confidence that we’d work it out. I was determined. After so many years without him, I wasn’t going to let Chase’s lies and fake photos in the tabloids bring it all down.
I’d been late for lunch because I was on a conference call with my lawyers. We planned to sue the pants off of Chase for violating the terms of our NDA. It was no small thing that they were willing to have a call with me the day after Thanksgiving, and I told them over and over again how grateful I was.
Chase still claimed he technically hadn’t broken the part of the NDA that said he couldn’t say negative things to the press about me after we broke up. According to him, we were still together, just going through a rough patch. It was complete nonsense and my lawyers were going to fight that claim tooth and nail. Chase had to know it was a flimsy excuse at best, but if nothing else, he could have fun spending his money on the legal fees to defend his lies.
I’d also spent a large part of the morning making arrangements for the meetings I’d have once we were back in LA. My lawyers might have been kind enough for one conference call, but I’d need to wait until after the holiday weekend to put out the majority of the other fires. Not only that, but I wasn’t going to let my celebrity drama ruin the O’Malley wedding. This group was buzzing with excitement, and I would make sure their special day went off without a hitch.
When I’d finally made it to lunch, I really enjoyed watching everyone have fun together. The San Diego Marines and the Kailua Marines seemed to get along really well. I wondered if that was because they were all members of the same club, of sorts. They didn’t even have to know each other to know that they were all on an even playing field. They knew they had at least a few shared experiences and similar futures ahead that they were working towards. Watching them hang out was like watching a family reunion, not a meeting of two separate families, as it were. And I liked listening to them tell stories about their experiences in the field or on deployment, even though I had no idea what all of the acronyms stood for.
I’d spent a long time sitting in beach chairs with Owen’s mom and Rachel’s mom. They were huge fans of the show and wanted to know everything they could about what it was like behind-the-scenes. We chatted about the set, the number of takes it took to get a scene right, where the producers found the extras, and especially if I had any spoilers for the upcoming season.
Now that I knew I was going back to the show with a renewed excitement for the good it did for young girls, I was proud to tell them big things were coming, they’d just have to wait and see. I’d never had a say in the storylines before, but I had several ideas swirling around in my brain for this season that I hoped the producers would take seriously.
Ellie and the other girls came and went during my conversation with the moms, always friendly and polite, but definitely more interested in splashing in the ocean or tossing the football around with their handsome, shirtless Marines. I couldn’t blame them. It was pure torture watching Noah hang out with his friends in nothing but his swim trunks and a pair of Ray-Bans, knowing even a friendly hug was out of reach.
And worse, I couldn’t catch his eye with those dark shades on. I’d been missing his signature wink from across the room ever since we’d had our fight, and I hadn’t realized just how reassuring it was. I felt like I was on the show, wandering around in a sad montage of a love story arc, unsure how it would all end or what I could do to fix it.
Saturday morning, all of us girls were getting ready in my suite. Molly had taken care of all of the details, from securing a last-minute wedding package at the resort to the dresses for the bride and small wedding party. It was easy for the Marines, all they’d needed to do was bring their dress blues.
I barely knew the women in this room, but the love among them was palpable. The moms sat at the table, sipping champagne and talking about Owen and Rachel’s future. Olivia and Sara took pictures of their adorable daughters in their flower girl dresses and Angie sat in a corner nursing her baby. Cat was the last to get her makeup done while Ivy, Ellie, Rachel, and I stood in the center of the suite.
“Paige,” Rachel said, tears in her eyes, “I can’t thank you enough for your part in all of this.”
I smiled widely at her and reached out, squeezing her shoulders. “Don’t cry, you’ll ruin your makeup.”
She laughed slightly, then fanned her face. “You’re right, you’re right. I’ll thank you again after I get all of this crap off my eyes.”
Rachel was a self-proclaimed tomboy who didn’t normally wear makeup, but the wedding package that Molly booked came with a stylist and makeup artist, so she obliged.
“Owen is going to freak out when he sees you,” Ellie said. “You look stunning.”
“Thank you.” Rachel reached out and took Ellie’s hand. “And thank you for being the best sister-in-law I could ask for.”
Ellie laughed and nodded in agreement, then waved at her own face. “Ugh, now I’m going to mess up my makeup. I’m so happy that Owen and Finn found us, and that they found you, too.”
“And I’m happy you and Spencer aren’t moving away,” Rachel said. “I was terrified yesterday at dinner when he was telling us about his orders. Finn would have freaked. We all would have. And with Owen leaving for deployment soon, I was really going to need you since my best friend lives so far away.”
Ivy bit her lip as Rachel looked pointedly at her. “About that … we were going to wait to tell you this until he got the job, but … I convinced Jake to apply for a civilian contractor position in San Diego.”
“What?” Rachel and Ellie said at the same time.
“What’s that?” I asked, looking back and forth between all of their faces.
“Jake got out of the Marines last year and took a job with the government so he could keep working toward his pension,” Ivy explained. “The job is at a reserve base in Texas where I live, so in a roundabout way, that’s how we met. My old roomie Rachel up and moved to San Diego, and with how much Jake misses it, I asked him if there were any opportunities to be had for him in California. Turns out, one of the training squadrons at Miramar has an opening. We don’t know anything yet, but we heard a rumor that it’s in the bag.”
Rachel’s mouth hung open. “Are you serious?”
“Yep. If he gets it, we’re moving to San Diego at the beginning of the year,” Ivy squealed. “And I’ll apply for a teaching position at the school on base, so we can work together again, too.”
/> Rachel flung her arms around her best friend. “Now I’m crying. I’m so happy you’ll be with me while Owen is deployed. You’re seriously going to love San Diego. Ah, best day ever.”
“Did I hear someone say ‘best day ever’?”
We all turned toward the door, which was cracked open, but we couldn’t see who it was.
“Spencer?” Ellie asked.
“Yeah, it’s me,” Hawk replied. “Everybody decent?”
He poked his head in the door with one hand over his eyes. We told him it was all clear and laughed as he uncovered his eyes one finger at a time, opening the door all the way to reveal Rachel’s dad standing there with tears in his eyes.
“Let’s get this show on the road,” he said.
Everyone except for the bride and her dad excitedly gathered their bouquets and hustled out of the suite and into the bright, Hawaiian sunlight. When our group stepped onto the grassy lawn in front of our cottages, we gasped at the sight of the floral arch positioned at the end of the aisle with white chairs on either side. It was the absolute perfect setting for their private destination wedding.
Since everyone in attendance was close enough friends to be in the wedding party, Rachel and Owen opted to each have only one person standing up there with them. Ivy, her best friend, as the matron of honor, and Hawk, his newfound brother, as the best man. Finn was the ring bearer, of course, and the group’s curly-haired little sweethearts, Amelia and Maria, were the flower girls.
Owen and Hawk wore a different dress uniform than the one everyone had worn at the ball. It still had the white hat and the same blue pants with the red stripe down the side, but instead of the iconic black coat, they wore short-sleeved, khaki dress shirts with the ribbons they’d earned proudly displayed on their chests.
My eyes searched for Noah, disappointed to find that he and the other Marines had opted for dress pants and slim-fitting Hawaiian shirts instead of uniforms. Don’t get me wrong, just the sight of him still took my breath away. But there was just something about that uniform that killed me softly.
We took our seats in anticipation of the lovely Hawaiian music changing to the wedding march. Noah had saved a seat for me next to him, but he didn’t speak as I lowered myself into it. He studied me, his blue eyes hard to read. I’d chosen a blush-pink dress for the event, going for a whimsical, romantic look. His eyes scanned me, causing my cheeks to grow warm.
He had to feel this longing between us. He had to know that what we had was real. I would never fake it with him to get a movie role. Sure, it was my idea to fake it for everyone else to get the movie, but he was going to be in on it with me. And knowing what I knew now about how right we were together, that never would have worked anyway. We might have started out pretending that we weren’t in love, but we would have wound up there either way. And I would never lie to him about how I felt. He knew me too well, or at least, I thought he did. How could he think I would play him like that?
I started to speak, but the music changed and everyone stood. This conversation would just have to wait. And as Ivy made her way down the aisle with Rachel only moments behind her, it was easy to get lost in the romance of this happy day. Deep down in my soul, I knew not all was lost with Noah. There was too much history between us; too much love. But how many times had I seen the B story on Young, MD let love fade away and fall into oblivion in favor of things like pride or fear or anger or jealously? Noah and I were different. We were older and wiser now, in addition to being the A story line, and there’s no way I’d let him go as easily as I had when we were eighteen. We were capable of getting out from under this dark cloud—I just had to figure out what to do to make it right.
22
Noah
Hawk dropped into the leather armchair next to mine with a huff, making me jump. “Can I help you?”
“It’s not what you can do for me, dear friend,” he replied, putting a hand on his heart, “it’s what we can do for you.”
I looked up to find Mills, Brooks, and Murphy coming toward us. They each grabbed a seat, their large frames taking up way too much space in my small corner of the Boeing Business Jet. I’d been quietly brooding in one of the four living rooms on the lavish plane as we cruised at forty thousand feet over the Pacific Ocean.
“I’m not in the mood to talk,” I replied.
Several of them scoffed and Mills rolled his eyes. “Bro, you’ve been in a bad mood since Turkey Day.”
“Have not,” I said.
“What are you, five?” Hawk smirked. “Trust us, we could tell.”
“Tell what?” I asked. “I’m fine. Look around. We’re on a BBJ on the way home from Thanksgiving in Hawaii. What could possibly be wrong with me?”
Brooks frowned and made a clicking sound with his mouth. “Boy, you must think we got only one oar in the water.”
I looked at him, puzzled by his strange saying. “Murph, you’ve lived in Texas for a minute, what did he just say?”
“I think he said you must think we’re dumb,” Murphy replied.
“Ah,” I said, nodding.
Mills leaned forward in his chair. “Seriously, man. When Olivia and I were going through our separation, these guys stepped up and had my back. The only reason we’re even together right now, with a kid, is because they tricked us into spending the week together in a cabin and working out our problems. We’re just trying to do the same for you.”
I shifted in my seat. “You can’t go through a separation if you’re not really together in the first place.”
They all looked at each other and at me like they were completely lost. I thought I’d done a good job of keeping the implosion of my relationship to myself, but apparently not. Sure, they didn’t know the details of what happened. But they were good enough friends to know that something was up.
And now I had to go through them embarrassment of telling them it was all a sham from the get-go. Paige hadn’t really wanted to be with me. It was all so she could get that part. Wasn’t it?
“Have none of you guys seen the news?” I asked.
Murphy raised a brow. “The news?”
“Yeah, well, entertainment news, anyway. The headlines about me and Paige?” They all looked at each other again and shrugged. I rolled my eyes. “Take out your phones and Google my name.”
Hawk had his phone in his hand already so he typed into his browser, Mills leaning over his shoulder to take a look. Murphy and Brooks looked at their own phones, everyone silent while they scrolled through the mess that was my life. Finally, they looked up and had varying reactions from awkwardness to shock to just plain denial that any of it was true. I let them argue it out for a few minutes, watching as if they weren’t talking about me.
“Aw, shoot. That’s crap,” Brooks said, waving a hand, his Texas accent thicker than ever. “Chase is just pitchin’ a hissy fit because he didn’t get the girl. Doesn’t make any of this true.”
Murphy scratched his head. “Okay, but then how does the whole world know more about West and his parents than we do? She told Chase and he told everyone.”
I pursed my lips, anger coursing through me again about that part, but stayed silent.
“How do we know she wasn’t just trying to get the movie?” Mills asked.
“We know,” Hawk insisted. “West told us the story. She wanted a photo op at the ball, then he said they should make a real thing out of it. She could’ve said no. She could’ve said she only wanted the photo op and not a relationship. She didn’t need to make it a thing if she didn’t want to.”
“Except,” Mills said, holding up a finger, “the director called her out on the photo op and she’s the one who suggested the fake relationship. He said it should be real, not her. She could be faking the real part.”
“Exactly,” Murphy said.
Brooks sighed. “Y’all, quit. This conversation is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. West, do you love this girl?”
I swallowed. “Unfortunately.”
“She said it’s not true,” I replied.
Brooks nodded once. “Well, there you go.”
“It’s not that simple,” I said.
“Why not?” Hawk asked. “You should talk to her. Trust me, I would have saved myself a lot of problems with Ellie in the beginning if we would have just had a good, honest talk.”
Mills nodded. “Yeah, that was some serious teenage angst you guys had going on back then. There were so many times Olivia and I wanted to shake you guys.”
Hawk snorted. “You’re one to talk.”
Before they could go off on another tangent about their own love stories, I sat forward, resting my forearms on my knees. “Okay, look. Let’s say I believe her. Let’s say she wasn’t faking it just to get the movie and Chase is lying. And let’s say that hug really was just a hug that she says she didn’t even want. There’s another problem.”
“What?” Hawk asked.
“I got picked for an SDA,” I replied. “I have to go be a recruiter in who knows where for the next three years. We started all of this back up again just so we can switch to long-distance? If it was going to be long-distance, I would have called her years ago when I was still in Japan or on the East Coast.”
Mills shrugged. “You can make long-distance work. Lots of us do at one point or another.”
“Ivy and I spent the entire beginning of our relationship long-distance,” Murphy added. “I was on deployment when we met online.”
I made a face. I’d had girlfriends while deployed before and it just never seemed to work out. I’d spent years telling myself that if Paige and I were meant to be, our paths would cross again. They crossed, so I reached out. Now we were going to spend three years apart? It just didn’t make sense to me.