by Layla Hagen
“Jace, you can let go now. The rest of us are waiting our turn,” Will teases.
“Ah, Mr. Sexy McHottie, always impatient,” I say, turning to him.
Their father, an Irishman through and through, was a mountain of a man, with rugged, handsome features. And the brothers inherited all that allure. There is no other way to put it, the Connor men are hunks, but I officially gave Will the nickname when he visited us one summer and all my girlfriends were swooning after him. If they could see him now.
Will scowls, shaking his head. “Can’t escape the Sexy McHottie jokes even now.”
My cousin Lori clears her throat, eyeing her young son, Milo.
Ooops. I forgot about the kid censorship, but I focus on Milo next.
“Hi! I brought you something.” I pull a miniature Ferrari from my purse, handing it to him.
“Wow! Cool.”
Lori nudges him. “What do you say to Aunt Summer?”
“Thank you, Aunt Summer.”
“You’re welcome.”
Lori and the third sister, Hailey, pull me into a group hug.
“Wow, I love the smell,” I say as a delicious whiff drafts in from the kitchen. “You made red pepper quiche?”
Val winks. “Of course. Thought making your favorite might give you an incentive to visit us more often.”
“She cooks Landon’s favorite when he visits too,” Will informs me. “It’s only my pleas for baked Camembert she ignores. Discriminating much?”
Val bumps her shoulder into his forearm.
“We can’t have Camembert every Friday, you big oaf. Besides, Jace can’t eat all that fat. Not on his meal plan. We can’t have our star losing his edge, can we?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I say, “I’ve watched Jace play. I’d say there’s no danger in him losing the edge.”
Jace nods. “True, but my coach would jump down my throat if I didn’t respect the meal plan. I’ll make an exception for you, though.”
“More proof of discrimination,” Will whispers to me conspiratorially.
“Let’s set the table,” Val announces. “The quiche is almost ready.”
Ten minutes later, we’re all sitting around the table, enjoying Val’s cooking.
“How come you’re in LA?” Hailey asks. “Work or pleasure?”
“Both,” I say vaguely. I trust them, but the fewer people know about Alex and me, the better.
“Why aren’t you staying with me? You always stay with me,” Val asks, pointing her fork at me. Oh man, I hate lying.
“We’re a group, so it was easier.” Which is not exactly a lie, though that doesn’t ease my conscience.
“Have you seen Landon lately?” she continues.
“Not as much as I should, considering he’s so close. But he’s turned into a workaholic.” He’s always had a solid work ethic, but after losing his wife, the whole thing escalated.
“We know. He’s like a robot,” Lori complains. “We’re working on turning him human again, but are failing in grand fashion.”
“Have you tried emotional blackmail?” I suggest. “Always works on my brothers.”
“We tried,” Val says. “But maybe we missed something. Give us pointers.”
Jace grimaces. “No, no, no. Don’t do that, or Will and I will be toast too.”
The whole table starts laughing. The evening flies by as we rehash old and dear memories. But as nine o’clock approaches, my thoughts flit more and more to Alex. I need a plan of attack to soothe him. Now, I didn’t get to be twenty-eight without facing my own shitty periods, but my entire dealing-with-crap arsenal might not be enough for this occasion. Still, some tactics are clear winners.
I excuse myself from the table, heading to the foyer where I left my purse and phone. I want to call the hotel, make sure they have cheesecake with caramel topping ready when I return. A lot of caramel topping.
I have three missed calls from Preston, three from Alex, and a message.
Alex: Can’t make it to our date tonight, and we have to cancel the weekend plans. I’ll explain everything later. Be careful when you get back to the hotel. It will be crawling with paps. I already talked to Preston about security.
Oh boy, oh boy. What is going on? Swallowing past the unease in my throat, I call Alex, but it goes to voice mail. I try Preston next. He picks up right away.
“Summer, thank God. I tried to reach you. Okay, so here’s the new development. Amy and Alex are preparing for a press conference tonight here at the hotel to make the announcement.”
“The announcement?”
“Yeah, that they’re supposedly back together. I’m so glad you two finally worked that out. It’s for the best. These weeks will pass by quickly, you’ll see. I’m arranging right now for Alex’s things to be moved to Amy’s home. It will be tricky to get you two to meet, but we’ll manage to sneak you in somehow.”
I’m too numb to react for a few seconds. My thoughts freeze, my body feels foreign. Like someone else is standing here, hearing those words. He decided this... just like that? Without even bothering to tell me, let alone consider my feelings?
“Be careful when you come back to the hotel. All entrances are swarmed with paps. Text me when you’re five minutes away, and I will send our security guys to sneak you in.”
The hotel? I don’t want to go back to the hotel. To see Alex and Amy pose for cameras, kiss, hug. To fear that they might fall back in love.
How exactly does Alex think he can explain this to me?
Summer, my career is in a rocky spot. This was the easiest way out. Sorry for sweeping your feelings under a rug like the assholes before me. Oh, but yes, you’re very important to me. Sorry you’ll have to endure a few weeks of me kissing Amy and sharing a house with her, but afterward, everything will be peachy.
“Preston, I won’t be returning to the hotel. I’ll text you an address. Can you send my bag? It’s all packed in my room.” I need to be surrounded by family right now, by people who care about me unconditionally.
“Sure. That’s a great idea, actually. Safer for you and everyone involved.”
After the call disconnects, I lean against the wall, working on breathing past the lump in my throat, the tightness in my chest. I don’t know how long I stay here, but it must be long enough because Val comes to check on me.
“What’s wrong? Bad news?”
“Can I stay here tonight?”
She smiles sympathetically. “Sure. But what happened? The pleasure part of work and pleasure didn’t work out?”
“Something like that.”
“Oh, honey, I’ve got you covered. I’ll treat you to Val’s Kit for Emotional Messes as soon as the gang leaves.”
“Val, you’re my hero.”
I’m on autopilot for the next hour or so, until everyone filters out. The second Val and I are alone, I curl up on her couch like a kitten.
“Do you have ice cream?” I ask.
“Nope. Cardinal sin, I know, but if I know it’s in the freezer, I just eat it. But I have hot chocolate, whipped cream, and a bottle of Pinot Noir.”
“We drank Chardonnay at dinner. Why don’t we stick to it?”
Val motions no with her finger. “Chardonnay’s for celebrating. Pinot Noir is for commiserating.”
“Because Pinot’s bitter and sour?”
“You’ve got it.”
I throw my head back, laughing. God, I could hug Val for making me laugh. “Pinot it is. I can’t believe you have a system for that.”
After setting us both up with a glass, she joins me on the couch.
“Want to tell me what happened, or you just need commiserating?”
“Just commiserating.”
“I’m your girl.”
“How come you’re such a pro at it?”
Val plays with her glass, shrugging. “Practice. You should’ve seen me and Lori when she realized she’s going to be a single parent. I’ve had my own pity parties too, obviously.” She sighs, sipping from her
glass. “Some people just stumble onto their happily ever after, and others only find shitty ever after. At least we have Mr. Pinot.”
“Hear, hear.”
I twirl my glass, watching the wine swish inside. Oh, what I wouldn’t give for that cheesecake with caramel topping. I wonder if I can have Preston send me a portion along with my bag, then push the thought away.
Nope, not even cheesecake is a good enough reward to risk Preston giving me more details. I don’t want to know. Should I have pushed more today? Gone to Alex even if he hadn’t wanted me to? Would he still have decided the same? Could I have changed his mind?
I gave Alex my heart. Why couldn’t he take care of it the way I wanted to take care of his? With a lot of love and dedication? Was that so much to ask? My chest burns, and I swear my heart stings, as if someone is drilling and drilling inside it. I blink back tears, sipping my Pinot. I’m so tired of heartbreak, of putting myself out there only to have my heart stomped on. Something must be wrong with me, deep down, I just know it. Why else would my love not be enough? I break out in a cold sweat, even as my insides churn and burn.
“Summer, whatever happened is not the end of the world. You can start over.”
I try to muster a smile for Val, but my entire face feels wobbly. I don’t want to start over. I wanted to love that man for the rest of my days. And even though my heart feels like it’s splitting in two, I can’t bring myself to even imagine anyone else but him. Why couldn’t he value that?
“Crap, Pinot won’t cut it tonight,” Val says, inspecting my cheeks, which are stained with tears. “I’m going to run to the store and buy some Ben & Jerry’s. My go-to flavor for such occasions is strawberry cheesecake?”
“Oh, that’s a good one. But I also love caramel. Buy all things with caramel. And I need hugs. Lots and lots of hugs.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Alex
The roar of voices in the hotel’s conference room grows deafening when Amy and I step inside. The clicks of cameras form a constant stream that rises above the voices.
The reporters only grow silent after we take our places at the table. I glance sideways at Amy. Her hands are shaking in her lap. My nerves are strung tight too, but this is the only way forward. When the sound technician announces the mics are ready to go, I clasp the one in front of me, bring it to my lips. Amy gives me a thumbs-up, her smile tight.
“Good evening, everyone. Thank you for showing up at such short notice. Amy and I appreciate it. We’ve called you all here to address the rumors that have been flying around lately. They’ve been overshadowing all the events Amy and I’ve attended, whether together or separate. It’s been overshadowing our work on Bree Shannon, and that’s a shame. We want to put an end to the speculations, give you information right from the horse’s mouth.”
I’m not looking at anyone in particular as I speak, my gaze simply sweeps through the crowd. I’m definitely not looking at Preston.
“Two months ago, our breakup made tabloid rounds, but the truth was, we’d been over a long time before that.”
I nod at Amy, who grips her own mic tightly and begins to speak.
“We’d been trying to make it work for months, but we were struggling. We fell out of love gradually.”
Preston waves his hands from the back of the room, but I purposefully ignore him. No one will stop the conference while Amy and I keep talking.
“Not only that, but we fell in love with other people,” she continues, her voice stronger. “There was no cheating, no lies. We just weren’t meant for each other.”
The crowd erupts all at once, firing off question after question. I talk until my throat feels like sandpaper, regurgitating the answers Amy and I agreed upon beforehand. This could be career suicide for both of us, but it’s a risk I just have to take. No more lies. All the spin-offs in the world aren’t worth these lies. Summer is right. Honesty is the best policy. I’m doing this for her, and for us. I don’t want us to have to hide anymore.
I barely convinced Amy to go along with me. We both perused our contract with the studio to make sure we wouldn’t be outright breaking it, but the execs will be livid nonetheless that we’ve taken matters into our own hands, going directly against their directives.
The conference lasts well into the night. Once the shock of the announcement settles, everyone wants to know who the significant others are.
“Mine is an actor,” Amy says coyly. “Alex here went after a civilian. And she’s very lovely.”
I won’t reveal Summer’s name before talking this out with her. Amy gives me an honest smile. Despite our spotty history, I’m grateful to her for doing this, even though this isn’t her favorite option.
After I stated my case, she said, “Well, you won’t budge on the fake romance things, and my career is in the toilet as it is. I suppose this can’t get worse. But Preston said he’s trying to talk the execs into reconsidering your spin-off. They won’t give it another thought after this.”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” I assured her.
We didn’t tell anyone from our teams what we were planning to announce so no one could stop us.
“We need more details. Who are the lucky ones? Amy? Alex? Come on, one of you has to budge.”
I smile mysteriously. “Nope. I have to prepare my girl for going public properly.”
“Aww, did you hear. He called her my girl,” someone says in the back.
On and on it goes, and after it ends, I head straight to my floor, flanked by bodyguards and avoiding Preston. I know exactly what he’ll tell me, and I’m not in the mood to hear it. I’ll deal with the fallout in the morning. I suspect said fallout will include extreme paparazzi attention and an explosion in interview requests.
It’s why I told Summer to drop whatever plans she had for the weekend. No way would I be able to protect her from the press. I stop by Summer’s room first and knock at the door, but no one answers. Maybe she’s waiting in my room. I swipe the keycard, pushing my door open. The room is dark. Switching on the light, I walk from room to room, but she isn’t anywhere. Did she decide to stay at her cousin’s overnight? I did warn her the hotel would be crawling with paps. If I’m honest, it’s safer for her to stay away tonight, but I need her warmth tonight of all nights.
My career is hanging by a thin thread, but it doesn’t matter if I have her. Where is she?
Sitting on the empty bed, I pick up my phone from the nightstand. I didn’t carry it with me in the conference room. I have a plethora of missed calls and messages, including one from Summer.
Summer: I can’t be with you through this, I’m sorry. I hope everything works out for you.
My fingers turn icy against the plastic case of the phone. She’s sorry? She can’t be with me through this?
My chest constricts as I try to make sense of this. I check the time of the message. She sent it midway through the conference. Did she realize the press attention she’ll get once we go public and decided it was too much after all? That she could do without all that in her life? That being with me was not worth the hassle?
Jesus, she can’t mean this, can she? I thought... she seemed to love me. Was I projecting? Wishing I wasn’t the only one who felt so strongly?
Well, even if she did have feelings for me, they were clearly not strong enough to last if she decided to give up. The ache in my chest obstructs my breath.
I’ve had so many friends walk out on me due to the complications of my fame. Even my parents distanced themselves. But Summer deciding what we have is not worth fighting for stabs deeper than the rest.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Alex
A knock at the door interrupts my thoughts.
“Alex, we need to talk,” Preston says. I open the door right away. Verbal sparring with Preston is just what I need to take my mind off Summer. Preston stomps into the room dragging his hands down his face.
“You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?” he asks.
&nbs
p; “No, murder isn’t on my to-do list. Voluntary or not,” I deadpan. Preston’s collar is darkened with sweat.
“Why didn’t you tell me what you were going to announce?”
“Because you would have tried to convince me not to.”
Preston throws his hands up in the air. “Damn right I would have. But there’s no use crying over spilled milk right now. You knew everything you were risking and still went through with it.”
I sit, sprawled on the couch, watching Preston pace like a lion in a cage.
“Now we need to make the most of this. All eyes are on you. Maybe if we turn this into positive publicity, the studio won’t have your ass. I’ve already had five high-profile interview requests.”
“Perfect, book them.”
Preston takes out his phone. Tension seems to bleed away from him while he types. After finishing, he whips his head up.
“You’d better not leave your room tonight. The paps are everywhere. A crowd of fans gathered too. We’ll have to sneak you out tomorrow through a service entrance, or you’ll be mobbed. Good thing I’ve already sent Summer her bag.”
“What? When?”
“She called me when the conference was about to begin. I explained it would be safer if she didn’t return tonight, and she asked me to send her bag. Obviously, since she thought you and Amy were going to live together for the next few weeks—”
My spine stiffens. “Why would she think that?”
Preston stares at me. “That’s what I told her. That’s what I, and everyone else, thought the conference was about.”
“Tell me exactly what you told her and what she said.” I push myself to my feet, taking in two deep breaths.
“I told her you were going to announce that you’re back together with Amy, and I was making arrangements to have your stuff moved into her house. I told her it’d be better if she didn’t come to the hotel tonight because the paps would be all over the place, and she agreed, asking me to send her bag. This is all moot, I suppose since she now knows you didn’t.”
